There is no gamer who would not hear about a series of games called The Sims. Millions of fans around the world don’t dwell in this simulator. The wild popularity and huge profit from sales made the creator of the "dollhouse" one of the most prominent figures in the gaming industry. Will Wright, and it is about him in question, independently invented and developed the concept of this simulator. We will talk about the life of this person in our article.
Wright Will. Biography
The future creator of The Sims was born in Atlanta, back in 1960, and lived there until 1969. At the age of 9, after the death of his father, who died of leukemia, he moved with his family to Baton Rouge, in Los Angeles. In 1976, Will entered the University of Louisiana and, after two years of study, transferred to the Technical University. During these years, the developer studies architecture, robotics, engineering, and computers. And in each of these disciplines he achieves great success, although he does not receive a scientific degree. Already in 1980, Will transferred to the University of Manhattan, but he studied there for only a year. And there was a special reason.
Love changes everything
Until that time, Jill Jones was just the sister of his best friend. But having met this girl again, Will fell in love with unconsciousness. Having dropped out, Will and his girlfriend went to conquer sunny California. They settled in Auckland, where Wright took up the development of games, and Jill - in drawing. Will's first game was no different from most of the rest. Ordinary shooter did not receive recognition in America, but sold well in Japan. At this time, he begins work on a project called SimCity, but the lack of a publisher prevents the programmer from developing to his full potential.
Will Wright - Computer Games Developer
In 1986, Will founded Maxis Studios. The co-founder of the company is Jeff Brown, who convinces Wright to continue working on SimCity, and already in 1989 the project was released. The game has become mega-popular. The company's value rose to $ 38 million, and its shares began to be sold at $ 50 apiece.
In the first part of the series, you had to become the mayor of a small town and take care of the prosperity of its inhabitants. The construction of hospitals and roads, the development of industry and the collection of taxes, the elimination of the effects of floods and other troubles - all this the player was busy every minute. Proper management made it possible to develop the town to the size of a metropolis. "Sandbox" captivated gamers around the world.
Next projects
Although the success of SimCity was hard to replicate, the developer did not stop there and continued to create amazing simulations that only Will Wright could come up with. Games did not become masterpieces, but did not go unnoticed. SimEarth: The Living Planet, released next year, had the same charm and was the same building simulator, but then the player began to control the planets.
SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony, which appeared in 1991, was a simulation of life in an anthill, where it was necessary to develop a colony, defending itself from enemies and capturing new territories.
In 1992, SimLife was released, where it was necessary to control the life, growth and development of all creatures on the planet. In this case, it was possible to change the genetic structure of any creature, and in this simulator any player could feel almost like a god.
In 1993, the studio released a new game in the SimCity series. The essence of the simulator remains the same - you as the mayor are engaged in the development of the city. But the game received many innovations: the ability to change the scale, the construction of the subway, interaction with neighboring cities and much more. The game also had improved graphics and acquired isometry.
Merger with Electronic Arts
Despite all the tricks, Maxis Studios could not compete with large gaming companies, and the studio was doing worse and worse. In 1996, after the company's shares fell to $ 10 apiece, Will Wright decides to sell his brainchild. Many wanted to buy the company, but Electronic Arts won, which offered $ 125 million for Maxis Studios. The terms of the deal were pretty good, but under the contract, Will had to lay off nearly 100 people. The developer recalls this with sadness, because during the existence of the company, the entire staff has become a large family. Then Will Wright continued to work on his projects as part of Electronic Arts.
The grand success of the "dollhouse"
February 2000 literally changed the world, because it was then that the new brainchild of the developer came out - the legendary The Sims. The success of this game was simply phenomenal, and the simulator stayed in the top of sales for a very long time, losing it to The Sims 2, although Will Wright did not work on this project. The game is simple and brilliant at the same time: you had to create a person and live his life, achieving success in all areas. A lot of gamers liked playing the “dollhouse”, which made the simulator one of the highest rated games of all time.
In 2001, Wil Wright received the grand prize at the Game Developers Conference for his enormous contribution to this industry. In 2002, the creator of The Sims took pride of place in the Hall of Fame of the equally famous Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. In 2005, the developer announced a new project - Spore. The game was released in 2008. Although the project was not a breakthrough, he still found his audience. In 2009, due to disagreements with the leadership, Will Wright leaves Electronic Arts, but does not leave the gaming industry, and in 2013 he founded Syntertainment with his sons. Currently, the legendary developer lives in Auckland, California.