Will Wright, the video game designer of the popular Sims series, is currently working on Proxi, a life simulator that uses AI to learn more from players’ memories. During a Twitch stream on BreakthroughT1D’s channel, the man elaborated more on his current project. The main gimmick of the game is to use players’ memories as the basis of the gameplay. Your goal will be to train the Proxi‘s mind with your memories and build a mind world that you can explore.
After releasing a short teaser trailer on Gallium Studios’ YouTube channel, Wright decided to talk with BreakthroughT1D. This Twitch channel is owned by an organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. During the interview, the man said that he couldn’t remember the first time he thought of Proxi. He believed the idea had been around for a long time and had a deep connection to The Sims.
Wright said he wanted his new project to be a personal experience that utilized players’ real-life memories. He then said, “Kind of a saying I’ve lived by, which is that no game designer has ever gone wrong by overestimating the narcissism of their players.” He believed that if he could make a game that centered more on the players, they would enjoy it immensely.
Despite Wright’s confidence, the reception of Proxi has been rather lukewarm so far. At the time of writing, the launch trailer has only received several thousand views on YouTube. Commenters have also shared their doubts about the game. One commenter wrote that the project felt too experimental and boring to play.
Another joked that the game wanted to steal players’ personal data. One fan even wrote a lengthy post to express their doubts. They said that Proxi didn’t feel like a game and certainly wasn’t a life simulator like The Sims were. “You’re not really simulating life,” the fan wrote. “In the example given, you’re basically just using 3-D clipart to render a scene from your memory.”
