Comments on: Will Wright 'Candy for Nerds'

Will Wright 'Candy for Nerds'

jamespake — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 22:02:44 -0800

Models come alive, games programmer Will Wright gets deep on game design in his PC Forum talk. His slides are here ("This is like CANDY for NERDS!") . [Via Corante.com]

By: spazzm

spazzm — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 22:13:52 -0800

[this is good]

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 00:21:43 -0800

[agreed]. Will Wright is one of my heroes, and a lot of the points here made perfect sense to me. Even if you're not into game design, there's still some rather interesting stuff to think about here.

By: Tlogmer

Tlogmer — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 01:03:07 -0800

I agree; it's great stuff. But (IIRC) didn't The Sims Online crash and burn? Any game designers want to venture a guess as why someone so smart got it wrong in that instance?

By: badzen

badzen — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 01:19:23 -0800

i want to play Grand Theft Pro Skater 1942 though the servers will most likely be all full up with smacktards

By: magullo

magullo — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 04:05:24 -0800

Talking about which, someone else is taking gaming to the next level:
When you character gets hit, you receive a 20,000 volt shock via your controller. [Now *that* is cool] It has been done before, but you can now enjoy it in the privacy of your own home

By: jamespake

jamespake — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 05:35:44 -0800

Magullo - there's also the Butt Kicker from Media Lab Europe, but this is off-topic - we were talking about good ideas.

By: grahamwell

grahamwell — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 08:53:22 -0800

This is superb - presumably in the Sim world this guy is God. At last we get some answers!

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 09:23:30 -0800

I played the Sims Online Beta for a few days and, in my jaunts across continents, came across a sim called Will Wright. He never flushed the toilets and I called him on it. He responded with "What was that again?" and never said anything after that. I have no idea if it was really him, but I still consider it my Brush With Greatness.

By: moz

moz — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 09:36:09 -0800

i'm not a game designer, but: I agree; it's great stuff. But (IIRC) didn't The Sims Online crash and burn? Any game designers want to venture a guess as why someone so smart got it wrong in that instance? the sims was designed as a single-player game. someone above will wright decided that the sims should be retargeted as a multiplayer game, and work was put into creating the sims online. now, when games are multiplayer, their success hinges on the benefit that one gets from that new aspect. you can play with or against your friends, for one, but that can be a bit tedious when it's the sims. multiplayer games allow players to organize themselves into groups (often called clans) and challenge each other in some fashion. that, as well, didn't fit in with the sims design. the only parallel i can think of that the sims has for online success is ultima online, in which a small subset of users play the life of an ordinary merchant or peasant while most other players are of the warrior sort, out fighting monsters and each other. doesn't seem like a great basis for the sims online, does it? i don't think will wright got it wrong. i think upper management pushed the game in a direction it wasn't meant to go, and failure was the probable (and actual) result.