"The Long Zoom"

In Steven Johnson's article "The Long Zoom" he starts out by defining what the long zoom actually is. It is a point of view, so to speak, or a way of viewing that we are familiar with. It is understanding the basic parts of something so that we can put them together to understand the whole thing.

Johnson, for example, uses the idea of starting in outerspace and traveling all the way forward until we can link it to the DNA in a person's body. It has become a relevant idea for this generation, allowing us to make connections like that while being able to see them through various forms of media.

Johnson focuses the article on game-creator Will Wright (creator of the Sims and SimCity). Wright is working on a game called Spore which would allow players to create and colonize their own planet. Like the Sims, it will be complex, allowing playes to get an idea of things like food chains and ecosystems. The game seems to be all about balance. Of his game, Wright says, " What you are doing in Spore is layer by layer creating an entire world that at the end of the day is entirely yours."

So what's the big deal, you ask? Players would get to play a game that challenges them but also shows them how these delicate balances in things like atmosphere work. Johnson sayys in Spore you get to create everything: "cell, creature, tribe, city, civilization, and space." If anyone can make a game about accurately sustaining a new planet, it's Will Wright.