[HN Gopher] The Story of Maxis Software (1999)
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       The Story of Maxis Software (1999)
        
       Author : ecliptik
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2022-01-30 21:25 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (web.archive.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (web.archive.org)
        
       | Aloha wrote:
       | This language dates the article, and (as a queer person) amuses
       | me.
       | 
       | "A homosexual programmer at Maxis objected to the use of female
       | characters as objects of affection in SimCopter. So, he decided
       | to protest by putting what he termed "muscle boys in swim trunks"
       | into the game. During the game, these characters would
       | mysteriously appear and kiss each other, but only on very rare
       | occasions. At least, that was the idea. Unfortunately, as the
       | programmer told Wired magazine in 1996, "My random-number
       | generator didn't work as I'd planned," and the characters
       | appeared with startling regularity. Upon discovery of the errant
       | code, the programmer was immediately fired, but the transgression
       | spoke volumes about the frenetic and fragmented state of affairs
       | at Maxis"
       | 
       | That's a pretty hilarious easter egg though, too bad the RNG
       | didn't work correctly, then no one would have really noticed.
       | 
       | Part of me suspects this was probably a known thing that it went
       | it, and he was only fired because the RNG didnt work correctly
       | and it appeared too often.
        
         | peterjmag wrote:
         | For anyone who's curious, here's a video of the Easter egg in
         | action, along with a some more interesting backstory on Jacques
         | Servin, the programmer in question:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4mh7Pc5MSI&t=495s
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | daniel-cussen wrote:
         | Ha, the RNG didn't work as planned. Do the women kiss anybody?
        
       | mewse wrote:
       | I worked at Maxis for about six months during the middle part of
       | the events described in the article. I started during the
       | tumultuous days surrounding the initial attempt at SimCity 3000
       | (I didn't work on that project, though I saw its prototypes from
       | time to time), up until shortly after the EA buyout was announced
       | (but before it actually happened).
       | 
       | On my first day at work there was a giant poster in the reception
       | area which you'd see on your way back out to the elevators, which
       | began with the text, "To departing staff:". The SimCity 3k
       | debacle was already bleeding their staff, and I remember thinking
       | -- even as a fresh university graduate with no real work
       | experience -- that that probably wasn't a good sign. (I don't
       | remember noticing it again after the first day; it may actually
       | have only been up for that one day)
       | 
       | My cubicle was about two meters from Wil Wright's glass-fronted
       | office, with direct line of sight into it. My major regret is
       | that I never introduced myself to him or even spoke to him at all
       | (I was just a fresh university graduate and he was freaking Wil
       | Wright. And also, he always looked kind of stressed and unhappy
       | in there and I never wanted to impose)
       | 
       | RE: the story's comment "There was absolutely no explanation as
       | to why SimCity 3000 needed to be 3D," I again wasn't actually on
       | that project, but it was clear to see that it wasn't possible to
       | make the game in 3D at that time. This was the era of the
       | original 3DFX Voodoo card, and there were only two of them in the
       | entire company (and somehow I had one of them and I never
       | understood why). But the reason I was given for making the game
       | in 3D was that it was a decision from Marketing; it was a core
       | game bullet point that was going to be required if SimCity 3000
       | was going to save the company the way that SimCity 2000 had done.
       | No 3D? The company wouldn't survive. So there were epic battles
       | between marketing and sales saying that it was what was required
       | to save the company on one side, and the programmers who would
       | have to actually implement the game saying that it wasn't
       | technically possible on the other side.
       | 
       | It was an interesting situation to be tossed into as your first
       | thing out of university, I have to say. Even if I was kind of
       | over to one side working on Streets of SimCity and only seeing it
       | in my peripheral vision.
        
       | ozarkerD wrote:
       | I was going to say I miss the age in video games where there were
       | well known players like Sid Meier or Will Wright, but then I
       | noticed the article was written by Geoff Keighley who I still
       | know of today for running the game awards. Kinda funny.
        
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