ManagerJosh
08-31-2007, 12:34 PM
Talking to EA during our Games Convention appointment, we were given an interesting lecture about demographics and changing direction in a popular game series such as SimCity. We were told that the first installments were appreciated not only by hardcore PC gamers, but also by a high percentage of casual players, some of whom were women. Starting with SimCity 3000, though, the series leaned more toward micromanagement, discouraging many casual gamers from even trying it. The idea behind this new installment is therefore going back in the series' history to create a title that makes the action revolve around the player again, a "god" able to decide the values to pursue and even the aesthetic aspects of a city.
Forget about the classic separation of residential, commercial and industrial areas. This time players can pick their favorite theme in a list that spans from the evergreen cyberpunk and industrial concepts to a romantic one, from a capitalist setting to "fun city" (any similarities with Las Vegas?). Each theme has its specific goals, and by accomplishing them, players can get the reward title of Fat Cat, earning even more Simoleons. Themes are an effective way to shape a city in the desired way, since each of them filters the buildings that players can choose. "Romantic" cities for example have no skyscrapers, but they offer a large number of Victorian and gothic houses; "fun" cities have the largest number of available entertainment venues. Since SimCity Societies (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/simcity-societies/) features an incredible number of buildings, different filters will help players to navigate through them by name, use or societal value.
Read the full preview (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/simcity-societies/817127p1.html)
Forget about the classic separation of residential, commercial and industrial areas. This time players can pick their favorite theme in a list that spans from the evergreen cyberpunk and industrial concepts to a romantic one, from a capitalist setting to "fun city" (any similarities with Las Vegas?). Each theme has its specific goals, and by accomplishing them, players can get the reward title of Fat Cat, earning even more Simoleons. Themes are an effective way to shape a city in the desired way, since each of them filters the buildings that players can choose. "Romantic" cities for example have no skyscrapers, but they offer a large number of Victorian and gothic houses; "fun" cities have the largest number of available entertainment venues. Since SimCity Societies (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/simcity-societies/) features an incredible number of buildings, different filters will help players to navigate through them by name, use or societal value.
Read the full preview (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/simcity-societies/817127p1.html)