SimCity (1989) was a hit and has been credited as one of the most influential computer games ever made. In 1986, Wright met Jeff Braun, an investor interested in entering the computer game industry, at what Wright has called "the world's most important pizza party." Together they formed Maxis the next year in Orinda, California. From left: Rod Humble, Louis Castle, David Perry, Brenda Brathwaite, John Romero, Will Wright, Tim Schafer, Chris Hecker. Wright and other game developers at a BAFTA event in Los Angeles in July 2011. The structuralist dynamics of the game were in part inspired by the work of two architectural and urban theorists, Christopher Alexander and Jay Forrester. He created a new game that would later evolve into SimCity, but he had trouble finding a publisher. Wright found that he had more fun creating the islands with his level editor for Raid on Bungeling Bay than he had actually playing the game. In Raid on Bungeling Bay, the player flies over islands while dropping bombs. His first game was the helicopter action game Raid on Bungeling Bay (1984). As others like Bill Budge and Nasir Gebelli were already producing multiple Apple video games, Wright decided to develop for the newer Commodore 64. Wanting to implement Conway's Game of Life on it caused Wright to teach himself Applesoft BASIC, Pascal, and assembly language. While living in New York City he purchased an Apple II+. Wright enjoyed playing board wargames like PanzerBlitz as a teenager.
After one year at the New School, Wright returned to Baton Rouge without his degree, concluding five years of collegiate study. He lived in an apartment over Balducci's, in Greenwich Village, and spent much of his spare time searching for spare parts in local electronics surplus stores. His earlier dream of space colonization remained, and was joined by a love for robotics.Īfter another two years at Louisiana Tech, in the fall of 1980, Wright moved on to The New School in Manhattan. He excelled in subjects he was interested in-architecture, economics, mechanical engineering, military history, and language arts. Beginning with a start at an architecture degree, followed by mechanical engineering, he fell into computers and robotics. It has a "simple set of rules" yet "the strategies in it are so complex" according to Wright, and he was "fascinated with the idea that complexity can come out of such simplicity." Īfter graduating at 16 from Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he enrolled in Louisiana State University, transferring two years later to Louisiana Tech. Īs a child, his interest in game design began with the Chinese/Japanese strategy board game Go. The game sold 406,000 copies within three weeks of its release. His latest work, Spore, was released in September 2008 and features gameplay based upon the model of evolution and scientific advancement. The game spawned multiple sequels, including The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4 and expansion packs, and Wright has earned many awards for his work. Wright's greatest success to date comes from being the original designer for The Sims. The game was released by Maxis, a company Wright formed with Jeff Braun, and he built upon the game's theme of computer simulation with numerous other titles including SimEarth and SimAnt.
The first computer game Wright designed was Raid on Bungeling Bay in 1984, but it was SimCity that brought him to prominence. In April 2009, he left EA to run Stupid Fun Club Camp, an entertainment think tank in which Wright and EA are principal shareholders. William Ralph Wright (born January 20, 1960) is an American video game designer and co-founder of the former game development company Maxis, and then part of Electronic Arts (EA). Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University