Will Wright is certain: “That’s not gonna work.” Maxis is mid-development on Spore, and an engineer named Chris Hecker is describing an ambitious side project. An asymmetrical multiplayer game called SniperParty, its premise is as binary as its title: one player attends a party as a spy, blending into the throng of mannered guests while surreptitiously swapping statues and planting bugs on ambassadors. Meanwhile, a second player with a sniper rifle occupies a roof across the street, with a single task: they must pick out the spy in the crowd and take the shot. But they need to be sure of their target because they have just a single bullet. For the sniper, the game is about reading social cues, spotting a strange gesture or conversation cut short and mentally building the case against a suspect.
It’s a design that tends to quickly woo those who hear about it: easy to grasp, yet dense with possibilities. SimCity creator and industry mentor Wright, however, isn’t on board. “It’s gonna be too easy to tell who the player is,” he concludes. As it turns out, Spore will be a grand lesson for Wright in what works and what doesn’t. But the assessment his game receives gives Hecker pause. “When game design genius Will Wright tells you that your game’s not gonna work, you’re like, ‘Ah, shit,’” he remembers.
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Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Edge.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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NO MORE ROOM IN HELL 2
You're not alone in the dark
WINDBLOWN
Life after Dead Cells
COLLECTED WORKS - JOSH SAWYER
Journeying to the Forgotten Realms, Infinity and beyond with the RPG veteran
SCREENBOUND
Going deep in a mind-bending hybrid of perspectives
Trigger Happy
Shoot first, ask questions later
Grand strategist
Paradox's Mattias Lilja addresses the publisher's recent difficulties - and the plan to right the ship
Diablo IV
A progress report on the games we just can't quit
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
In Capcom's diabolical tribute, evil goes far deeper than the demons on the screen
SERENITY FORGE
How a near-death experience lit a fire in the Colorado-based developer and publisher
THE MAKING OF...ALIEN: ISOLATION
How a strategy-led studio built a survival horror masterpiece in Ridley Scott's image