
It's blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species from a single-celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being and turn it into a video game. But that's exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man who created The Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.
Which gadget is most useful or influential? Browse the nominees and cast your vote.
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