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Proxi

Proxi is an upcoming artificial intelligence-powered life simulation video game that enables players to construct personalized virtual worlds derived from their own memories, transforming textual descriptions into interactive 3D scenes populated by AI-generated characters known as "proxies." Designed by acclaimed video game creator Will Wright, best known for SimCity and The Sims, the game emphasizes self-exploration and narrative building through a "memory palace" mechanic, where players organize and connect recollections by themes such as people, places, emotions, and events. Developed by Gallium Studios, an independent studio co-founded by Wright and CEO Lauren Elliott in 2015, Proxi integrates generative AI technologies, including tools like Midjourney for visuals and Numenta's NuPIC for neuroscience-inspired memory modeling, to create dynamic, editable environments.^[1]^[2]^[3] In gameplay, players begin by inputting "mems"—short textual accounts of personal experiences—which the AI interprets into animated vignettes, such as a childhood trip or a significant conversation, rendered as customizable "snow globes" or hex-based landscapes that reflect emotional tones through sentiment analysis. These elements form a navigable mind map or timeline, allowing users to terraform terrain, interact with proxy avatars representing real individuals, and even export creations to platforms like Minecraft or Roblox for further sharing. Wright has described the core appeal as leveraging player narcissism, noting, "The more I can make a game about you, the more you'll like it," highlighting how the game's personalization fosters deeper emotional engagement than traditional simulations.^[2]^[1]^[3] The project's development traces back to Wright's early concepts around 2018, with Gallium Studios securing $6 million in seed funding from Griffin Gaming Partners in August 2022 to support prototyping and AI integration. Despite challenges in securing further investment—echoing the initial hurdles faced by The Sims—the studio has released teaser trailers and conducted public demos, such as at the GamesBeat Summit in May 2024, to showcase its innovative blend of AI and personal storytelling. Targeted for release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, Proxi remains in active development with no confirmed launch date as of late 2025, positioning it as a pioneering entry in AI-assisted gaming that prioritizes user-generated content over predefined narratives.^[1]^[2]

Gameplay

Memory Input

In Proxi, the memory input phase allows players to initiate the game's personalized simulation by describing real-life experiences that the AI uses as foundational prompts for world-building. Players primarily enter these memories through textual input, such as typing descriptions or keywords, which the system interprets to create initial digital scenes.^[4]^[5] This process begins during character creation, where memories—referred to as "mems"—are added to train the player's digital proxy and shape the surrounding environment.^[6] The types of memories inputted can include personal events, relationships with people, specific locations, or meaningful objects from the player's life, enabling a customized narrative that reflects individual history.^[7] For instance, a player might describe a childhood vacation to a beach town, including sensory details like the sound of waves or the feel of sand, to evoke a vivid proxy scene. To ensure coherent AI interpretation, players are encouraged to structure descriptions with clear, evocative language—focusing on key elements, emotions, and associations—rather than vague summaries, as highlighted in developer previews from late 2024.^[8] These inputs are visualized as interactive "memory bubbles" or snow globe-like orbs, containing 3D objects, photos, and audio clips that players can explore and refine.^[5] This input mechanism is intentionally designed to feel therapeutic, promoting reflection and reminiscence with psychological benefits such as self-discovery through recalling distant memories.^[1] By prompting players to articulate personal stories, the phase fosters emotional connections to the simulated world, aligning with the game's emphasis on subconscious patterns and life simulation.^[5]

Proxy Generation

In Proxi, proxies serve as AI-generated 3D representations of people, places, and objects drawn directly from the player's inputted memories, forming the foundational elements of personalized simulation environments. These digital entities encapsulate elements such as family members, childhood locations, or significant possessions, rendered with visual and interactive fidelity tailored to the described context. Unlike pre-built assets in traditional games, proxies are dynamically created to reflect the subjective nuances of individual recollections, enabling a highly introspective gameplay experience. The proxy generation process begins with player-provided memory inputs, typically entered as textual descriptions or prompts, which are processed by generative AI models to produce bespoke 3D models, textures, and basic interaction scripts. The AI parses the prompt for key details—such as visual attributes, spatial arrangements, and relational dynamics—and synthesizes these into cohesive assets; for instance, a description of a family gathering might yield character models with appropriate clothing and environmental props like furniture or lighting. This step leverages diffusion-based or similar generative techniques to ensure uniqueness, with outputs refined iteratively as additional memory details are added to enhance accuracy and depth. Proxies extend beyond static visuals by incorporating emergent behaviors derived from the memory's contextual cues, allowing for autonomous actions and personality traits that evolve during simulation. For example, a proxy representing a childhood friend might exhibit playful or nostalgic mannerisms inferred from descriptors of shared experiences, enabling organic interactions like casual conversations or collaborative activities within the game world. This behavioral layer is powered by AI inference that maps emotional tones and relationships from the input data, fostering unpredictability and replayability without manual scripting.

World Simulation

In Proxi, players engage in assembly mechanics by placing generated proxies—AI-driven avatars derived from personal memories—into a customizable 3D world, allowing them to construct scenarios that relive past events or explore hypothetical alternatives. This process begins with selecting and positioning proxies within a hex-based environment, where players can terraform terrain, adjust environmental elements influenced by memory sentiments, and build communities by incorporating additional proxies representing friends, family, or even historical figures. For instance, a player might assemble a scene recreating a family gathering or invent a "what if" interaction, such as a conversation between personal acquaintances and fictional characters, fostering emergent narratives through proxy placements.^[9]^[10]^[7] The simulation dynamics operate in real-time, with proxies exhibiting life-like behaviors powered by AI that interprets inputted memories to drive interactions and evolutions. Proxies respond dynamically to their surroundings and each other, forming relationships, pursuing goals, or reacting to player interventions based on the emotional and contextual data from memories, such as sentiment analysis that shapes personality traits and decision-making. This creates evolving scenarios where proxies might collaborate on tasks, resolve conflicts, or adapt to changes, like a proxy altering its routine after a simulated event intervention, ensuring interactions feel organic and responsive rather than scripted.^[10]^[9]^[7] A key feature of the world simulation is its sandbox freedom, which permits infinite variations by enabling players to manipulate memory outcomes and environmental factors without predefined limits. Players can experiment with alterations, such as changing the result of a past event—like redirecting a family decision or introducing new variables to a historical proxy interaction—to observe cascading effects on the simulation. This open-ended design supports collaborative elements, where shared memory contributions from the community can expand worlds, allowing for diverse, player-driven explorations that blend personal history with imaginative fiction.^[9]^[10] The unique concept underlying these mechanics emphasizes emotional exploration, positioning the simulation as a tool for personal reflection on memories. By visualizing and interacting with recreated or modified events, players gain insights into their emotional connections, such as reliving joyful moments like meeting a pet or graduation, which can evoke deeper self-understanding. As highlighted in December 2024 discussions with game designer Will Wright, this approach transforms the simulation into a "software heirloom," preserving and reinterpreting memories in ways that promote therapeutic introspection and emotional processing.^[9]^[7]

Development

Inception and Concept Origins

The concept of Proxi emerged from Will Wright's enduring fascination with simulation games that model human behavior and environments, building on his pioneering work in titles like The Sims (2000) and Spore (2008), which emphasized emergent storytelling and player-driven creation. After Spore's release, Wright shifted his focus toward more intimate, AI-personalized experiences, conceptualizing a game that would simulate individual memories to explore themes of identity and self-discovery. This evolution gained momentum around 2015, as Wright began collaborating on innovative projects that integrated artificial intelligence to represent subjective human perspectives, moving beyond the generalized simulations of his earlier games.^[1]^[11] At its core, Proxi's inception draws from psychological and neuroscientific theories on how memories form networks in the brain, influencing subconscious decision-making and personal worldview. Wright envisioned the game as a tool for digital memory preservation, allowing players to input recollections that an AI could reconstruct into interactive vignettes, fostering philosophical reflection on the fluidity of recollection and the essence of self. This approach prioritizes conceptual depth over literal accuracy, aiming to reveal hidden patterns in how individuals perceive their past.^[1]^[5] Early prototypes, developed in the years leading up to the public reveal, experimented with basic neural network architectures to map and generate memory-based scenes, but the emphasis remained on philosophical underpinnings—such as the role of memories in shaping identity—rather than advanced technical optimizations. These initial explorations highlighted Proxi's potential as a "memory simulator," a platform for users to externalize and interact with their inner narratives in a simulated world.^[12]^[5] The project received its first public announcement during Unity's keynote at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on March 19, 2018, where Wright described Proxi as an innovative mobile title focused on memory simulation without disclosing detailed gameplay mechanics. This teaser positioned the game as a departure from traditional simulations, inviting artists and developers to contribute through a Unity-sponsored contest to visualize memory-derived worlds.^[13]^[14]

Gallium Studios Formation

Gallium Studios was co-founded in 2015 by video game designer Will Wright and Lauren Elliott, a veteran developer known for her work on the Carmen Sandiego series.^[15]^[16] The studio emerged from Wright's post-Maxis endeavors, where he sought to explore innovative simulation concepts unbound by corporate constraints following his departure from Electronic Arts in 2009. Initially operating under the name Gallium Artists, the team announced early work on Proxi in 2018, inviting community contributions to prototype memory-based 3D art assets.^[17]^[13] By 2020, Gallium Artists had transitioned into the fully formed Gallium Studios, solidifying its structure as an independent entity dedicated to AI-driven simulation games.^[18] Proxi serves as the studio's flagship project, emphasizing personal memory simulation through artificial intelligence. The studio maintained its independence, avoiding acquisition or major publisher partnerships, and secured initial funding in 2022 through a $6 million investment from Griffin Gaming Partners to support prototype development and expansion for blockchain-integrated simulation games, including Proxi and VoxVerse.^[15] The team comprises a small core group of around 11-50 members, prioritizing AI specialists, simulation designers, and artists to foster creative, player-centric experiences.^[16]^[1] Early prototypes for Proxi were funded through internal resources and community collaborations, allowing the studio to refine its AI-focused vision before broader investment.^[13]^[15]

Key Milestones and Updates

Proxi was first publicly revealed on March 19, 2018, during Unity's keynote at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), where Will Wright demonstrated early prototypes built in Unity, showcasing diorama-like scenes representing subconscious memories.^[13]^[14] In November 2024, Gallium Studios released a gameplay trailer highlighting the game's core mechanics, followed by a Reddit AMA hosted by Will Wright on November 12, which publicly introduced the proxy system—AI-driven digital representations of the player derived from personal memories.^[19]^[20] December 2024 saw further details emerge during a Twitch livestream on December 17, organized by BreakthroughT1D, where Wright elaborated on the world's simulation features, including how AI generates interactive environments from user-inputted memory vignettes.^[6]^[3] By February 2025, updates focused on refining memory reflection mechanics, with discussions emphasizing how proxies evolve to mirror players' subconscious traits through iterative AI feedback loops, as covered in community analyses and developer talks.^[11] In April 2025, Gallium Studios faced significant funding pitch challenges for Proxi, echoing the early development hurdles of The Sims, as Wright noted in interviews about investor skepticism toward its personal, AI-centric simulation approach; prototype refinement continued through mid-2025 amid these obstacles.^[1] As of November 2025, Proxi has no confirmed release date. Initially announced in 2018 as a mobile title potentially for Apple Arcade, target platforms now include PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, with no verified involvement from Apple Arcade.

Technical Aspects

Game Engine and Tools

Proxi is built with cross-platform compatibility for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, supporting 3D rendering and sandbox-style world building for interactive memory-derived scenes. The game's engine facilitates efficient handling of diverse hardware, ensuring consistent performance in rendering dynamic, AI-influenced environments.^[1] The engine powers Proxi's real-time simulation features, including physics for object interactions and animation systems for proxy behaviors, such as fluid movements in memory vignettes. These components allow for responsive environmental responses to player inputs, like manipulating elements in a sandbox mode, without compromising frame rates in complex, procedurally assembled scenes.^[1] Gallium Studios has developed in-house custom editors to streamline memory prompt handling and world assembly. These tools enable creators to import and process assets—such as 3D models, 2D backgrounds, and audio—via intuitive interfaces with previews and systems for content creation. This toolkit supports rapid iteration on user-submitted content that feeds into the game's AI-driven simulations.^[1] The project was initially announced in 2018 with a focus on rapid prototyping for AI integration. As of 2025, development continues with emphasis on AI tools for visual and interactive elements.^[13]

AI Integration

Proxi employs generative AI models, such as diffusion-based systems exemplified by tools like DALL·E and Midjourney, to transform player-submitted text or voice prompts describing personal memories into dynamic 3D assets, animated scenes, and character behaviors.^[1] These models enable the creation of personalized "memory bubbles" containing objects, photos, and audio elements that reflect subconscious associations uncovered from the input data.^[1] By processing descriptive keywords and contextual details, the AI generates emergent content that populates the game's simulated world, allowing for infinite variations in visual and interactive elements without relying solely on pre-built assets.^[2] The behavioral AI in Proxi powers the proxies—AI-driven characters derived from player memories—through machine learning algorithms that facilitate dynamic responses and long-term evolution. Integrated with Numenta's NuPIC platform, a neuroscience-inspired system, these proxies adapt traits, form relationships, and exhibit changes in emotional states based on ongoing interactions and memory integrations.^[1] For instance, sentiment analysis of memory inputs influences proxy reactions, simulating relational shifts over time as new associations are mapped, which drives emergent gameplay narratives within shared or private worlds.^[2] This distributed intelligence approach, reminiscent of earlier simulations like SimAnt, allows proxies to respond contextually to environmental cues and player decisions, enhancing the realism of social dynamics.^[1] Ethical considerations are central to Proxi's AI design, with Will Wright emphasizing user privacy through on-device processing that keeps personal memories local and under player control.^[21] This approach ensures no user data is transmitted to external servers without explicit consent, mitigating risks associated with sensitive recollections such as traumatic events.^[1] By default, memories reside in private "mind-worlds" on terraformable hexagons, with sharing limited to opt-in scenarios, fostering trust in the AI's handling of intimate data.^[2] A distinctive feature is the AI "memory mapping" algorithm, which clusters and links memories to establish narrative coherence among proxies, as detailed in 2024 technical previews from Gallium Studios.^[1] This algorithm, leveraging large language models within NuPIC, constructs a 3D networked "memory palace" by identifying patterns across people, places, emotions, and events, thereby revealing subconscious connections that inform proxy behaviors and world evolution.^[1] The result is a coherent simulation where disparate memories interconnect to generate meaningful, player-specific stories, prioritizing conceptual depth over rote replication. Recent demos, including the November 2024 trailer, showcase advancements in this mapping for dynamic storytelling.^[2]^[20]

References

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Gallium Studios finds Will Wright's memories game, Proxi, as hard to ...
Apr 29, 2025 · Proxi is based on your real-life memories, as you describe them. Your words become part of a prompt for generative AI, which converts them into ...
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The Sims creator Will Wright discusses his forthcoming AI life sim Proxi
Dec 18, 2024 · Will Wright, creator of The Sims and co-founder of its developer Maxis, has shared fresh details of his forthcoming AI life sim, Proxi.<|control11|><|separator|>
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The Sims designer Will Wright is making his next life sim more ...
Dec 17, 2024 · Will Wright, the designer of The Sims and co-founder of Maxis, appeared on Twitch today to talk about his next game, Proxi, which is an AI life sim built from ...
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The Sims designer's new AI game is giving me the creeps
Dec 20, 2024 · The trailer above shows that a player will be able to input their memories by typing, which generates a 3D animated scene that the player can ...
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Powering Proxi with a brain-based AI platform | by Gallium Studios
Aug 15, 2024 · Proxi leverages AI to analyze your memories and build maps of how you view the world. It can uncover subconscious associations and patterns you might not have ...
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Proxi, The Sims Creator's New Game, Has More Details Revealed
Dec 20, 2024 · With each new memory (called a mem) put into the game, it trains your game's mind and the memory is put into the player's "mind world," a 3D ...Missing: input process structuring tips
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Proxi is an AI Simulation Game Developed by Ex-The Sims Designer
Dec 19, 2024 · Proxi is an AI simulation game that uses players' real memories to shape the in-game world. So the first step would be to create your own Proxies.
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Nov 6, 2024 · This doesn't feel like a life sim, this feels like a photo studio with strict constraints on what can and cannot be in a scene. GalliumStudios.<|control11|><|separator|>
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The Sims creator's new life sim will let you arrange dinner with ...
Dec 18, 2024 · The game could be described as a memory-focused life sim, as you flesh out the inner lives of your avatars (Proxies) by typing up their memories.
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Dec 19, 2024 · In Proxi, players input memories in textual form, which the game visualizes as scenes using pre-existing or player-made assets. These memories ...
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Feb 28, 2025 · Back in 2015, Will Wright joined forces with another videogame legend, Lauren Elliott, who's the designer of Where in the World is Carmen ...
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Will and his programmer reveal and iterate on prototypes they are developing for their new game, Proxi. Witness how collaboration and prototyping can influence ...
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Mar 19, 2018 · Proxi, a new mobile game from legendary game designer Will Wright, was revealed today during Unity's keynote at Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018.Missing: announcement | Show results with:announcement
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Will Wright returns to game development with mobile title Proxi
Mar 20, 2018 · Wright and Unity have announced a content where they will be looking for an artist to help bring the veteran's creative vision to life.Missing: inspiration origins SXSW
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Sep 22, 2022 · We're an indie game dev studio created by Will Wright (The Sims, SimCity) and Lauren Elliott (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?).
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Will Wright partners with Unity for new project - MCV/DEVELOP
Mar 21, 2018 · Wright and his studio Gallium Artistic Services are partnering with Unity to organise a contest to find a 3D artist to bring Proxi to life.Missing: concept | Show results with:concept
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Firm Advises Will Wright's Gallium Studios on $6 Million Funding to ...
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AMA alert! Hi - I'm Will Wright (The Sims, SimCity, Spore, Proxi, etc ...
Nov 12, 2024 · We're working on Proxi, a new AI-driven life simulation game that lets you make magical connections with your memories and bring them to life.I'm Will Wright (The Sims, SimCity, Spore, Proxi, etc.) and I want your ...[CROSSPOST] Game Designer Will Wright (The Sims, SimCity ...More results from www.reddit.com
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Proxi. A new AI Life Sim Game by Will Wright's Gallium Studios.
Nov 6, 2024 · The not-a-trailer-trailer for Proxi. (Seriously, this is just a small snippet. But we're excited to share what we've been working on with ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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The Sims creator's first game in over 10 years is an AI life sim that ...
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Proxi is an artificial intelligence simulation video game designed by Will Wright to be published by Gallium Artists through Apple Arcade.
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Mar 22, 2018 · To enter memories to the Proxi game, players will need to take three personal memories and bring them to life with separate environmental scenes ...Missing: input | Show results with:input
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Mar 20, 2018 · He announced in a video today that he is making a mobile game called Proxi, using Unity Technologies' game engine. Wright made the ...
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Dec 21, 2023 · Gallium Studios is an independent game developer creating Proxi, a life simulation game about making magical connections with your memories and ...