Will Wright details next venture: HiveMind

Will Wright has announced his next game, HiveMind. The application focuses on data collection and then tailoring an experience around the player's interests.

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Will Wright has unveiled his next game, along with a new start-up based out of Berkely, California. Both ventures are called HiveMind, though the "game" application doesn't sound much like a game at all. Much of the idea is still under wraps, but from Wright's statements so far, HiveMind seems more like an advanced social networking tool.

VentureBeat reports that HiveMind learns various facts about you through data collection. Details like your location, the location of your friends, or how much money is in your wallet would be given to HiveMind. In return, it would give you nearby listings of things that might interest you. The idea came to Wright when he happened across a meeting of car enthusiasts, and wondered how an application could have helped him discover it.

"Rather than craft a game like FarmVille for players to learn and play, we learn about you and your routines and incorporate that into a form of game play," he said. "It is about how we make reality more interesting to you."

Regarding concerns of privacy, Wright feels that people -- especially younger people -- are willing to trade a certain amount of personal information in exchange for such a tailored service. The idea is that once HiveMind collects data from a lot of people, it could match them up for shared interests.

You may wonder if this qualifies as a game at all, but Wright is defining the word a bit differently. "If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life," he said. "How do we get you more engaged in reality rather than distract you from it?"

The game's platforms haven't been discussed yet, but it could hit social platforms like Facebook and mobile devices, along with traditional game platforms. Wright also hinted that it could interact with other projects from his Stupid Fun Club. It's an ambitious idea, but Wright is sort of known for those. This should be one to watch.

Editor-In-Chief
From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 16, 2011 10:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Will Wright details next venture: HiveMind.

    Will Wright has announced his next game, HiveMind. The application focuses on data collection and then tailoring an experience around the player's interests.

    • reply
      November 16, 2011 10:36 AM

      Just announce Simcity 5 already! >:(

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      November 16, 2011 10:39 AM

      shame, i was hoping for a real game from him :(

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      November 16, 2011 11:50 AM

      "Regarding concerns of privacy, Wright feels that people -- especially younger people -- are willing to trade a certain amount of personal information in exchange for such a tailored service. "
      Uh yeah and how does that address any privacy concerns?

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      November 16, 2011 12:23 PM

      Really? All this Phaedrus crap and vague statements for a Facebook clone?

      I wonder what Chris Remo, fan of Wright-esque "system" games thinks of this.

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        November 16, 2011 1:10 PM

        Rememeber when we all thought Spore would be amazing?

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          November 16, 2011 3:13 PM

          ...if you're going to make something incredibly good that becomes frighteningly popular, make sure it's the last thing you ever make in your entire life. Because otherwise you get to spend the rest of your creative career struggling under the weight of high expectations and bricks. -- Yahtzee, Zero Punctuation episode for Spore ( http://zeropunctuation.wikia.com/wiki/Spore )

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          November 16, 2011 6:15 PM

          [deleted]

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      November 16, 2011 1:23 PM

      I hope they don't hire Sony's network team for security.

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      November 16, 2011 1:27 PM

      I really don't like this. Sounds like something that will be used for evil.

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      November 16, 2011 1:32 PM

      There is a rumour that Will Wright will overpromise and underdeliver on a game??? only a rumour at this point

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      November 16, 2011 1:42 PM

      That description (in the chatty) makes it sound like Origin just without the players interests.

    • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      November 16, 2011 1:48 PM

      It's cool that he's trying new stuff but the "game" label is incredibly tenuous. He's clearly just saying it to cash in on his gamer cred with stories like this one.

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      November 16, 2011 2:00 PM

      All credibility evaporated with Spore for me. This guy ranks up there with Molyneaux for driving the hype train.

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        November 16, 2011 5:36 PM

        True. Spore was a failure of gameplay and had all the cool science ripped out of it in favor of cutesy shite. Good luck Will W. making something more impressive then the Segway.

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        November 16, 2011 6:00 PM

        Nope, basically EA came in and forced a lot of changes. Will Wright is a stand up guy, and supported the company, but he was basically removed from Spore after 2005 and replaced with Chris Hecker. In two years the game was gutted, simplified, and made cute and family friendly.

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          November 16, 2011 6:07 PM

          spy party looks cool though

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          March 29, 2012 4:07 PM

          spot on dude.. that is rightly put.. Will W had nothing to do with the final product that EA released..
          another example of how publisher pressure ruins many fantastic ideas !

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      November 16, 2011 8:24 PM

      this sounds like something out of starcraft

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      November 16, 2011 10:22 PM

      doesn't double click and google advertising already do this?

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      November 17, 2011 8:10 AM

      And thus, SkyNet was born...

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        March 29, 2012 4:06 PM

        ahh.. you speak my mind friend..
        lets find Connor....

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        March 29, 2012 4:06 PM

        ahh.. you speak my mind friend..
        lets find Connor....

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