Will Wright
Siggraph 2009 video: Will Wright vs. Mike Tyson
Sep 3rd
I’ve been waiting for this video ever since I heard mumblings about it during coverage of the Siggraph 2009 event. Finally found it on GamesTrailer. Not the best quality, but you can still make out that’s it’s Will Wright. Better cover your ears, Will. Heard Mike say they taste like chicken!
While this doesn’t show off the whole fight, from what I read it ends with Will Wright knocking down Mike Tyson FTW!
Ant lovers unite – an discussion with E.O. Wilson and Will Wright
Aug 31st
Head on over to wbur.org where you can catch a short article between Will Wright and biologist E.O. Wilson discussing the topics of ants. Wilson was the main source of inspiration when it came to Will designing SimAnt, so he was pleased to speak with him during an ‘Open Mic’ segment.
Always fascinated with biology and evolution, Wright had many scientific questions for Wilson when the spoke for Open Mic — but, Wright said, he was excited to find out that what Wilson really wanted to talk about was games.
Wright wasn’t completely surprised. One of Wilson’s goals has been to “unify science with disciplines such as the humanities,” Wright said. “He is one of the few scientists who really has the guts to do that.”
So the first question he asked Wilson was if he saw a role for games in the educational process.
“I’ll go to an even more radical position,” Wilson said. “I think games are the future in education. We’re going through a rapid transition now. We’re about to leave print and textbooks behind.”
Siggraph 2009 – Official post of Will Wright; pics and images
Aug 6th
I have been doing my best to keep track of the various article, videos and images from Will Wright’s keynote speech held earlier this week during Siggraph 2009. Should of been smart and created an official post earlier – but I don’t think, I act (which is why I probably always end up saying/doing things incredibly stupid).
This thread is for the various articles, images and videos from his keynote that I found while surfing the net. Make sure you click ‘continue reading’ to view them all! And keep checking back, as I’ll be adding to it as soon as more content is made available!
Oh and what makes it official….ummm…no reason, just decided to toss that word in :P
- 8/6/09 9:22 PM CST – Fixed broken images, added a few more
- 8/6/09 12:47 PM CST – Added article from CGW
- 8/6/09 8:34 AM CST – Added video about the ‘Cuteness Scale’
- 8/6/09 8:33 AM CST – Added images
- 8/6/09 8:19 AM CST – Added link to CGSociety article
- 8/6/09 8:08 AM CST – Added link to ControlAltTV article
- 8/6/09 8:03 AM CST – Added video of Will Wright podcast interview
- 8/6/09 8:02 AM CST – Added links to articles from Variety, Virtual World News, Icrontic, Reuters, Gamasutra
- 8/6/09 8:01 AM CST – Post created
Gamasutra – SIGGRAPH: Wright Talks Perception And ‘Entertaining The Hive Mind’
Aug 6th
Of course, Maxis’ experience with The Sims and Spore back this up. User created content was not core to The Sims, but it was useful. “We had 100,000 user created assets in a few years,” said Wright. “So for Spore, we decided to look at how of the artistic process can be automated and then use the technology to make (content creation) more fun and improve our content overall.”
The success of this strategy was immediately clear after the release of the Spore Creature Creator before the game was even released. The Sims‘ high water mark of 100,000 assets after several years was beaten in 22 hours, and a million assets were created in a week.
“This proved that the value point was in the data,” said Wright. “The goal became to move that data into different directions” These directions included opening up the Spore API and allowing creators to move their models out of the game via Maya format export.
“The data becomes the hub for other experiences,” he added. “The IP sits on the data model and the community a data hub for entertainment moving forward. The game becomes a tool set for creativity.” Says Wright.
Gamasutra – SIGGRAPH: Wright Talks Perception And ‘Entertaining The Hive Mind’
“The Sims” creator eyes the world beyond games
Aug 6th
Wright, 49, said he was fascinating by watching gamers using the editing tools provided with “Spore” to make over 100 million user-generated alien species, space ships and even design games.
“We’re taking the idea that you can have a million people engaged not just in entertainment, but also have them creating huge amounts of content for other people to experience,” said Wright.
“The question is how can you transfer that to other fields besides games,” he added, while refusing to divulge the details of the project he is working on.
In an industry that has more failures than successes, Wright has distinguished himself in the game world by attracting mainstream audiences to his creations.
Still no news of his upcoming projects with the Stupid Fun Club (we should know of a few by the end of the year), but Reuters published a new article on Will Wrights 2009 Siggraph keynote.
Icrontic – Will Wright SIGGRAPH 2009 Keynote
Aug 5th
Another article popped up from Will Wrights keynote during Siggraph 2009 yesterday, thanks to Icrontic.
Will suggests that consumers really don’t care how they receive media. He compared his iPhone screen size to that of an iMax screen. The difference, of course, was staggering, but Will thinks that despite the difference in clarity and detail, users become too distracted by tech to be concerned by such an unimportant detail. Our phones can show us a movie while we text a friend, which can be done while watching television, listening to music, and surfing the internet on a laptop. The point is, we bombard our senses with media today, and this has led to the creation of a collective hive mind, meaning a massive body of unified thought over a large group of people.
Virtual World News – Will Wright and his LOLcat (Siggraph 2009)
Aug 4th
Of course, it had to start in typical Will Wright style — quirky, unpredictable, and sometimes deafening in intellectual/pseudo-intellectual depth — by focusing not on a game or a toy or a theory, but on a cat.
Yes, it was Will’s own kitty, Aragon, who dominated the introduction to his future vision of entertainment. And for good reason: Wright’s point with showing off pics of Aragon were not so much to convince us that Aragon was cute, or more or less cuter than any other kitty, but that certain cat traits and ways of photographing cats that accentuate those traits act on our perceptions and result in the conclusion that kitty A, B, or C is the prettiest of the bunch –- “it’s not that Aragon is cute, it’s the picture that is cute.”
Must find picture of Aragon…wonder if Will submits any content to ICanHasCheezburger…must resist urge…too much cuteness at site….
The following article (taken from his speech at Siggraph 2009) can be read in it’s entirely over at Virtual World News
Variety – Will Wright speaks on the ‘entertainment designer’ at Siggraph 2009
Aug 4th
In his Siggraph day-two keynote address, “Spore” creator Will Wright laid out the beginnings of a “unified theory of entertainment” and challenged the gathering to look toward a future where different forms of entertainment are created by a single “entertainment designer.”"Imagine we had a group of people who designed houses and that’s all they did, and another group of people who design skyscrapers, and another group of people who design factories — but we did not have the concept of the architect. In entertainment, it kind of feels that way. We have filmmakers over here, game designers over there. Musicians down here.”
He said “mood management theory” gives a hint at how entertainment works at the deepest level.
Viewers choose what to watch or listen to alter their mood, often in ways they aren’t conscious of. “Basically enjoying this content is causing certain brain states to occur, releasing certain hormones, endorphins and neurotransmitters in their brain. So in some sense we are drug dealers,” said Wright, getting a big laugh from his audience.
Once again, Will does another fine job at grabbing my attention and then totally confusing me as he continues to speak. I just nod my head up and down and agree with whatever he says in the end. :P
Check out the rest of the article – Spore spouts ‘unified theory’ at confab
TheAtlantic.com presents ‘Will Wright: The Gamemaker’
Jul 31st
Is it just me or is it true that whenever Will Wright speaks, you’re instantly hooked to listen to what he has to say. If he told me to go jump off a bridge today, I’d probably be dumb enough to do so – that’s how hooked I am! Luckily I think I’m safe as I don’t think I’ll get the chance to meet him again, but if I do, I’m wearing a parachute! Have a listen what what Wright has to say with the following video filmed at the Aspen Ideas Festival:
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