Will Wright is the father of the legendary The Sims

There is no gamer who would not have heard of a series of games called Sims. Millions of fans around the world do not worship the soul in this simulator. Crazy popularity and huge profits from sales made the creator of the "doll house" one of the most notable figures in the gaming industry. Will Wright, namely about him and talking about, independently invented and developed the concept of this simulator. We will talk about the life of this man in our article.

Wright Will. Biography

The future creator of the Sims was born in Atlanta, in the distant 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, which is in Los Angeles. In 1976, Will enters the University of Louisiana and after two years of study is transferred to the Technical University. In these years, the developer is studying 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 is transferred to the University of Manhattan, but studies there only a year. And for that there was a special reason.

Love changes everything

Until then, Jill Jones was just the sister of his best friend. But once again meeting this girl, Will fell in love with unconsciousness. After dropping her studies, Will went with her friend to conquer sunny California. They settled in Oakland, where Wright started developing games, and Gil - drawing. Will's first game did not differ from most of the others. The mediocre shooter was not recognized in America, but sold well in Japan. At this time, he begins work on a project called SimCity, but the absence of a publisher does not allow the programmer to develop at full power.

Will Wright - developer of computer games

In 1986, Will founded Maxis Studios. The co-founder of the firm is Jeff Brown, who convinces Wright to continue work on SimCity, and already in 1989 the project is published. The game became megapopular. The firm's value rose to $ 38 million, and its shares began to sell at $ 50 per share. In the first part of the series it was necessary 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 consequences of floods and other troubles - all this was occupied by the player every minute. Proper management made it possible to develop a small town to the size of a metropolis. "Sandbox" carried away gamers around the world.

Next projects

Although the success of SimCity was difficult to replicate, the developer did not stop at the achieved success and continued to create amazing simulations that only Will Wright could come up with. The games did not become masterpieces, but they 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 came out, where it was necessary to control the life, growth and development of all the creatures on the planet. At the same time, it was possible to change the genetic structure of any creature, and in this simulator any player could feel almost a god.

In 1993, the studio released a new game series SimCity. The essence of the simulator remained the same - you in the role of the mayor are engaged in the development of the city. But the game has received many innovations: the ability to change the scale, construction of the metro, interaction with neighboring cities and much more. The game also had improved graphics and acquired isometrics.

Merger with Electronic Arts

Despite all the tricks, Maxis Studios could not compete with major gaming companies, and the studio was getting worse and worse. In 1996, after the company's shares fell to $ 10 apiece, Will Wright decides to sell his offspring. Many wanted to buy the company, but the victory was won by Electronic Arts, which offered $ 125 million for Maxis Studios. Terms of the deal were pretty good, but under the contract, Will had to fire almost 100 people. The developer remembers this with sadness, because during the existence of the company the whole staff of employees has become a big family. Then Will Wright continued work on his projects as part of Electronic Arts.

The grandiose success of the "doll house"

February 2000 literally changed the world, because it was then the release of a new brainchild developer - the legendary The Sims. The success of this game was phenomenal, and the simulator stayed in the top of the sales for a very long time, losing to The Sims 2, although Will Wright no longer worked on this project. The game is simple and ingenious at the same time: you needed to create a person and live his life, achieving success in all areas. Playing "doll house" like a lot of gamers, which made the simulator one of the most rating games of all time.

In 2001, Will Wright received the grand prize at the Game Developers Conference for his enormous contribution to this industry. In 2002, the creator of The Sims takes 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 did not become a breakthrough, he still found his audience. In 2009, due to disagreements with the leadership, Will Wright left Electronic Arts, but did not leave the gaming industry, and in 2013, together with his sons, founded the company Syntertainment. At the moment, the legendary developer lives in Oakland, California.