Will Wright, creator of the Sims and the upcoming game Spore, delivered a very interesting presentation. He started out talking about different story arcs and how certain films, like Memento and Groundhog Day, were already using non-linear storytelling techniques. He showed how pieces of a story can be made into modules, and how they can be connected in a meaningful way at decision points. Above is a screenshot from Spore, a fascinating game that allows you to create your own world via evolution, with decisions that you make early on determining outcomes later. I am not a gamer, but I am amazed at the level of detail and quality of graphics on this game. I don’t know if I could ever have the time to advance past amoeba stage, but I can see where this game will create thousands of addicts.
I won’t show a far off pic of Wright at the podium, but I did catch this shot as he was being seated for Bruce Sterling’s final address. Notice the sling and cast, apparently from a skiing accident.
I just saw a really long review of Spore on G4 and it really does look amazing. It’s supposed to be really non-linear. You start off asa micro-organism and eventually evolve into a creature with the potential for space travel. The debate about the game is will it really bring in non-traditional gamers like the Sims did or is it just too much to handle for the casual gamer? It seems like a game that requires a bit of a commitment but it really looks like it’s going to be worth it. There’s a lot of buzz about this game creating a new trend in non-linear games that might get us all away from the boring first-person shooter action games.