Stephen Totilo is reporting that game god Will Wright is leaving EA to focus on his other hobbies.
Will Wright, famous designer of “Sim City,†“The Sims,†and “Spore†is leaving Electronic Arts, his publisher announced today. Wright will be running the Stupid Fun Club, an organization he started in 2001 with EA and had used for robot experiments, TV pilots and other offbeat ideas for years.
This Stupid Fun Club is co-owned by EA, so he’s not leaving the family entirely, but his departure from the mainstream of game design is probably the biggest news to hit the industry in many years.
I’ll have more once I digest this information.
It seemed for years that he had lost interest in anything but the high-level and theoretical aspects of game design. For his last two projects, Sims Online and Spore, other lead designers had to be brought in to handle the grunt work because he (apparently) lost interest after the experimental phase was over.
Creating prototypes is one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done, and shipping games the most painful. I don’t begrudge anyone who’s contributed a tremendous amount to this industry for opting out and doing their own thing. Have fun, Will!
Which game journalist will get the first interview?
Looks like it’s Brian Crecente. ;)
http://kotaku.com/5204275/how-fighting-robots-helped-wright-quit-ea
Jon