Will Wright was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1960. From a young age, he showed an interest in design and games. As a child, he spent countless hours playing with his vast collection of toys and models, constantly rearranging and redesigning them.
Will Wright’s headshot.
Wright studied architecture and urban design at Louisiana State University before switching his focus to computer science and artificial intelligence. After graduating, he began working at a computer game company called Maxis in 1987.
At Maxis, Wright pioneered new approaches to game design that allowed for open-ended gameplay driven by the player’s choices rather than following a linear story. His breakthrough came in 1989 with the release of SimCity, a game that let players build and manage their own virtual cities. SimCity became a massive hit and is considered one of the most influential games in the history of the medium.
As a kid, I used to play this game and could spend hours building my city and solving the problems of my citizens.
Building on that success, Wright developed games like SimEarth and SimAnt that applied his innovative “sim” formula to different subjects. But his biggest achievement was The Sims in 2000, a virtual doll house where players controlled the lives of simulated people. The Sims shattered sales records, transcended games to become a cultural phenomenon, and spawned numerous sequels and expansions.
One of the core memories from my childhood is sitting with my mother and her siblings, building our family in the character customization (creation) menu, and then trying to develop ‘us’ in this ‘alternate’ universe.
The Sims is a revolutionary game itself as it was one of the first games with so many details in this particular character customization mechanics, plus it was a full-on life-simulator. Moreover, because the game did not have a story to follow, the players had an opportunity to simply create their own stories, exploring different outcomes of their actions. The game lets the people try doing things they could (and could not) do in real life, which for its time is a mind-blowing mechanic and idea (that also came to life).
Wright left Maxis in 2009 after over 20 years there. He founded a new gaming company called Stupid Fun Club to continue exploring the frontiers of simulation gameplay. One of their first projects was HiveMind, an online gaming platform driven by player creativity. Unfortunately, this game did not get the same amount of enthusiasm among the players.
Throughout his career, Wright has been lauded for his ability to create compelling gameplay through simple mechanics that tap into human psychology. He is widely considered one of the most original and influential designers in gaming history. Among his many accolades are being the first computer game designer to receive the BAFTA Fellowship in 2007 and being inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2011.