Joystiq

Will Wright shares admiration for the three Ms: Miyamoto, Molyneux, Meier

Sinan Kubba — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:30:00 EST

Bespectacled brain Will Wright is one of the world's most revered game designers, both within the industry and in the more mainstream eye. But which game designers does he admire the most?

Speaking at the Game Horizon conference in the UK via a video stream, Wright said he regards a great number of designers highly, including many up-and-comers. However, the Sims creator reserved special praise for three luminaries from his generation: Shigeru Miyamoto, Peter Molyneux, and Sid Meier.

Nintendo veteran Miyamoto was "obviously" Wright's first choice.

"He always takes the player first," Wright said. "Right off the bat he works with the controller, what does it feel like, how tactile and kinesthetic is what he's working on. He works from the inside out: 'what is the first five second player experience?' So his games have this craftsmanship behind them that's amazing and unique."

The feeling is mutual; a few years back, Miyamoto said he was particularly impressed by Wright as "a very unique person and someone very special." Aw.

Continue reading Will Wright shares admiration for the three Ms: Miyamoto, Molyneux, Meier

Will Wright shares admiration for the three Ms: Miyamoto, Molyneux, Meier originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 May 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright's new IP focuses on players' individual, everyday lives

Sinan Kubba — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:15:00 EST

SimCity and Sims creator Will Wright elaborated on his next game at today's Game Horizon conference in the UK. Wright wants to bring gaming back to "normal, everyday life" with his new IP, and it'll be something "more mobile-based" than the likes of EA's SimCity.

Wright, speaking via a video stream, said he wanted to make games that "are extremely relevant to the player, and extremely unique to each individual." To Wright, the ability to have different player experiences with single games is what makes the medium unique.

"That really is the most important advantage that we have in games," Wright said, "And I don't really see us grabbing that and going down that path as fully as we could."

Continue reading Will Wright's new IP focuses on players' individual, everyday lives

Will Wright's new IP focuses on players' individual, everyday lives originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 May 2013 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright resolves lawsuit with Hive Mind co-founder

Mike Schramm — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 02:00:00 EST

Late last year, game creator Will Wright debuted a new startup called "Hive Mind," designed to create and develop some ideas on "personal gaming" that Wright was interested in. Unfortunately, while trying to put together funding for the company, Wright got bogged down in a legal dispute with co-founder Jawad Ansari. Now, says VentureBeat, those issues have been all cleared up.

"We are pleased to have reached a friendly and respectful resolution," says Wright in a statement. Ansari will go on to work at a firm called GCube Capital, and while the official status of Hive Mind isn't yet known, Wright is continuing his work with another startup, called Super Fun Club, and says that the plan for Hive Mind is getting to "where the operating team can take the company forward."

Will Wright resolves lawsuit with Hive Mind co-founder originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These games inspired Cliff Bleszinski, John Romero, Will Wright, and Sid Meier

Kat Bailey — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

Everyone in the industry has a story about their formative experiences with video games, but Jon-Paul Dyson, the director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, was a bit more blunt than most.

"Great artists don't borrow. They steal," Dyson said, borrowing a quote from Pablo Picasso as he introduced Wil Wright, Sid Meier, John Romero, and Cliff Bleszinski. Speaking in front of a packed house at GDC, the four industry luminaries shared the games that inspired them as creators, and continue to influence them today.

Continue reading These games inspired Cliff Bleszinski, John Romero, Will Wright, and Sid Meier

These games inspired Cliff Bleszinski, John Romero, Will Wright, and Sid Meier originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright reveals 'Hivemind,' his new, personal gaming venture

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST

Will Wright has told VentureBeat that he, in conjunction with a new California-based social gaming startup named Hivemind, is working on a new genre of "personal gaming" -- the first installment of which shares the name of his new company. The "personal" aspect of Hivemind will be derived from the game's capacity for learning about "you and your routines." Wright added, "If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life."

Of course, since we spend a majority of our time writing about games, we're worried about the potentially infinite feedback loop Wright's title would create. Don't get us wrong, we're just egotistical enough to enjoy such an experience, but it would pretty much be a game about writing about a game about writing about a game about writing about a game, and so on, forever and ever, ad infinitum.

Will Wright reveals 'Hivemind,' his new, personal gaming venture originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright working on game based off Bruce Sterling short story, Maneki Neko

David Hinkle — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:30:00 EST

After leaving EA, founding StupidFunClub and launching a TV series, it would seem Will Wright is finally ready to talk about his next game. It's based on author Bruce Sterling's short story, Maneki Neko, Eurogamer reports.

Wright summed up Maneki Neko (included in Bruce Sterling's A Good Old-Fashioned Future) as the story of "a karmic computer that's keeping a balance of payments between different people, and causing them to interact with each other in interesting ways to improve their lives even though they're strangers." He added that these people earn "karmic points" that can be redeemed by "having somebody else help them." This proposed game would ideally launch on tablets, smart phones and Facebook.

Console gamers won't be left out, though. Wright alluded to "one or two" other projects for home consoles (lining up with previous reports that three projects are currently underway at studio), thought he didn't go into any specifics. "But most of our work is going to be everything else: PC, tablet, Facebook and mobile," he concluded.

Will Wright working on game based off Bruce Sterling short story, Maneki Neko originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch the GDC 'Classic Game Postmortem' talks for free

JC Fletcher — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST

If you want to hear about Mark Cerny's first, overambitious version of Marble Madness for yourself, try to decipher Toru Iwatani's clues about a "singing Pac-Man" game, see the history of Prince of Persia in the time it takes to play Prince of Persia (one hour), or suck John Romero's Doom postmortem down, you are welcome to do so right now.

The GDC organizers have uploaded video and slides of many of this year's presentations to the GDC Vault, most of which are restricted to subscribers. However, the GDC Vault offers the Classic Game Postmortem series for free, including the aforementioned talks plus Eric Chahi on Another World, Will Wright on his first game, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Ron Gilbert looking back on Maniac Mansion, and more.

Watch the GDC 'Classic Game Postmortem' talks for free originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Classic postmortems' unveiled for 25th Game Developers Conference

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:03:00 EST

Beyond the plain ol' postmortems taking place annually at the Game Developers Conference, this year's event features a special 25th anniversary spin: "classic" postmortems. Famous developers will take the stage to speak about their classic games -- everyone from Pac-Man's Toru Iwatani to Doom's John Romero -- and an eager crowd will bask in the light of their classic game knowledge.

11 classics are being given the treatment, though we're putting Will Wright's Raid on Bungeling Bay talk at the very top of our priority list. Another highlight (among a list made up entirely of highlights) is Eric Chahi -- developer of currently in-progress From Dust -- speaking about the development of Out of This World. Check out the full, incredibly impressive list after the break and start planning accordingly. Or rather, clear your schedule.

If you can't make it to GDC 2011, the postmortems will be filmed and made available via GDC Vault at some point after the event.

Continue reading 'Classic postmortems' unveiled for 25th Game Developers Conference

'Classic postmortems' unveiled for 25th Game Developers Conference originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright explains what The Sims and an ant colony have in common

Randy Nelson — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:00:00 EST

Originally titled Home Tactics, Will Wright's hit people simulator The Sims was largely made possible by a bunch of simulated ants. During an interview with Doom creator John Romero at the IGDA Leadership Forum dinner last Friday, Wright revealed that his previous title, Sim Ant, was a key inspiration for -- and the basis for the core emergent gameplay in -- The Sims.

"We decided to program Sim Ant as close to how real ants work as we could, which means that they're actually responding to pheromone trails, and the intelligence is distributed environmentally," Wright recalled when asked how The Sims came about. "We were able to get very complex behavior out of the ants just using these pheromone distributions. So I started to wonder how much of human behavior I could simulate the same way." As it turns out, a lot.

"The basic engine for The Sims really ends up being one of any pheromones. Every object in the environment is sending out an 'advertisement' of pheromones in a particular flavor. The flavors are the eight basic needs of the Sims. So they can advertise 'food,' 'energy,' 'fun,' 'social,' 'hygiene.' Every object is described in those terms, being the collection of pheromones that it broadcasts," Wright explained. "A Sim is always sitting there, smelling all of the pheromones around it saying, 'oh I need to be clean, or I need to be fed' -- whatever -- so they follow that pheromone trail to the closest object that's producing it. The advantage of that -- the whole point of that -- was that we could add new objects into the game later without the Sims having any foreknowledge of what the objects were, as long as they had these pheromones."

Romero began to ask Wright if he thought actual humans might somehow work this way, but stopped himself. He was probably picturing the audience as a group of hideous ant people, or imagining he could see clouds of pheromones wafting about. Even the guy who thought up the Doom demon would be grossed out by that.

Will Wright explains what The Sims and an ant colony have in common originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright's 'Bar Karma' TV show formally announced

David Hinkle — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Will Wright and ex-Nickelodeon president Albie Hecht have teamed up with Current TV to create a new show -- this much we knew. Now we know what it's called: Bar Karma.

According to the announcement, the series will put viewers "in control via an online application," which runs on technology created by Wright, called "Current TV's Creation Studios." Through this app, users (who register via the site) weigh in on "a rough outline" for the week's show and are able to contribute "storylines, plots and have direct communication with the production team." Viewers browse and merge ideas, voting on final proposals, before the production team turns the audience's vision into a 30-minute episode.

"We will be taking our cues from the viewers, working with them and then quickly producing high quality, original content," said Hecht. "This is truly a paradigm-changing project that will showcase the creativity of the general public in shaping a television series." Bar Karma is set to premiere sometime in early 2011.

Will Wright's 'Bar Karma' TV show formally announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright gifts design docs and personal papers to Museum of Play

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:15:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

We already knew that Super Fun Club's Will Wright was a swell guy, but his recent donation of "personal papers and design documents" to the Strong National Museum of Play places him firmly is really swell guy territory. The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) -- an institution within the museum -- has collected nine notebooks from Wright, featuring "original drawings, sketches, and notes for four of his SimCity, The Sims, and Spore games." Some of his donation will be on display this coming November as part of the "eGameRevolution" exhibit on the museum's second floor, for those interested in taking a peek.

ICHEG director Jon-Paul Dyson spoke of the donation in a statement (via 1UP), "These papers document the creative process behind some of the most important games of our time. They have transformed our society, and we are pleased to preserve this record of how Wright created them." Wright lavished the ICHEG with equal praise, saying, "I know of no other institution that is covering the topic as comprehensively as they are."

Wright's work will otherwise be housed alongside an enormous arcade collection -- what the ICHEG deems "the most significant games ever manufactured -- from Computer Space (1971) and Pong (1972) to Space Invaders (1978) and Pac-Man (1980) to Donkey Kong (1981) and Tetris (1988)" -- as well as an over 10,000-strong console game library. In other news, we totally know we're going when the Zombie Apocalypse goes down.

Will Wright gifts design docs and personal papers to Museum of Play originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright's Current TV show shooting pilot this week

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Will Wright and his Stupid Fun Club have a handful of projects in the works -- this much we know. And today, one of those projects became a bit more official: a television show for Current TV. According to a Current TV representative, Wright is working on "an original show" for the network. The pilot is being filmed this week just across the East River in Brooklyn (if you also happen to be in Manhattan).

The show is presumably the not so well-guarded project that was detailed earlier this year, "The Creation Project," which reportedly relies on user-created storylines. (Wright has at least one more TV project in the pipeline.) We invite you to tell your own stories from the set photos seen in the gallery below.

Gallery: Will Wright's Current TV project (on set)

Will Wright's Current TV show shooting pilot this week originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA registers trademark for Spore's possible evil twin, 'Darkspore'

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:30:00 EST

Oh, sure, Spore's a nice enough guy. But ... don't you sometimes wish he had a bad streak? You've always been attracted to the lone wolf, the rebel, the ne'er-do-well -- that goody-two-shoes Spore wouldn't know the first thing about satisfying your desire for unwholesome behavior. You know who does? His edgy twin brother, Darkspore.

At least, we're assuming EA's recently registered trio of trademarks for "Darkspore," discovered by Superannuation, are reserving the title for the franchise's next, considerably darker iteration. Is it possibly the Spore title hinted at in EA's Q3 2010 financial report? Or is it an unexpected evil twin, making a soap operatic surprise entrance? Only time (and possibly EA's press conference at E3) will tell.

EA registers trademark for Spore's possible evil twin, 'Darkspore' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 May 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Miyamoto on retirement and the Wii's innovation

Mike Schramm — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:00:00 EST

At age 57, you might think Shigeru Miyamoto would be taking it easy -- maybe plunking a few coins into his 401k, or taking to the garden to plant a few Fire Flowers. But not Shiggy, who tells gamesTM that retirement isn't an option quite yet. While Nintendo "has to retire me some time," he says, "I look around and see how aged cartoonists continue to work on their manga and how movie directors create new movies all the time, I understand that they would never retire. And by the same token, I guess I will still be making games somehow."

Miyamoto also mentions Super Mario Galaxy 2, and says that the first numbered sequel in years was supposed to be version 1.5, but "we noticed that there were too many new experiences for it to be merely an incremental update." He gracefully refuses to comment on others' work, but affirms that Nintendo goal is "to provide fun and surprise" in video games, not merely to see "who can come up with the most violent depictions." Miyamoto says that the motion control mania going on with other consoles proves that Wii is "the de facto standard of the industry's control mechanisms," and new innovations, like the upcoming Vitality Sensor, are announced "only after being able to confirm internally that it is something that the general public will be able to appreciate." First we need to see just what the heck it does before we can start talking appreciation!

And while almost every game developer out there has been influenced by Shigeru Miyamoto, who's impressed him? "Mr. Will Wright," he admits, "is a very unique person and someone very special." Maybe Miyamoto's taking notes on Wright's retirement, too: He's still having Stupid Fun after leaving the corporate life.

[Via Industry Gamers]

Miyamoto on retirement and the Wii's innovation originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright to produce Science Channel programming

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:29:00 EST

Following the reveal of Will Wright's reported, user-generated television venture with Current TV, the sporadic game designer has signed a deal with Science Channel, part of the Discovery network, to create original programming with interactive online elements. The Hollywood Reporter describes the partnership as encompassing series and specials for Science covering stupid fun topics like time travel, other worlds and the future. "I want to take the way he engages an audience in gaming and bring that into a show," Science Channel GM Debbie Myers said.

"Gaming is a rich and compelling way to tell a great story," Wright added. "I am so excited to bring that mindset to TV projects."

With that mindset could come Wright's tendency to incubate his projects for prolonged development cycles. Luckily, the proposed topics for his Science shows fit right in with this strategy. Should he ever get that time machine running, Wright could journey back to our time and tell us all about the future. We'd watch that.

[Via Gamasutra]

Will Wright to produce Science Channel programming originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright to produce reality show with user-created storylines

Mike Schramm — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST

That sneaky Will Wright always seems to be working on something amazing and/or secret, but this one caught us by surprise: His next project is actually a television show. He's working on The Creation Project in conjunction with Current, and eventually the show will involve viewers picking and choosing different storylines that will eventually be produced as two half-hour episodes of a real TV show.

According to leaked planning documents, there's a big online and mobile component with the show as well, including a possible tool that would allow users to make and discuss their own storyboards. Of course, all of this is still in the planning stages, but that's okay -- it gives us plenty of time to work on our script about a game developer whose game is just too brilliant to be good. It'll be a hit for sure.

Will Wright to produce reality show with user-created storylines originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright predicts social games will grow to 25 percent of market

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:45:00 EST

One of the big trends at this year's Game Developer's Conference is social gaming, thanks to wild success stories like Facebook-powered Farmville. While many see social gaming as the next big thing, Will Wright -- famed creator of SimCity, The Sims and Spore -- warned GDC attendees that expectations for the genre are unrealistic. "What people tend to do is apply a power curve to this," Wright explained using the above diagram. "And so when you make an extrapolation based upon that, you're really way off, when in fact, what we were really looking at was an S-curve."

"It gets a lot of attention, of course, because investors, when they're looking to invest in something, they're looking to invest in the steep part of this curve. And so that's why there's so much business interest in this sort of platform," Wright hypothesized.

But don't think your mom is going to suddenly lose interest in raising animals on her virtual farm any time soon. In fact, while the genre may not explode, it will ultimately represent a large percentage of the overall games business. "It's not that I don't think social games are going to be big ... I can imagine them doing about the quarter of the market, really." That's good news for Facebook, which is still looking for its Mario, its "iconic" game.

Will Wright predicts social games will grow to 25 percent of market originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright on the Wii's toy-like sensibilities

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:30:00 EST

Speaking to IndustryGamers in a pre-GDC interview, industry veteran Will Wright shared his thoughts on the Wii and where it fits in the current video game market. According to Wright, the Wii offers an experience that is "clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation." Specifically, he stated that the Wii differs from its console brothers in that it doesn't generally cater to long, in depth experiences. Rather, said Wright, the Wii offers "fun toys to pick up and start playing in five minutes." He added, "It really is more into what I would call the toy market."

Elaborating, Wright said that all consoles will have a "specifically defined niche" and that Nintendo actively decided to approach the Wii in a different way. He stated that Nintendo opted not to directly compete with the hardcore sensibilities of FPS-heavy consoles like the Xbox 360. "I think it's kind of cool that they decided to go off and find a different sandbox to play in," said Wright, "I think it's been very good for the industry."

Hit the source link for more excerpts from the interview.

Will Wright on the Wii's toy-like sensibilities originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marble Madness creator Mark Cerny to be inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:44:00 EST

It may have been a quarter century since Mark Cerny's groundbreaking arcade game Marble Madness was first developed, but this year the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences will give the influential developer an induction into its Hall of Fame. On February 18 in Las Vegas, Cerny will become the 13th member of the AIAS' small club -- a club that includes development bigwigs like Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto, among others.

For those of you who don't know, Cerny's been hard at work behind the scenes of some of our favorite games throughout the years. The developer's had a hand in everything from Sonic 2 through God of War 3, with his influential "Cerny Method" of tenacious development being passed down to modern day big boys like Insomniac's Ted Price and Naughty Dog's Evan Wells. "Mark has left an indelible mark on all of the games he's been a part of, the developers that he's collaborated with, and most importantly the individuals that he's worked along-side of," Wells said in the press release (warning: PDF link). For Cerny's part, he said he's "thrilled to accept this award" and humbly offloaded some respect to past colleagues that he's "had the pleasure to work with over the years." We're looking forward to witnessing the "Cerny Method" in action during his acceptance speech, wherein he only allows himself 30 seconds to catch our interest before reevaluating the entire thing.

Marble Madness creator Mark Cerny to be inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright's Stupid Fun Club has three projects that you can't see

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST

Former EA Maxis head Will Wright and his Stupid Fun Club are hard at work on a handful of ideas "that cross a lot of different boundaries." During a recent conversation with VentureBeat, the creator of SimCity and its reticulating splines said his new venture is currently working on three projects, even saying one could see the light of day as soon as "six months to a year" from now.

He says the projects span from the world of toys to the information superhighway we all know and love. His gushing on the subject of the Internet continues when he says, "Every product that we are working on has a web component ... the web is like the connective tissue in entertainment today." With any luck, we'll hear more about his startup's upcoming work when he delivers the opening keynote at next February's Engage! Expo and Toy Fair.

Will Wright's Stupid Fun Club has three projects that you can't see originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey: Developers still worship Miyamoto, Blow too

Jason Dobson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:15:00 EST

Luminary Shigeru Miyamoto hasn't lost his shimmer in the eyes of game developers, with a recent industry poll finding the Nintendo icon to be without equal. The survey, commissioned by organizers of next month's Develop Conference, asked 9,000 devs to name their game development hero, with nearly a third of respondents pointing to Miyamoto as the man with the plan.

The popularity contest also named id Software's John Carmack as the next most idealized developer, followed by Maxis and now Stupid Fun Club brainpan Will Wright. The top ten list of industry highlights was rounded out by Braid dev Jonathan Blow, who's likely too busy rewinding time (to see if he can somehow land higher on the ballot) to care.

Survey: Developers still worship Miyamoto, Blow too originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over 100 million creatures made in Spore

JC Fletcher — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:34:00 EST

Since the release of Spore -- in fact, before the release of Spore, thanks to the Creature Creator -- players have brought new life into the fake world over 100 million times. According to Spore Illustrated, the Spore community crossed the 100-million threshold on April 29. "There was a massive flood of entries right at the 100 million mark," SI said. "An estimated 90,000 creatures were uploaded just after 2pm in an attempt to make a mark in Spore game history. EA will reveal the history-making 100 millionth monster soon. [Update: And it has!]

Of course, that number doesn't include banned products of the massive worldwide Spore penis monster team (otherwise known as every teenager with a copy of Spore), but presumably does include the millions of monsters who look just different enough from wangs to avoid notice.

[Via Kotaku]

Over 100 million creatures made in Spore originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 May 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mr. T and Will Wright team up against Nazis in ZootFly game

Justin McElroy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST

Seriously, guys and gals: Brace your asses for this one. ZootFly (which made its name with a now-halted Ghostbusters project) is making a game based on tough-talking, chain-wearing icon Mr.T.

But that's not even the good part. Here are some actual words from the actual press release we got, with liberal underlining and bolding: "The first game will see Mr. T take on Nazis and their gigantic machines in the varied universe of South American rain forests, lost ancient cities, industrial complexes and contemporary military installations. Along with Mr. T and other characters from the graphic novel, the game will feature none other than Will Wright. In this universe, Will Wright is not a top-notch game designer but a top-notch American geneticist who was kidnapped and coerced to work on a diabolic plan. Mr. T and Will Wright will join forces to annihilate the Nazis and their hardware."

We think we speak for the entire internet when we say nothing, and urinate on ourselves.

Mr. T and Will Wright team up against Nazis in ZootFly game originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright involved in the future of Spore, consoles a possibility

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EST

Ex-EA employee and enormously popular developer Will Wright is apparently only halfway out of EA's doors. Talking with GameDaily, Wright confirmed his intention to stay on as a consultant for EA Maxis (the development team behind Spore). Saying, "I'm spending a certain amount of time every month actually working with the Spore team on future versions of Spore and expansions," Wright (seemingly for the first time) announced his plans beyond his work with upcoming venture, the Stupid Fun Club.

Additionally, Wright commented on the possibility of console iterations of Spore, frankly stating, "For us it's really an opportunity/cost issue ... we either do that [consoles] or we continue creating new applications on the PC or we kind of go into the handheld arena." Guess he forgot about that upcoming Wii title, Spore Hero! While we're looking forward to what Wright's next move is with SFC, it's good to hear the man behind Spore is still helping to develop the game moving forward. The money problem doesn't hurt either, eh?

Will Wright involved in the future of Spore, consoles a possibility originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maxis talks about Wright's departure; Will talks Stupid Fun Club

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:04:00 EST

Will Wright's announcement that he was kind of leaving EA this week took the gaming community by surprise. Unsurprisingly though, Wright says the move was planned over the course of the last year with EA. "It's something that we've been in talks with EA for almost a year ... it's kind of a long-term plan and I was just in no hurry to do it," he told GameSpot. Lucy Bradshaw, VP and general manager at EA Maxis, echoed Wright's statements, telling GameDaily it's been a "life-long dream [for Wright to have a] small nucleus think tank."

Funded by EA and venture capitalists, Stupid Fun Club is setting out not to develop just new games but to develop new IP across multiple mediums. Wright calls his vision of the club the "evolution of the entertainment industry," using Marvel and LucasArts as reference points and saying, "If I'm into Star Wars or Lost, I might go to the website or buy the toys .... It's the IP that really matters, that strand of consistency and quality through it." We've certainly heard this tune before, though never from such an acclaimed developer. It remains to be seen just how "stupid fun" Mr. Wright's club actually is, but we'll remain hopeful for now.

Source 1 - GameDaily
Source 2 - GameSpot

Maxis talks about Wright's departure; Will talks Stupid Fun Club originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright leaves EA, mostly

JC Fletcher — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST

Legendary game designer Will Wright is leaving his position as the head of EA-owned Maxis, to do what most people at his level of success do: whatever he wants. Wright will be focusing on his Stupid Fun Club think tank, working to develop new IPs across multiple media -- IPs which EA will then have the option to pay him for.

"The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change," Wright said. "Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms."

EA has a share in Stupid Fun Club equal to Wright's, while a third, unnamed investor has a smaller stake in the company. EA has the first rights to anything Stupid Fun Club comes up with. The new organization has yet to announce any projects.

Source - GameDaily
Source - MTV Multiplayer

Will Wright leaves EA, mostly originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries

Joystiq Staff — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:54:00 EST

From L to R: Rob Pardo, Dave Perry, Neil Young, Gary Whitta, Brian Fargo, Will Wright, and Warren Spector

Story contributed by N. Evan Van Zelfden

Imagine sitting at lunch with Will Wright, Neil Young, and Warren Spector. They're each eating, laughing, and talking about game design with animation and enthusiasm. On the other side of the table are David Perry, Rob Pardo, and Brian Fargo.

Collectively, you have the founder of Interplay, Blizzard's top designer, the father of Earthworm Jim, the man credited with Deus Ex, an iPhone pioneer, and the mind behind Spore - guided in discussion by screenwriter and former game journalist Garry Whitta.

Also at the table, a dozen of the top game industry journalists sit quietly, taking notes and typing into small laptops. And excellent food is entirely secondary: it's the conversation that matters at this luncheon.

Continue reading GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries

GDC09: Joystiq lunches with gaming luminaries originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Wright to keynote SIGGRAPH 2009

Jason Dobson — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:06:00 EST

There's just something about Will Wright that makes us melt. His choice in games. His geeky good looks. His ability to play god. Whatever it is, maybe the esteemed game designer will shed some light on our infatuation when he takes the stage as the keynote speaker at SIGGRAPH 2009.

His presence marks an "expanded" gaming focus for the CGI tech fest, which normally centers on what's new and bleeding edge with all things graphics. The topic of Wright's discussion has not yet been released, though we'll be listening with bated breath when the show opens its doors in New Orleans in early August.

Will Wright to keynote SIGGRAPH 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spore Galactic Adventures vids show new game editing features

Jem Alexander — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

If you're a Spore fan then you're probably already aware that the best thing about the game was the creation tools, which allowed you to make your own aliens, buildings and vehicles. Spore Galactic Adventures, the upcoming expansion pack, looks to add more of these to the game, not only allowing you to create your own customized planets but also to build an entire game, LittleBigPlanet style.

Check out the videos after the break to see these new editor features in action. Perhaps some playable user generated content will make up for the disappointing gameplay in the original title.

Continue reading Spore Galactic Adventures vids show new game editing features

Spore Galactic Adventures vids show new game editing features originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Warm Up: Spore (Heroes)

Alisha Karabinus — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Wii Warm Up

What? Spore on Wii? We thought it had disappeared completely, and after Spore failed to take the world by storm when it was released, we ... well, we kind of forgot all about it. Will Wright didn't forget, though, and Spore for Wii has resurfaced, only now it's going to be Spore Heroes and not a port of Spore itself, like the DS version. And speaking of the DS, another game is apparently slated for the handheld, as a companion: Spore Heroes Arena. Details are slim at the moment, but that doesn't matter; what does matter is how you feel about this development. Interested?

Wii Warm Up: Spore (Heroes) originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spore, Shiggy honored with Jim Henson awards

Ross Miller — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:55:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Mac, PC, Nintendo Wii

Shigeru Miyamoto and Spore have been recognized by The Jim Henson Company as part of their annual "Jim Henson Honors" awards. The legendary game designer was bestowed the Celebration Honor, which goes to an "individual, organization or product that makes the world a better place by inspiring people to celebrate life." Mario, Donkey, Wii ... yeah, you know the drill.

As for Spore, it took home the Technology Honor, probably because it allowed everyone to create their favorite Star Wars characters or giant penis monsters. The other not so game-related awards went to artist Shepard Falrey (Creativity Honor) and the Center for Puppetry Arts Distance Learning Center (Community Honor).

Congratulations to everyone. We can't think of a better way to celebrate than with the video after the break.

Gallery: One week with Spore Creatures

Continue reading Spore, Shiggy honored with Jim Henson awards

Spore, Shiggy honored with Jim Henson awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VGA 2008: Will Wright's got a new project, he's not talking

Justin McElroy — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:20:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

This won't come as a surprise, but we're betting it'll do your spirits well. Will Wright just told us, "I'm working on a big new project that I'm very excited about, but I don't want to talk about it yet because if it takes three years to come out I don't want people saying 'Wow, he's been talking about that for a loooong time.'"

Jeez Will, you sound like a guy who's had a little (read: a decade) of experience with that.

VGA 2008: Will Wright's got a new project, he's not talking originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA reveals new Space expansion for Spore, confirms Creepy and Cute pack

Justin McElroy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Mac, PC, Simulations

EA confirmed that they're working on two different expansions for Will Wright's universe-in-a-hard-drive Spore this morning, both the previously revealed Spore: Creepy and Cute Parts pack and a new expansion for the game's "Space" phase, which is already exponentially larger than its co-levels.

Expect Cute and Creepy to add around 100 new parts -- some cute and cartoonish, some monster-like. "Cute" and "creepy" is fine as a title, but at a price of $19.95 those parts had better be nauseatingly adorable and perversely horrifying. It's due on Nov. 18 and will also work for those who only own the Spore Creature Creator.

The untitled Space expansion won't arrive until spring of 2009, but it sounds substantially meatier than the parts pack. According to EA, "players' space faring creatures will be able to beam down from their spaceships to explore new planets and earn rewards for completing challenging missions" and "a new Adventure Creator will allow players to build and share online their own custom missions."

So, yeah, EA is flogging Will Wright's new creation. If this comes as a surprise, we'd kindly direct you to the Sims aisles of your local game store.

EA reveals new Space expansion for Spore, confirms Creepy and Cute pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA store reveal Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack

Ross Miller — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:40:00 EST

Filed under: Mac, PC, Simulations

Well, that was fast. With just over a month since Will Wright's Spore was released to the masses, a listing has popped up on Electronic Arts' online store for Spore: Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, something we've known to be coming since our E3 2008 interview. You can currently pre-order the expansion, available as direct download for $19.95 on Tuesday, November 18, though that could change. Are you ready for an onslaught of creepier (and cuter) penis creatures?

[Thanks, TechNick]

EA store reveal Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spore sells a million copies, 25 million entries in Sporepedia

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mac, PC, Simulations, Casual

What do you know, people actually did pay for Spore. EA recently announced that its DRM-riffic title Spore has sold one million copies worldwide across PC, Mac and DS platforms. The publisher also stated that 25 million creatures, vehicles and buildings have evolved in the Sporepedia.

Not that there was any doubt that Spore would ever reach the million sold mark, but whether its "mile wide, inch deep" gameplay brings it The Sims level of success remains to be revealed.

Spore sells a million copies, 25 million entries in Sporepedia originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spore census results: Editors, Creatures and Space loved, Tribal loathed

Ross Miller — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Features, Mac, PC, Polls

Last week we asked you, dear reader, to tell us what precisely you liked did not like about Will Wright's "SimEverything" Spore (now also known as a beacon of DRM debate). The results are in, and overwhelmingly Space and Creature phases were voted as favorites, while conversely, the Tribal phase was voted least favorite.

We also took the average score, from 1 to 5, as voted on each individual phase and the editors, and the editors were by and large ranked highest (4.37 out of 5), with Creature phase and Cell phase following behind it (3.72 and 3.51, respectively). The Civilization phase had 3.08, while the Tribal phase earned low marks at 2.26 out of 5.

As for the editors themselves, the Creature / Outfitter mode ranked much higher than the others, with 68.6% of respondents reporting it as their favorite. Conversely, the building editor was voted "least favorite" by almost identical margins (67.75%). Read on for the full semi-statistical breakdown.

Continue reading Spore census results: Editors, Creatures and Space loved, Tribal loathed

Spore census results: Editors, Creatures and Space loved, Tribal loathed originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spore creatures join anti-DRM protest

Ludwig Kietzmann — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mac, PC, Simulations

Not content with authoring scathing reviews on Amazon, several gamers outraged by EA's approach to DRM in Will Wright's everything sim, Spore, have decided to evolve their line of protest. GameCulture has dug up several amusing, user-created creatures from the game's galaxy, all of them brandishing rather unsubtle traits -- despite lacking traditional faces, it's clear that they frown upon the game's three-install limit.

Regardless of your thoughts on the whole matter, we're pleased to see the promise of user-generated content fulfilled in such an interesting, self-referential way.

[Via GamePolitics]

Spore creatures join anti-DRM protest originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BigDownload has 'Ten Reasons to Avoid Spore'

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Strategy

Ten reasons to read "Ten Reasons to Avoid Spore", a recent feature on BigDownload:

Because you want to read an even-handed look at the game's flaws before deciding whether or not it's worth a purchase.
Because it's presented in visually pleasing Gallery-o-vision.
Because you're Will Wright, and you enjoy criticizing your latest game's criticisms.
Because it was written by gaming industry newcomer, Perez Hilton.
Because BigDownload is totally wrong and you can't wait to inform them of this in their comments.
Because you've already installed and removed the game three times, so you've got nothing better to do.
Because we were joking about it being written by Perez Hilton.
Because it has pictures. Big, beautiful pictures.
Because we asked you very nicely to read it, and it's our birthday.
Because you appreciate literature that criticizes a game you believe was crafted by Beelzebub.

Gallery: 10 Reasons to Avoid Spore

BigDownload has 'Ten Reasons to Avoid Spore' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Metareview: Spore Creatures

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Metareview

With all the current hype surrounding Spore, even ardent DS fanboys such as ourselves have to strain to recall Spore Creatures. It looks like a totally different game to its PC counterpart, and we quite enjoyed it when we went hands-on at GDC '08. So which is it: the sleek, refined alpha member of its species, or a sloppy afterthought of a game, heading for history's rubbish bin? We copied and pasted some other people's thoughts to find out!

IGN (78%) gave the game one of its better reviews, praising its sense of fun and creativity: "Spore Creatures isn't intended as a replacement for the core PC Spore experience -- it's meant to compliment that design with a unique experience that lifts many of the core elements. And for the most part it succeeds in that task: this is a fun, involved, albeit more linear DS experience with a few quirks that get in the way, but even with those quirks it's great to experience a game on the more limited handheld with a similar sense of creativity that PC gamers will have in Spore."

Eurogamer (5/10) isn't so keen, arguing the game is crippled by its linear nature: "What it doesn't offer is any sort of Free Play option where you can do your own thing. You can indulge your creative desires or you can play the game. You can't really do both at the same time in any satisfying way, which suggests that "linear action adventure" simply wasn't the right direction to take the Spore concept for its handheld outing."

GameSpot's (65%) Kevin VanOrd just couldn't emotionally bond with his creations: "It's still a cute adventure across multiple planets, and it features a pared-down version of the creature creation tool that helped make the PC release such a success. It has some annoying quirks, and it won't inspire an emotional connection between you and your digital doppelganger, but Spore Creatures is still a pleasant diversion and an appealing, if ordinary, companion to its bigger brother."

This post is a part of our Metareview category, but we also like reviewing things ourselves, and making sure our voice is heard. We're conceited and self-absorbed like that.

Metareview: Spore Creatures originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon's Spore reviews vanish in 'glitch', return soon after

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Mac, PC, Simulations

We're not sure if Amazon is secretly displeased with its recent transformation from major online retailer to caustic protester staging ground. Gamers dissatisfied with Spore's "draconian" digital rights management attacked the game's reputation en masse earlier this week, dragging its user rating down and posting scathing reviews targeted at the three-installation limit imposed by the included SecuROM software. The slate was suspiciously wiped clean today, only to be restored moments before the publishing of this article.

Glitch, or conspiracy? As much as we'd like to point to the latter, Amazon tells us it was nothing more than a "site glitch." Says Amazon: "Amazon did not knowingly or consciously choose to remove the reviews. The team is working on resolving this issue now and restoring all the reviews on the site.

"Per our policy, Amazon doesn't censor or edit customer reviews and we'd only remove a review if it fell outside our guidelines." Regardless, we hope Spore publisher EA has heard the angry cries of legitimate game owners entangled in an anti-piracy net.

[Thanks to everyone who panicked and sent this in!]

Continue reading Amazon's Spore reviews vanish in 'glitch', return soon after

Amazon's Spore reviews vanish in 'glitch', return soon after originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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