Proxi: Maxis's Fresh

Will Wright, creator of The Sims, recently offered a deeper look into his new AI-powered life simulation game, Proxi, during a Twitch livestream with BreakthroughT1D. Initially unveiled in 2018, Proxi remained largely shrouded in mystery until a teaser was released last month by its developer, Gallium Studio. This livestream provided significant new details.

BreakthroughT1D, a leading organization dedicated to Type 1 diabetes research, uses its Twitch channel to collaborate with the gaming community for fundraising. Their "Dev Diaries" series features interviews with game developers, discussing their work and personal experiences. Wright's appearance provided a fascinating insight into Proxi.

Proxi is described as an "AI life sim built from your memories." Players input personal memories as text, which the game transforms into animated scenes. These scenes are customizable using in-game assets for a more accurate representation. Each added memory ("mem") trains the game's AI and populates the player's "mind world," a navigable 3D environment composed of hexagons.

This mind world expands as more mems are added, becoming populated with Proxies representing friends and family. Memories are arranged chronologically and linked to Proxies to reflect the context and individuals involved. Remarkably, Proxies can even be exported to other game worlds, such as Minecraft and Roblox.

Wright emphasized Proxi's goal of creating "magical connections with memories, bringing them to life." He aimed for a deeply personal player experience, stating, "I found myself getting continuously closer and closer to the player. A saying I've lived by is that no game designer has ever gone wrong by overestimating the narcissism of their players." He jokingly added, "It goes to figure that the more I can make a game about you, the more you'll like it."

Proxi is now featured on Gallium Studio's website, with platform announcements forthcoming.