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GDC: The evolution of Will Wright's keynote title
I'm finally able to begin to process the contents of Will Wright's keynote speech from Thursday, titled "What's Next in Game Design?" Well, it was called "What's Next in Game Design?" before being changed and then changed again. Like the rest of Wright's speech, the naming process was a twisty maze of ideas. More thoughts on his keynote later; for now enjoy how it began...
GDC: A game worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize
What kind of game concept would be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize? That's the question GameLab CEO Eric Zimmerman posed to the group of developers competing at the third-annual Game Design Challenge.The winning concept (as judged by audience response), Peace Bomb, developed by Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith, would be a multiplayer game for the DS. Players would join together and trade resources, eventually leading to real world flash mobs — a crowd that assembles suddenly in a public space, performs a notable act, and then quickly disperses. It's Smith's hope that the Peace Bomb flash mobs would erupt around socially constructive movements, encouraging players to transform an entertaining game into an effective social project.
Will Wright narrates SPORE gameplay video
Sure, it's nearly a year late in making its way onto the internet, but Will Wright's SPORE presentation from last year's GDC, titled "The Future of Content", is now available on Google video. Will Wright narrates the entire 36 minute video, discussing things like mating, Care Bears, and the finer points of procedural synthesis, so watch it already! See also: Will Wright to deliver GDC keynote Joystiq's SPORE coverage [Thanks, josh & D] UPDATE: Commenter bob correctly notes that the video has been available on the GDCTV website, although registration is required. Consider this the first time it's been available to those who are afflicted with web-registration paranoia.
SPORE evolves onto handheld platforms
An internet job posting reveals that EA is looking for "an experienced designer that will be responsible for designing, creating and maintaining game systems and content for SPORE Handheld titles." Will Wright's "Sim Everything" wowed developers at last year's Game Developer's Conference. Responsibilities include delivering "AAA quality and unique play experiences on multiple Handheld platforms."The job posting doesn't specify what handhelds they'll be developing for, but we're willing to bet this here magical unicorn that this is the big break the Gizmondo and NGage platforms have been waiting for.[Via CVG]UPDATE: Ginko biloba-infused reader Aaron correctly recalled Will Wright mentioning that he wanted to bring SPORE to handhelds. Dan Choi found the Joystiq coverage from last May: "Wright also lets on that he plans to bring a version of Spore to handheld gaming systems."
Will Wright on gaming and time travel
EA's Will Wright recently gave a talk at When 2.0, focusing on the interaction between players and time in games, and a video of the talk has been made available. According to Wright, games become a form of time travel--you can always restart from the beginning, starting with exactly the same state. This is an interesting point and applies to most games, but what of multiplayer gaming (where mistakes are made and forgotten in a heartbeat, or remembered by your opponents for years to come) and MMOs (where your character gains levels, but never loses them)? Repeating the same game again and again in multiplayer games is akin to an eternal Groundhog Day, whereas in MMOs you can always start a new character, but we do lose the ability to wipe the slate clean every time, to roll back to a save point and to play out multiple "what if?" scenarios. [via Gaming Steve]
