Will Wright

Will Wright (born January 20, 1960 in Georgia, USA) is the creator of both the SimCity series and The Sims series and one of the founders of Maxis.

Creation of SimCity and Maxis
In 1984, Will Wright developed Raid on Bungeling Bay. During development, Wright realized that he had much more fun creating the various game levels than he did playing the game itself. He would later apply this concept to the creation of a city simulation game called SimCity.

Wright had a difficult time finding video game publishers willing to take a chance on SimCity, since it was a major departure from other video games developed up to that time. In 1987, Wright and Jeff Braun co-founded Maxis and were able to publish SimCity. Wright was instrumental in the development of two sequels, SimCity 2000 (1994) and SimCity 3000 (1999), both developed through Maxis.

Creation of The Sims
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. Maxis was resistant to the idea of The Sims and ultimately refused to develop it. However, in 1997, Maxis was acquired by Electronic Arts, who were ultimately more receptive to Wright's ideas. Despite this, The Sims was still considered a gamble, and only a limited number of copies were initially produced. The Sims went on to defy expectations, becoming one of the most popular video games of all time.

Will Wright was not directly involved in the development of The Sims 2 or later games in the series, though he is still given special credit for its initial creation.

Recent activities
After The Sims, Will Wright began developing Spore, an evolution-based strategy game, which was released in 2008.

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.

In 2010, Wright began producing a community-based television show called Bar Karma, which aired for one season in 2011.

In October 2011, Wright joined the board of directors for Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life.

References and allusions in the games

 * Pleasantview, Sunset Valley 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.
 * Skins based on Will Wright, Luc Barthelet and Sid Meier were offered by EBWorld as a buying incentive when the original The Sims was released. Other skins include Raven and the Avatar from Ultima IX, a female racer from Need for Speed, and Kane from the Command & Conquer series, as well as an EBWorld outfit for males and an EA Sports outfit for females. You may download these skins at the Internet Archive.
 * In The Sims: Vacation, there is a carnival game that is similar to a whack-a-mole game, substituting moles for his head instead.
 * In The Sims: Superstar, a painting called "The Face of Deco" Canvas Original parodies the Portrait of Doctor Boucard, Tamara de Lempicka 1928 with Will Wright in place of Doctor Boucard.
 * 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 he is interacted with, a pop-up message will display: Thanks for playing The Sims. His appearance is based on the same model as the EBWorld version.
 * In The Sims Online, a likeness of Will Wright is among the many selectable skins for character creation. Those skins are based on the set distributed by EBWorld, with additional tan and dark skin tones not previously seen.
 * In The Sims 2, one of the decorations which can be placed in a neighborhood view is a giant rock shaped like his head. This rock is pre-placed in Strangetown neighborhood view.
 * In The Sims 2, the toy company Wrightway Toys that is mentioned on some chance cards appears to be named after Will Wright.
 * 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.
 * In The Sims 2: University, there is a scholarship called the Will Wright Genius Grant for teens with a logic skill of 8 or higher.
 * In The Sims 2: Open for Business, there's a business perk named the Will Wright Grant, which grants money to Sims from the Will Wright Foundation for Economic Advancement.
 * In The Sims 2 for console, there is a painting with a picture of Will Wright.
 * In The Sims 2 for PSP, the character Isaac Rossum resembles Will Wright and his secrets are all references to Maxis games (SimCopter, SimCity, and Spore) that Wright designed.
 * In The Sims FreePlay, there is a Level 5 woodworking piece named "Will Wright Replica".

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
 * The Sims 2 expansions and patches - 2005 to 2008
 * Spore - 2008