Why I Don’t Wannabe the Baby’s Mama of That Guy Who Made The Sims(tm)
There’s a very good article on gamespot.com about The Sims Online. What makes this article interesting is that instead of being an extended commercial or a five-page game review, it discusses the possibility of The Sims being a breakthrough of online gaming, its positive and negative ramifications, and how it has affected the man who designed it, Will Wright:
With the imminence of its release before him, you can tell Wright still feels a bittersweet symphony of emotions about the game’s potential impact. “I think I’ve resigned myself to knowing that a lot of marriages are going to occur because of this game–and probably just as many divorces,” he says while sipping a Diet Pepsi.
“From a designer’s point of view, you have to take responsibility for what you’re putting out into the world,” Wright says as he stands up, runs his fingers through his hair, and leans up against the sliding glass door leading into his office. “I’m really struggling with this because I would much rather not have the responsibility of affecting people’s emotional interactions and their real lives,” he explains … “When I started designing games I never realized the huge emotional impact they could have on people.”
The crazy thing is, he has every reason to worry. You already read news reports about people killing themselves over Everquest, and The Sims is the highest selling computer game ever. If the online version of this game does well, Barbara Walters will pull out a tragic human interest story from this and tear the game apart. And if the online version of the game doesn’t do well, Video Game magazines everywhere will put out a tragic human interest story from this and tear the game apart.
I feel bad for Will Wright. But not that bad. Fucker is a millionaire.
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