When Will Wright - creator of The Sims and SimCity - speaks, it's always a good idea to listen. He's a veteran of the industry, with a keen eye on the trends and trajectory of the medium. His keynote speech at this year's GamesBeat event focused primarily on where he sees gaming headed (spoiler: a very great place), and he kicked it off with a crash course in history.
Almost every notable film director praises classics like Citizen Kane as inspiration for the movies they create today. But what past games inspired the Martin Scorseses of the games industry? That was the question posed during the GDC session "Forgotten Tales Remembered" where Sid Meier, Will Wright, Cliff Bleszinski, and John Romero recounted the games that influenced them the most. The answers were both surprising and illuminating.
As the man behind SimCity, The Sims, and Spore, Will Wright is best known for gigantic projects that are years in the making. But as he revealed at E3 this week, his next title may not be nearly that far in the future. More surprising than that though, is what the game is going to be about. Wright is looking to explore the world of gift economies, drawing inspiration from legendary sci-fi author Bruce Sterling's short story Maneki Neko.