Will Wright is the co-founder of Maxis and creator of simulation games like SimCity and The Sims. In his TED talk, he demonstrates his new game Spore and discusses how it is designed to provoke philosophical thought as a toy. He engages the audience by playing the game as he discusses it and mixing in scientific concepts plainly. He maintains dynamism through his obvious excitement about the game despite occasionally looking down while playing. His use of personal stories helps connect with the audience on a natural level.
1. Public Speaking
TED Evaluation
By Jeff Phelps
Will Wright
“Spore: Birth of a Game”
2. Will Wright is…
Co- founder of the game company Maxis and
creator of Sim City, The Sims, and of course Spore.
He also created a multitude of other Sim games including
Sim Earth, Sim Farm, Sim Ant, and my favorite Sim Tower.
3. Thesis
To demonstrate his game Spore and show how it is a toy designed to illicit
philosophical thought.
4. Capturing The Audience
Will captured his audience first by showing off
his “cyborg” arm, and then used his own
personal stories in order to show how he views
videogames as toys.
5. Engaging the Audience
Will maintains his engagement by demoing his
game while talking about it. He also continues to
mix in science with the theories behind his
game.
6. TED Ten Command
The Commandment Will follows is…
Make the complex plain.
Will references many scientific theories but he always
uses stories and plain speech to get across the point he
was trying to make
7. Dynamism
I would give Will a 4/5 on his dynamism during
the speech.
He is clearly talking about something he is excited about considering he invested 4 years
into this game. He talks very plainly but at a good enough pace that it doesn’t get boring.
He frequently looks down but this is only because he is playing a game while he is talking.
8. Garr Reynolds Tips
I think the main tip that Will really hit on was
naturalness. Since he was playing a game while
talking it seemed very conversational. He also
included many anecdotes about himself which
helped it seem more relaxed.
9. Nancy Duarte Tips
Will was able to practice Design Not Decoration
He used very few off topic visuals and mainly just
showed off his game
10. What I Learned
I think the most important thing I learned from watching will was
how to demo a game and still talk plainly about them. I think this
will be a skill that I will need to learn in order to show off my
own games
11. Compare and Contrast
I think Sir Ken’s visuals supported his message
more, however I think will was limited since he
was demoing his game.
12. Tips For The Future
The main tip I can think of is the vast benefits of
visual aides
Using personal stories helps connect you to your
audience on a personal level
Don’t be afraid to use scientific terms but always
explain them afterward.
13. Visual Aids
Help to get your point across without bogging down
your presentation
They also make your presentations more entertaining to look at
14. Personal Stories
Helps you make a personal connection with your
audience
Allows your audience to try to connect to your
message on a personal level as well
15. Scientific Terminology
You can use scientific terminology to engage the more advanced
members of your audience.
Just be sure to define it in simple terms afterward in order to
keep the rest of your audience
