Forums > News > Wright-ing the world
Ronald Diemicke (1181) on 11/1/2006 4:34 PM · Permalink · Report
The New Yorker posted a profile of EA's Will Wright, creator of such time consuming black holes as SimCity and The Sims. It's a pretty comprehensive article about Wright, his new game Spore, and a number of relevant milestones in the industry. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in any of the aforementioned.
One of the things that really struck me is the comparison of The Sims to a dollhouse. I'd never really considered it a replacement for an age old tradition (actually playing with dolls, in this case) and it really got me thinking that a lot of these building games are taking old concepts from childhood and are refining them. I remember putting train sets together and you could make the compassion that games like Rollercoaster Tycoon do the same thing. Can anyone think of any games that either supplement or replace childhood games or experiences? Are there any that anyone can think of that would maker particularly good games?
Matt Neuteboom (976) on 11/1/2006 8:48 PM · Permalink · Report
People say that WoW almost replaces DnD on a level, but I don't neccesarily think thats true.
Theres tons of other simulators out there that do quite well though. In some way RTSs have replaced setting up your army men all over the house. FPSs have somewhat replaced cops and robbers or tag (now you really CAN shoot your friends). You can pretty much take any childhood game and replace it with video game AI nowadays.
Riamus (8480) on 11/1/2006 11:23 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Matt Neuteboom wrote--]People say that WoW almost replaces DnD on a level, but I don't neccesarily think thats true.[/Q --end Matt Neuteboom wrote--]
WoW might be a role playing game, but... 1) It doesn't use any D&D or AD&D rules (or at least not officially), 2) It has not DM. Those 2 points are enough to make me say that it isn't a replacement of D&D.
However, I might say that Neverwinter Nights could be considered such a replacement. It is based on AD&D rules (3.0 rules, I believe, with the upcoming version having 3.5 rules) and it allows for a DM.
Matt Neuteboom (976) on 11/2/2006 2:52 AM · Permalink · Report
Right, I agree with the WoW thing. A lot of people based it off of the thing that you have languages and how well the voices and emoticons are done. However, they are rarely ever used, which his a shame because using them really adds a lot to the gameplay.
I was going to buy Neverwinter Nights, but I never got around too it. Now I think its a bit late. If they ever release a newer version I might get into it.
Ronald Diemicke (1181) on 11/2/2006 3:08 PM · Permalink · Report
Heh... funny you mention that you'd be interested in a newer version of Neverwinter Nights as Neverwinter Nights 2 was JUST released on Tuesday I believe. Definitely give it a look.
Riamus (8480) on 11/2/2006 8:13 PM · Permalink · Report
Yes, it was just released. Based on the information on their site, though, I don't think anything really changed in the game except the editor. And I was never good at making games/mods anyhow (I don't have patience to sit for hours trying to get all the scripting done well enough), so I'm not sure it's worth getting.
Riamus (8480) on 11/2/2006 8:16 PM · Permalink · Report
I really enjoyed that article. Especially the bits about Spore. It's strange that the author made so many comments about Will Wright's smoking habit. Not that I like smoking, but it's strange to put so much emphasis on it.
I also found it strange that the article quoted from the first released video of Spore (GDC? I think... or maybe a different one). Maybe he was really there for that presentation... maybe he just quoted it.
Still, it was a good read.