March 2004
THE SIMS: THE EARLY YEARS
Posted Sunday, March 21, 5:11 PM GMT by ronin
THE SIMS: THE EARLY YEARS
Gamespot Magazine had an article a while ago describing some of the history of the evolution of the Sims.
It has some examples of what some of the Sims first looked like, and is an interesting trip back into a time and world most of us weren't a part of or never knew existed.
Here are some highlights from the article:
"While Wright had many new game ideas after SimCity, he could never get them off the ground - especially his idea for a dollhouse game, which he had originally dubbed "Home Tactics: The Experimental Domestic Simulator."
By 1933, a prototype of Home Tactics was ready. Wright pitched the project to the Maxis executives during a focus group. That day, four different game ideas were on the table. Wright's dollhouse game was the only one that met with universal rejection. Almost overnight, Home Tactics was shifted to the back burner, with one lone programmer working on it in his spare time."
We supposed this goes to prove that even a genius like Will Wright succeeds in no small part because he keeps trying with new and different ideas and never gives up. A lesson for us all??
Click here to read the full article:
http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/simsonline
SET ANTI-VI SOFTWARE TO SCAN ALL FILES
Posted Saturday, March 20, 5:46 PM GMT by ronin
SET ANTI-VI SOFTWARE TO SCAN ALL FILES
Most of the new worms are now putting their virus executables in zip files that come
with and without password protection. Since several antivirus products do not scan
zipped attachments, this can allow viruses to get in. Most will catch the virus when
it is executed, but sometimes that can be too late. Hopefully antivirus vendors will
get the message and turn on "scan all files" but in the mean time, check your AV
settings. If it isn't already, enable "scan all files" and "scan compressed files" in
your antivirus configuration.
Full text of article:
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,1761,a=121689,00.asp
QUICK Anti-Worm & Virus Tips
Posted Friday, March 19, 3:41 PM GMT by ronin
QUICK Anti-Worm & Virus Tips
From PC Mag - March 2004
Many users are getting into a regimen of running a spyware scanner in addition to their antivirus. Even with wider coverage of antivirus programs, it is still a good idea to run a dedicated spyware scanner like Ad-Aware or SpyBot S&D to find and remove files and registry entries for spyware, adware and malware (like dialers).
Unfortunately removal can sometimes break your Internet connection.
An out of date antivirus can let in an infection but still attempt to stop outgoing e-mail. Unfortunately it can become a whack-a-mole effort closing dialogs, depending on the antivirus. If this happens, unplug your modem or Internet connection to stop the dialogs and reboot into safe mode. While rebooting, plug your connection back in so you can get to an online scanner or an update.
Full PC Mag Article:
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,1761,a=121689,00.asp
SAFE EMAILING TIP
Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2:58 PM GMT by ronin
SAFE EMAILING TIP
The past wisdom of not opening attachments from strangers moved to "don't open
attachments from friends either" with the explosion of "From" address spoofing. The
most current wisdom is to ignore e-mail attachments from the system administrator,
friends, strangers, and pretty much anyone else. If you send attachments between
friends or relatives, arrange a special pass phrase, or a personal comment that a worm
wouldn't be spoofing to flag authentic mail.
In addition, update your antivirus program, and make sure on-access
scanning is enabled. This is VERY important, since an out of date antivirus program
may be terminated by the virus. Turn on "scan all files" and "scan compressed file"
options if not on by default. For e-mail, do not open attachments, even from known
users. File sharing users should scan every file they download before opening, and
should periodically scan network or shared drives.
Full text of article:
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,1761,a=121689,00.asp
SIMPLY DIVINE: The Story of Maxis (or INTO THE ABYSS)
Posted Tuesday, March 16, 1:38 PM GMT by ronin
SIMPLY DIVINE: The Story of Maxis (or INTO THE ABYSS)
Gamespot has an even more revealing and detailed history of our favorite game dating from around 1998. This archive article deals with the very birth, growth, adolescence and the near death and destruction of the Sims and its future.
Things were not always easy sailing for Will Wright, The Sims or Maxis. The story behind the creators and their creation could easily have been summarized by the title of just one section of this article: Into the Anyss.
Going from a start-up to a newly public corporation to near disaster and dissolution Maxis and the Sims have had nearly fatal growing pains.
Growth pains that exist even today with office moves, consolidations and game delays.
Many of us think that it has just been one long successful path for the creators and that something similar stands ready to reward us with riches if we can just create the next hot game or come up with the idea to sell to Maxis for the next great Sims variation.
This article lets you in on the real story behind our game - it is almost our version of the famously infamous: "Hollywood Confidential."
Maybe that is a good way to end this introduction to this GREAT & I do mean GREAT article on The Sims and Maxis:
Looks are almost always deceiving.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
"I used to tell people I was going to do a game about city planning," recollects Will Wright, the 39-year-old co-founder of Walnut Creek, California-based Maxis Software. "They'd just look at me, roll their eyes, and say, somewhat dubiously, 'Oh good Will, you go do that.'"
That was then. Now, all Will Wright has to say are two words - "Sim" and "City" - and people pay attention. No wonder, since his 1980s creation SimCity is emblematic of intelligent, creative, and socially responsible game design. It and other Sim creations have sold in excess of seven million copies worldwide. Who would have imagined that building roads and power lines and zoning land for residential or commercial use would be considered a recreational activity, much less fun? Will Wright did, and SimCity's success is living proof of the concept.
Wright is a lanky, thoughtful-looking man, the kind of guy who wears a black watch with a built-in calculator. Yet to label him as a tech-head is a misnomer. In reality, he's an eclectic hybrid of creative might and technical know-how. Few people cite textbooks by the names of their authors, but Wright is one of those few. He has an affinity for knowledge for knowledge's sake - so much so that he went to college for five years, but never got a degree.
Wright's design approach befits his academic orientation. SimCity started as a simulation based on the urban planning theories of an MIT professor named Jay Forrester, and all his other games have some link to academia. By taking the abstract dictums of theoretical science and creating tangible interactive experiences that often go far beyond the regular conventions of what we consider to define a game, Wright has merited the respect of his colleagues and the loyalty of gamers.
Yet the game business isn't just about respect. It's about money, market share, and quarterly reports. And through its ten-year history, Wright's Maxis - the software publisher that SimCity built -would experience all the ups and downs those factors can impart.
Maxis would swell from a company of two to a publicly traded software juggernaut with more than two hundred employees at its peak. The SimCity series would be an unmitigated success, but the company would be hard-pressed to create another series that would be worthy of the Sim-brand lineage. After the artistic achievement of SimCity and a few other less-successful Sim games, Maxis would eventually be reduced to releasing full motion video games with a Miami Vice actor and a children's product about a precocious pet mouse named Marty in search of his missing cheese. These embarrassing products quenched the pristine aura surrounding Maxis and all but erased Maxis from the hard-core gamer's radar screen. But like the phoenix from the ashes, Maxis appears poised to rise once again. This month has seen the release of SimCity 3000, which is already atop the charts as the best-selling PC game in the US. Maxis may finally be back, and as such, it seems a perfect time to take a look at the history of Will Wright's company, go behind the scenes of what really happened to Maxis, and look forward to what lies ahead.
Join us for the story of Maxis..."
Article's Table of Contents:
Part 1: It's a Playground
• The Idea
• Success Begets Success
• The Inevitable Follow-Up
Part 2: Raining on the Parade
• Into the Abyss
• But It's 3D!
Part 3: The Saving Grace
• A New Focus, A New Mission
• Third Time's Still A Charm?
Part 4: A New Dollhouse
• And the New Dolls...
• Into Outer Space
• A Positive Prognosis
Here's the link, enjoy:
http://www.gamespot.com/features/maxis/
|