In 2001, game design luminary Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims, Spore) took the stage at GDC to give a keynote presentation aimed at inspiring his fellow game designers by sharing the work of design professionals outside of games.

"You can't wait for inspiration; you have to go after it with a club," said Wright, reciting a famous quote from author Jack London. "Really I just want to make some brief impressions on you, maybe trigger some associations that you find useful in your design process." 

Like many of Wright's presentations, it was both intriguing and packed with interesting ideas that fellow game makers might appreciate. To the best of our knowledge, the recording of this classic talk has never been published online -- until today. 

It's well worth a watch, not least of all because it's a good reminder of where the field of game design was at in 2001 -- and how it has (or hasn't) changed in the intervening years. Watch it now for free on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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