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For those of you who saw the Spore video and can't get enough Will Wright, here's a talk he gave called Lessons in Game Design, recorded in 2003.

In the first two minutes (seven including the intro), Wright mentions D&D and go. And he mentions something in contrast to my earlier post, where I said that computers have a disadvantage over GM's. Wright's position was that the computer didn't care how arcane the ruleset was, it would play the game as designed.

Incidentally, I'm thinking of writing a text-mode, Nethack-like version of The Sims. I may have help.

Another Spore post!

Anyone remember The Sims Online?

Anyone remember the TSO Mafia?

Anyone think there'll be a Spore Mafia?

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I'm watching "How William Shatner Changed the World" on the History Channel right now.

Shatner just mispronounced "Takei" as "Takai".

Update: Ehh. I've seen better. It's the first Trekumentary I've seen since "Trekkies 2", but I'm not exactly raving about it. Jonathan Frakes is also in it, maintaining his reputation as Shatner's next-generation clone brother. He, too, was bored enough and cared little enough about his dignity to do this documentary. He got beamed into a British pub in his pajamas. I've already deleted it from TiVo.

(no subject)

OK, I've just figured out how Spore is going to go horribly wrong.

It downloads other people's creatures from the Internet transparently and automatically, right?  Well, a lot of people are going to design creatures with enormous cocks, thus ruining the potential of the game to be a family-friendly experience.  And indeed, the "procedural mating" is already risking a mature/adult rating in today's post-Janet Jackson America.