Will Wright

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

Creation of SimCity and Maxis
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.

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 involved directly with 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.
 * 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, mostly noticable in Strangetown.
 * 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
 * The Sims 2 expansions and patches - 2005 to 2008
 * Spore - 2008