The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is starting again in about three weeks, at 17 May. The biggest exposition of computer and video games will be a good one for Maxis fans this year, with The Sims 2 for consoles and handhelds, The Sims 2 Nightlife for the PC and Spore for PC and possibly Xbox 2 being shown. Besides that, Will Wright, designer of the original Sims game and now Spore, will be speaking at the "The path to creating AAA games: How successful designers learn from experience, or decide to break from it" workshop. The panel will discuss if developers learn from previously made games, and if they get inspired by them. Learning from mistakes will also be a topic. The moderator will ask the guests, including Wright, how the previous game influenced the game they've most recently completed or are working on now. To quote the exact description:

"In what ways do designers draw on their previous games for lessons and inspiration? Is the muse that contributes to the game design process wholly new for each game or does it tap a well of ever-increasing knowledge and experience? And what's to be learned from mistakes and games that underwhelmed and sold poorly? This session will ask a panel of experienced developers how they learn and build on their game design experience. We'll ask them to specifically address how their most-recently completed project (or one they are working on now) was influenced by the game that preceded it. If there are rules and conventions to follow in creating games, where do they come from? Is past experience a viable resource or is it best to start new projects with a clean slate?"

Carly Staehlin will host the workshop, and other guests are Mark Firor (Mythic Entertainment), Todd Howard (Bethesda Softworks: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Q Entertainment: Meteos, Lumines) and Tim Willits (ID Software: Doom 3). It's quite likely Wright will be speaking about Spore, although that is not specifically mentioned. For more information also see the E3 workshop list. Thanks to WorldSims for the tip.