Will Wright 'Candy for Nerds'

June 10, 2003 10:02 PM

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]
posted by jamespake (9 comments total)

[this is good]
posted by spazzm at 10:13 PM on June 10, 2003

[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.
posted by wanderingmind at 12:21 AM on June 11, 2003

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?
posted by Tlogmer at 1:03 AM on June 11, 2003

i want to play Grand Theft Pro Skater 1942

though the servers will most likely be all full up with smacktards
posted by badzen at 1:19 AM on June 11, 2003

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
posted by magullo at 4:05 AM on June 11, 2003

Magullo - there's also the Butt Kicker from Media Lab Europe, but this is off-topic - we were talking about good ideas.
posted by jamespake at 5:35 AM on June 11, 2003

This is superb - presumably in the Sim world this guy is God. At last we get some answers!
posted by grahamwell at 8:53 AM on June 11, 2003

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.
posted by Tacodog at 9:23 AM on June 11, 2003

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.
posted by moz at 9:36 AM on June 11, 2003