Wright, it turns out, has a secret alter ego too. (What's a guy to do when someone swipes your real identity?) He roams the game as Das Kapitaen, a red-jumpsuit-wearing U-boat commander who, at the moment, is moonlighting as a cable TV installer. ''My outfit looks official, so people usually believe I work for the cable company,'' says Wright, without a trace of irony. To demonstrate, he finds a new Simsworld immigrant and proceeds to have some fun. ''Players are never quite sure if there actually is cable TV in the game,'' Wright says with a smirk. HELLO. I'M HERE TO HOOK UP YOUR CABLE, he types, while blithely walking into the unsuspecting player's house. um, ok, she writes back, only to quickly follow up: WAIT A SECOND...DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS?

Just as this Candid Camera moment kicks into high gear, reality intrudes: Wright must hurry off to a meeting. With three clicks of his heels (well, okay, his mouse), he exits his fantasyland and puts the Kapitaen into storage. But he'll be back: Tomorrow, he'll preside over the marriage of some in-game friends. ''They don't know I'm actually a registered minister,'' says a grinning Wright, who in fact is licensed to perform marriages and has thus far officiated over one real-life ceremony. ''I'll tell them that after the ceremony is finished.'' Might be time for someone to start building the Sim divorce court. -- Geoff Keighley

Originally posted Dec 06, 2002 Published in issue #685 Dec 06, 2002 Order article reprints
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