At the Game Developers Conference, which just wrapped up yesterday, many attendees wondered about one of the final sessions held at the show. Little was known about it, except its title, "Metaphysics of Game Design," and its speaker, someone called "Phaedrus."
It turned out that the mysterious session was being headed by none other than SimCity and Spore creator Will Wright.
"I am not Phaedrus," Wright said, as he made his way to center stage amid thunderous applause. He said that the reason the panel was under a pseudonym was because he wasn't entirely sure he could attend the conference.
Wright then proceeded to give a presentation on his ideas of the underlying principles of game design, imbued with humor, Star Trek references and his trademark profundity. Take a look a few select slides from the presentation, which may or may not leave you scratching your head:
Coffee + Advance
Wars = Genius?: Wright said that every morning he has a cup of
coffee and plays about 15 minutes of Advance Wars on his DS. "I've
played that game more than any other in my life," he said. "I love
Advance Wars; it lets me relax while I spin up my brain."
Being a Game Designer: Throughout the presentation, Wright
outlined the goal of video games as perceived by others outside the
industry, thus coming up with different names for "independent game
designer." ("Child pornographer" was thanks to Jack Thompson.)
Hell-o Kitty: Wright explained how ideas for games come from
executives, then trickle down to mid-level folks, writers, and
designers. Then the publisher makes every version possible of that
idea...
Horses!: ...like games about horses. "There are more (games about
horses) than there are Sims expansion
packs," Wright quipped.
M&M Deathmatch: Wright told the story of a guy who would take
two M&Ms and try to crush them with his fingers. The loser went
into his mouth, and the other went on to battle against the next piece
of candy. The final surviving M&M was mailed to the candy company,
so that it could be used for breeding purposes. (He later got a lifetime
supply of M&Ms.)
Images by Chris Plante
Originally posted on 1UP.com.
