Will Wright bits & bobs
My brain really hurts.
Will Wright's speech was all about space and aliens and robots and astrobiology. I couldn't possibly keep up with him, he's hi-octane, so I just drifted on a comfortable warm cloud of Wrightness. I now know that there are 100 billion neurons in our brains, 100 billion stars in our galaxy and a 100 billion galaxies in our universe.
Will on how to design games:
My advice: take your time at the bginning, give yourself space to research and think. Cast a wide net. You need to discover which 90% of your material that you find is irrelevant for your game. Enjoy being obsessive. That helps a lot. Cultivate the same obsession in your team. Things well understood are explained well. You’ll be a teacher to the people in your team, but also to the people playing your game. You can change your players. At a very deep level, you can change the people who play your game. You shouldn’t take that lightly and it’s also something you shouldn’t squander.
His keynote was so awesome.
Posted by: Brinstar | March 24, 2006 at 04:28
I really like Will, but shouldn't we avoid forming a cult around his personality?
Will designed 2 greats games SimCity and The Sims. That's 2 great games.
Let's keep the adoration in proportion.
Posted by: Darth Pixel | March 24, 2006 at 22:44
I rather like SimEarth myself. Still drag out an abandonware copy of it myself to toy around in experimental mode every now and then. Of course, I used to be a geology/paleontology geek.;)
And SimCity 2000 is rather different from the original. Haven't tried SimCity 4.
Posted by: LeoPetr | March 25, 2006 at 02:43
This isn't about a cult of personality around Will due to the games he made that are commercial successes. This is about a cult of personality around him because he gives good talk. Also he's really smart, and does amazing powerpoint slides. He's been this cool forever, I've been going to every GDC talk he gives that I can make it to for the last decade and he delivers on expectation. :)
Posted by: Cormac Russell | March 25, 2006 at 06:33
Only 2 great games, eh?
How many great films did Kubrik make?
It's not about quantity.
Posted by: praxis22 | March 28, 2006 at 09:47
Will Wright's obsessions take him into areas of thoughtful learning that then become deeply fundamental to the structures of his games. Structures that by the personal nature of his process are very unique in gaming (especially today). For this, as well as his ability to continue creating, Will Wright is an admirable figure in game design. tinyurl.com/fehrb
SimAnt FTW
Posted by: function | March 31, 2006 at 22:16
I think we have far too few public heroes in the game industri. We need as many as we can get, as our meduim is a lot less individual than the other media industries.
One of the reasons I find it important is for new talents to get inspration. It is hard to adore a company, much easier to fall in love in a person. (Eventhough some companies pulled it off like Nintendo and Apple)
Let Will be cult!
Posted by: Tommy | April 03, 2006 at 09:10
Don't be ridiculous. This isn't a cult following. Will Wright is a *personal* hero. Now, if only I could find the second half of the keynote...
Posted by: DAVilla | July 22, 2006 at 12:03