Will Wright

Will Wright (born January 20, 1960 in Georgia, USA) is the designer of the SimCity series and The Sims series, as well as the sister simulator Spore, developed by Maxis (which Wright co-founded with Jeff Braun). It is said that Wright devised the basic idea of The Sims after a fire destroyed his home, and he had to recreate everything in his life from his house to valuables.

Will Wright's first game, SimCity, was created in Wright's early days as a programmer -- he was hired as a level-designer for a game called Raid on Bungeling Bay. Eventually, Wright realized that he had much more fun creating the cities than he did playing the game itself, and he spent several months turning the concept into what would later become SimCity Classic.

Despite making The Sims and The Sims 2, he did not make The Sims 3, probably because he was concentrating on Spore.

In April 2009, Wright left Electronic Arts to start up "Stupid Fun Club," an EA-backed think tank. Wright was succeeded in his position by Lucy Bradshaw, Maxis' General Manager, who now leads the Sims and Spore franchises.

References and allusions in the games

 * Pleasantview and Downtown in The Sims: Hot Date each have a street named Wright Way.
 * There is a dollhouse named after him in The Sims and The Sims 2.
 * There is a carnival game in The Sims: Vacation that is similar to a whack-a-mole game but this game features his head.
 * In The Sims 2, one of the decorations which can be placed in a neighborhood view is a giant rock shaped like his head.
 * In The Sims 2: University, when creating a student, there is a portrait on the left, behind the mirror, which appears to be Will Wright.
 * There is a scholarship called the Will Wright Genius Grant for teens with a logic skill of 8 or higher.
 * In The Sims: Makin' Magic, Will Wright is a huge giant seen when climbing the beanstalk. Sims can only use the View interaction on him. When interacted, a pop-up message will display: Thanks for playing The Sims.

Games

 * Raid on Bungeling Bay - 1984
 * SimCity - 1989
 * SimCity 2000 - 1993
 * SimCity 3000 - 1999
 * SimCity 4 - 2003
 * SimEarth - 1990
 * SimLife - 1992
 * SimCopter - 1996
 * SimAnt - 1991
 * The Sims - 2000
 * The Sims Online - 2002
 * The Sims 2 - 2004
 * Expansions and patches - 2005 to 2008
 * Spore - 2008