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Maxis
Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including ''The Sims'', ''Spore (2008 video game), Spore'' and ''SimCity''. History Independent studio (1987–1997) Maxis was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun to help publish ''SimCity (1989 video game), SimCity'' on home computers. Before then, the game was only available on a limited basis on the Commodore 64 due to few video game publisher, publishers showing any interest in porting a non-traditional game without definite "win" and "lose" conditions. The title went on to become one of the most popular and successful video games of all time. The SimCity, ''SimCity'' series became a staple for the company and spawned multiple sequels and spin-offs. To n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxis Logo (former)
Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including ''The Sims'', ''Spore'' and '' SimCity''. History Independent studio (1987–1997) Maxis was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun to help publish '' SimCity'' on home computers. Before then, the game was only available on a limited basis on the Commodore 64 due to few publishers showing any interest in porting a non-traditional game without definite "win" and "lose" conditions. The title went on to become one of the most popular and successful video games of all time. The ''SimCity'' series became a staple for the company and spawned multiple sequels and spin-offs. To name the company, Braun required that the name was "from 5-7 letters, mean nothing, be easy to remember and contain an x, z, or q"; the name "Maxis" was pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimCity
''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game franchise originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, '' SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and was followed by several sequels and many other spin-off ''Sim'' titles, including 2000's ''The Sims'', which itself became a best-selling computer game and franchise. Maxis developed the series independently until 1997, and continued under the ownership of Electronic Arts until 2003. EA commissioned various spinoffs from other companies during the 2000s, focusing on console and mobile releases. A 2013 EA-Maxis reboot was subject to what has been described as "one of the most disastrous launches in history", which may have triggered the 2015 shutdown of Maxis Emeryville and the end of the franchise. Gameplay ''SimCity'' titles are real-time management and construction simulators. Across most titles, the player (acting as mayor) is given a blank map to begin and must expand the city with the bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimCity 2000
''SimCity 2000'' is a City-building game, city-building Simulation game, simulation video game jointly developed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Fred Haslam of Maxis. It is the successor to ''SimCity (1989 video game), SimCity Classic'' and was released for Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS personal computers in 1993, after which it was released on many other platforms over the following years, such as the Sega Saturn and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES game consoles in 1995 and the PlayStation (console), PlayStation in 1996. ''SimCity 2000'' is played from an isometric perspective as opposed to the previous title, which was played from a top-down perspective. The objective of the game is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure such as power and water facilities and collect taxes for further development of the city. Importance is put on increasing the standard of living of the population, maintaining a balance between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimCity (1989 Video Game)
''SimCity'' (also known as the retronyms ''Micropolis'' or ''SimCity Classic'') is a city-building game, city-building Construction and management simulation games, simulation video game developed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright, and released for several platforms from 1989 to 1991. ''SimCity'' features two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective. The game's objective is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure, and collect taxes for further city development. Importance is placed on increasing the population's standard of living, maintaining a balance between the different sectors, and monitoring the region's environmental situations to prevent the settlement from declining and going bankrupt. ''SimCity'' was independently developed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright, beginning in 1985; the game was not released until 1989. Because the game lacked any arcade or action elements that dominated the video game mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spore (2008 Video Game)
''Spore'' is a 2008 life simulation real-time strategy god game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Designed by Will Wright, it covers many genres including action, real-time strategy, and role-playing games. ''Spore'' allows a player to control the development of a species from its beginnings as a microscopic organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture. It has drawn wide attention for its massive scope, and its use of open-ended gameplay and procedural generation. Throughout each stage, players are able to use various creators to produce content for their games. These are then automatically uploaded to the online Sporepedia and are accessible by other players for download. ''Spore'' was released after several delays to generally favorable reviews. Praise was given for the fact that the game allowed players to create customized creatures, vehicles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sims
''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game franchises, best-selling video game series of all time. It is also part of the larger List of Sim video games, ''Sim'' series, started by ''SimCity (1989 video game), SimCity'' in 1989. The games in the ''Sims'' series are largely sandbox games, in that they lack any defined goals (except for some later expansion packs and Video game console, console versions which introduced this gameplay style). The player creates virtual people called "Sims", places them in houses, and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. Each successive expansion pack and game in the series augmented what the player could do with their Sims. Development Game designer W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimRefinery
''SimRefinery'' is a computer management simulation game designed to simulate Chevron's Richmond refinery operation. It was developed by the Maxis Business Simulations division of Maxis in 1992. John Hiles, who was the head of the Maxis division, was a lead designer on the project. Development After the success of '' SimCity'', Maxis received numerous requests from various companies to develop simulations for their industries. After rejecting many requests from other companies, the team eventually agreed to make a prototype of ''SimRefinery'' for Chevron: Release and rediscovery As a commissioned business aid, it was not made available to the public. Until 2020, little information about the game had existed, though Maxis had discussed its creation and some screenshots existed. Most of the assets stayed with Maxis Business Simulations, which Maxis eventually divested in 1996. The division rebranded itself as Thinking Tools Inc. and continued to develop similar corporate simul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Wright (game Designer)
William Ralph Wright (born January 20, 1960) is an American video game designer and co-founder of the game development company Maxis, which later became part of Electronic Arts. In April 2009, he left EA to run Stupid Fun Club Camp, an entertainment think tank in which Wright and EA are principal shareholders. The first computer game Wright designed was '' Raid on Bungeling Bay'' in 1984, but it was ''SimCity'' that brought him to prominence. The game was published by Maxis, which Wright co-formed with Jeff Braun. Wright continued to innovate on the game's central theme of simulation with numerous other titles including '' SimEarth'' and '' SimAnt''. Wright has earned many awards for his work in game design. He is best known for being the original designer of ''The Sims'' series, of which Maxis developed the first entry in 2000. The game spawned multiple sequels, including ''The Sims 2'', '' The Sims 3'', '' The Sims 4'' and their expansion packs. His latest work, ''Spore'', re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Sim Video Games
This is a list of ''Sim'' games, their expansion packs, and compilations. Most games were developed by Maxis and published either by Maxis (pre-1997 acquisition by Electronic Arts) or by Electronic Arts (post-1997). EA has marketed and recruited companies such as Bullfrog Productions, Firaxis Games, and Tilted Mill Entertainment to develop several games under the ''Sim'' brand. ''SimCity'' series * ''SimCity'' (1989) * ''SimCity 2000'' * '' SimCity 64'' * '' SimCity 3000'' * ''SimCity 4'' ** '' SimCity 4: Rush Hour'' * '' SimCity DS'' * ''SimCity Societies'' ** '' SimCity Societies: Destinations'' * '' SimCity DS 2 (SimCity Creator)'' * '' SimCity Creator'' * '' SimCity Social'' * ''SimCity'' (2013) ** '' SimCity: Cities of Tomorrow'' * '' SimCity: Buildit'' Compilation packs * '' SimCity 2000 Special Edition'' * '' SimCity 3000 Unlimited'' * ''SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition'' ''The Sims'' series ''Spore'' *''Spore'' **'' Spore Creature Creator'' **'' Spore Galactic Adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the designers and programmers responsible for its games as "software artists". EA published numerous games and some productivity software for personal computers, all of which were developed by external individuals or groups until 1987's ''Skate or Die!'' The company shifted toward internal game studios, often through acquisitions, such as Distinctive Software becoming EA Canada in 1991. Into the 21st century, EA develops and publishes games of established franchises, including ''Battlefield (video game series), Battlefield'', ''Need for Speed'', ''The Sims'', ''Medal of Honor (video game series), Medal of Honor'', ''Command & Conquer'', ''Dead Space'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Dragon Age'', ''Army of Two (series), Army of Two'', ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimHealth
''SimHealth: The National Health Care Simulation'' is a management simulation video game developed by Thinking Tools and published by Maxis in 1994 for MS-DOS with assistance from the Markle Foundation. It is a simulation of the United States healthcare system. The game was released during congressional debates on the Clinton health care plan. Due to the complexity of the game, ''SimHealth'' was seen as being very difficult. Armed with none of the tongue-in-cheek humor that Maxis' prior games were known for, the only real link to the franchise was the ''SimCity 2000''-inspired user interface. The game was seen as more serious than other Maxis games. Noel Fritzinger, who with Lyman Orton first conceptualized CommunityViz, says that his inspiration came from seeing ''SimHealth'' and wondering if the same concepts could be applied to real-world land-use planning. Reception ''Computer Gaming World''s Keith Schlesinger in June 1994 said that "''SimHealth'' is a trailblazer in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darkspore
''Darkspore'' is a video game that borrowed creature editing technology from ''Spore''. It was described as "a fast-paced, science fiction action role-playing game in which the player battled across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the mutated forces of Darkspore". In addition to the creature editor, the game features a unique squad-based mechanic, various multiplayer options, and a player versus player arena. The game was released in North America on April 26, 2011, for Microsoft Windows, and in Europe on April 28, 2011. EA has removed the store page of ''Darkspore'' from Steam, meaning any attempt to purchase it through Steam cannot be made. The game was later relisted with EA saying that they would continue to support the game. Those who have purchased it prior to the page's removal still have the game and could play it until the servers were shut down permanently on March 1, 2016. The game is currently unplayable without circumventing its DRM scheme that requires a conn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
