When I was the Director of Product Development at Cinemaware a young guy named "Will Wright" came to see us during one of the CES shows. (That's what we used to call "E3", for you young whippersnappers). Will was trying to garner interest for this little game he was working on called "Sim City". I was the only one in the room that actually LIKED the game, but it sounded impossibly ambitious and I didn't think he would finish the game in a million years. So I also cast a "no thanks" vote.
I feel pretty stupid about that decision now, but the concept seemed pretty far fetched. Imagine today, if a young team pitched a gangster MMO set in Capone's Chicago. They tell you: "Not only will the game feature every mobster from that era but we're going to... like... accurately model every person living in the Chicago area!!! And each actor will behave realistically like they're actually living in the world. And... And... And..." You'd probably think, "Uh, you guys need a reality check." I don't think I said those words to Mr. Wright, but I was thinking something similar. Who knew?
< sigh >
I feel pretty stupid about that decision now, but the concept seemed pretty far fetched. Imagine today, if a young team pitched a gangster MMO set in Capone's Chicago. They tell you: "Not only will the game feature every mobster from that era but we're going to... like... accurately model every person living in the Chicago area!!! And each actor will behave realistically like they're actually living in the world. And... And... And..." You'd probably think, "Uh, you guys need a reality check." I don't think I said those words to Mr. Wright, but I was thinking something similar. Who knew?
< sigh >
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