Electronic Arts has launched its Spore API Contest, which challenges entrants to create applications -- either from scratch or by using source code from a sample app -- that access the game's data, including XML files with information about players' creations, creators' data, and common game data. As of a January 12 post by someone working on the Spore API team, the game had more than 60 million creations and almost 2.5 million creators.

Developer Maxis has also posted applications it has created internally, including Sporenament, which pits creations against each other, Aquarium, which places creations in a fish tank, and Buddy Activity, which lets players know when their friends make new creations.

Contestants should email links to their applications to Maxis by April 6, 2009. They can enter as many applications as they want. The winner gets an NVIDIA graphics card, the first runner up gets a copy of Spore and the upcoming Galactic Adventures expansion pack, and the second runner up gets a copy of Galactic Adventures. The expansion is shipping this summer (it was originally slated for spring) and will feature the ability to beam down to planets, the opportunity to take on missions and create new ones, and the chance to score new objects.

Spore Galactic Adventures