In which Matthew writes to Wright

Dear Will Wright,

So now you've made SimCity, SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000, SimEarth, SimLife, SimCopter, SimAnt, The Sims, and, today, you released Spore [I had considered buying myself a copy as a reward for completing a dissertation prospectus draft today... but as the day drags on I'm wondering whether that draft will ever get finished]; under your name or following your lead, we've had sim civilizations, sim rollercoasters, sim sex.

All of that shit is brilliant, obviously, but it has no storyline. I was hoping maybe you would start work next on SimTroy. Think of it: major poetic minds in various European cultures have told stories that unfold during the same finite historical moment in or around the same city walls: Homer, Virgil, Giovanni Boccaccio, Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert Henryson, William Shakespeare, Brad Pitt. With your help, we could tell all the Trojan stories at the same time, in real time. The user, a random Trojan or Greek, could wander through the city and overhear (or join) any one of these dramas -- because part of the thrill of them is that they all happen simultaneously. Step inside the walls and help Pandarus bring together two young lovers. Step outside and battle alongside or against Achilles or Ajax. Join the funeral games. The trick is that all the NPC in-game dialogue would be translated as directly as possible from the great poetic works, creating a Troy that is a mishmosh of various cultures (and populated by a bunch of antisocial gamers).

Also, I think you might do well to switch hairdressers. Right now, your message seems only to be "behind simulation after simulacrum after simulation, all there really is is terrible, terrible hair."

All best,
Matthew