   #copyright

SimCity

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Computer & Video games

                                    SimCity
   Early cover arts of SimCity feature a jukebox-like design, with
   different versions depicting different cities and disasters.
    Developer(s)   Maxis
                   Nintendo EAD (SNES version)
    Publisher(s)   Brøderbund, Maxis, Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Superior
                   Software/ Acornsoft
     Designer(s)   Will Wright (SimCity series)
   Release date(s) See "ports and versions"
      Genre(s)     Simulation
                   City-building game
       Mode(s)     Single player
      Rating(s)    ELSPA: 3+ (Windows)
                   ESRB: Everyone (E) (Wireless)
     Platform(s)   See "ports and versions"
        Input      Keyboard & mouse

   SimCity is a simulation and city-building personal computer game, first
   released in 1989 and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first
   product, which has since been ported into various personal computers
   and game consoles, and enhanced into several different versions
   including SimCity 2000 in 1993, SimCity 3000 in 1999 and SimCity 4 in
   2003, while the original SimCity was later rebranded as SimCity
   Classic. Until the release of The Sims in 2000, the SimCity series was
   the best-selling line of computer games made by Maxis.

   SimCity spawned an entire series of Sim games. Since the release of
   SimCity, similar simulation games have been released focusing on
   different aspects of reality such as business simulation in Capitalism.

History

   SimCity was originally developed by game designer Will Wright. The
   inspiration for SimCity came from a feature of the game Raid on
   Bungeling Bay that allowed Wright to create his own maps during
   development. Wright soon found he enjoyed creating maps more than
   playing the actual game, and SimCity was born.

   The first version of the game was developed for the Commodore 64 in
   1985, but it would not be published for another four years. While the
   game sparked a new paradigm in computer gaming (by creating a game that
   could neither be won nor lost), game publishers did not believe it was
   possible to market and sell such a game successfully. Brøderbund
   declined to publish the title when Wright proposed it, and he pitched
   it to a range of major game publishers without success. Finally,
   founder Jeff Braun of then-tiny Maxis agreed to publish SimCity as one
   of two initial games for the company.

   Wright and Braun returned to Brøderbund to formally clear the rights to
   the game in 1988, when SimCity was near completion. Brøderbund
   executives Gary Carlston and Don Daglow saw that the title was
   infectious and fun, and signed Maxis to a distribution deal for both of
   its initial games. With that, four years after initial development,
   SimCity was released for the Amiga and Macintosh platforms, followed by
   the IBM PC and Commodore 64 later in 1989.

   SimCity is predominantly a single-player game (the exception being a
   "Network Edition" of SimCity 2000, and an obscure Unix port of the
   original SimCity). SimCity 4 also makes an attempt at multiplayer
   gaming with the ability to share regional maps and cities with other
   players, allowing players to collaborate, but not play in real time.

Objective

   The objective of SimCity, as the name of the game suggests, is to build
   and design a city, without specific goals to achieve (except in the
   scenarios, see below). The player can mark land as being zoned as
   commercial, industrial, or residential, add buildings, change the tax
   rate, build a power grid, build transportation systems and many other
   actions, in order to enhance the city.

   Also, the player may face disasters including: flooding, tornadoes,
   fires (often from air disasters or even shipwrecks), earthquakes and
   attacks by monsters. In addition, monsters and tornados can trigger
   train crashes by running into passing trains. Later disasters in the
   game's sequels included lightning strikes, volcanoes, meteors and
   attack by extra-terrestrial craft.

   In the SNES version and later, one can also build rewards when they are
   given to them, such as a mayor's mansion, casino, etc.

Scenarios

   The original SimCity kicked off a tradition of goal-centered, timed
   scenarios that could be won or lost depending on the performance of the
   player/mayor. The original cities were all based on real world cities
   and attempted to re-create their general layout, a tradition carried on
   in SimCity 2000 and in special scenario packs. While most scenarios
   either take place in a fictional timeline or have a city under siege by
   a fictional disaster, a handful of available scenarios are based on
   actual historical events.

   The original scenarios are:
     * Bern, 1965 - The Swiss capital is clogged with traffic, the mayor
       needs to reduce traffic and improve the city.
     * Boston, 2010 - The city's nuclear power plant suffers a meltdown,
       irradiating a portion of the city. The mayor must rebuild, contain
       the toxic areas, and return the city to prosperity. In some early
       editions of SimCity (on lower-power computers that did not include
       the nuclear power plants), this scenario was altered to have a
       tornado strike the city. Much like the Tokyo scenario below, the
       mayor needs to limit damage and rebuild.
     * Detroit, 1972 - Crime and depressed industry wreck the city. The
       mayor needs to reduce crime and reorganize the city to better
       develop. The scenario is a reference to Detroit's declining state
       during the late 20th century (See also History of Detroit,
       Michigan).
     * Rio de Janeiro, 2047 - Coastal flooding resulted from global
       warming rages through the city. The mayor must control the problem
       and rebuild. In some early editions of SimCity (on lower-power
       computers that did not include the flooding disaster), this
       scenario was altered to have the objective be fighting high crime.
     * San Francisco, 1906 - An earthquake hits the city, the mayor must
       control the subsequent damage, fires and rebuild. The scenario
       references the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
     * Tokyo, 1961 - The city is attacked by a Godzilla-type monster (
       Bowser in the SNES version). The mayor needs to limit the damage
       and rebuild. The scenario is strongly based on the original series
       of Godzilla films.

   The CD re-release, as well as the Amiga and Atari ST versions included
   two additional scenarios:
     * Dullsville, USA, 1900 - Boredom plagues a stagnating city in the
       middle of the United States; the mayor is tasked to turn Dullsville
       into a metropolis within 30 years.
     * Hamburg, Germany, 1944 - Bombing, where the mayor has to govern the
       city during the closing years of World War II and rebuild it later.
       This scenario references the bombing of Hamburg in World War II.

   In addition, the later edition of SimCity on the Super Nintendo (SNES)
   included the basics of these two scenarios in two, more difficult
   scenarios that were made available after a player had completed the
   original scenarios:
     * Las Vegas - Aliens attack the city. This invasion is spread out
       over several years, stretching city resources. While somewhat
       similar to Hamburg, the scenario included casino features as well
       as animated flying saucers.
     * Freeland - Using a blank map without any water form, the mayor must
       build a game-described megalopolis of at least 500,000 people.
       There is no time limit in this scenario. While similar to the
       earlier Dullsville scenario, Freeland took advantage of the SNES
       version's clear delineations between city sizes, particularly
       metropolis and megalopolis. In the centre of Freeland is a series
       of trees that bear the familiar head of Mario. However, the player
       is unable to build any of the reward buildings from the normal
       game.

Ports and versions

   SimCity was originally released for the personal computer, including
   the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS-based IBM PC. After its success it was
   converted for several other computer platforms and video game consoles,
   including the Commodore 64, Mac OS-based Macintosh, Acorn Archimedes,
   Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Sega Saturn, Super
   Nintendo Entertainment System, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy
   Advance, EPOC32, mobile phone, Internet, Windows, Virtual Console,
   FM-Towns and NeWS HyperLook on Sun Unix. The game is also available as
   a multiplayer version for X11 TCL/ Tk on various Unix, Linux, DESQview
   and OS/2 operating systems. Certain versions have since been
   re-released with various add-ons, including extra scenarios.

   CAPTION: Notable versions

   Platform Version - Release date Comments Image
   Amiga V.1.0 - ^NA 1989 Alongside SimCity for the Macintosh, this was
   the first and original version of SimCity. It ran on unexpanded Amigas
   with at least 512 kilobyte of memory, and was distributed on a single
   880 kilobyte floppy disk.
   V.2.0 Has new title sets, but requires 1MB of memory.
   Amiga CDTV ^EU 1991 Features a new interface fitted for the remote
   control.
   Amstrad CPC V.1.0 - ^EU 1990
   Atari ST V.1.0 - ^NA 1989 Features 16 colors
   BBC Micro
   Acorn Electron V.1.0 - ^UK 1990
   Commodore 64 V.1.0 - ^NA 1989
   Macintosh V.1.0 - ^NA 1989 Features high resolution monochrome graphics
   PC MS-DOS - ^NA 1989 Features high resolution EGA graphics and PC
   speaker audio.
   CD-ROM Released by Interplay for DOS, it added multimedia content in
   the form digitized photos, sounds and live-action video.
   Windows - ^NA 1991
   Super NES ^JP April 26, 1991
   ^NA August, 1991
   ^EU September 24, 1992 Published by Nintendo under license by Maxis,
   the SNES version of SimCity had additional features not found in the
   original SimCity, including graphics changing to match the seasons
   (trees are green in summer, turn rusty brown in the fall, white in the
   winter, and bloom as cherry blossoms in the spring), civic reward
   buildings, and a very energetic green-haired city advisor named Dr.
   Wright (after Will Wright), who would often pop up and inform the
   player of problems with their city. In addition, the SNES version of
   SimCity had two additional bonus scenarios, accessible when the
   original scenarios were completed: Las Vegas and Freeland (see section
   on scenarios). The style of the buildings also resemble those in Japan
   rather than those of North America in Western releases.

   Nintendo also put their stamp on the game, with the most dangerous
   disaster being Bowser attack on a city (in place of a generic
   movie-type monster), and a Mario statue awarded once a Megalopolis
   level of 500,000 inhabitants is reached.

   The SNES version of SimCity has been released for the Wii's Virtual
   Console service
   ZX Spectrum V.1.0 - 1989
     * SimCity Classic is available for Palm OS and on the SimCity.com
       website as Classic Live. It was also released by Atelier Software
       for the Psion 5 handheld computer, and mobile phones in 2006.
     * The July 2005 issue of Nintendo Power stated that a development
       cartridge of SimCity for the NES was found at Nintendo
       headquarters. Never released, it is reportedly the only one in
       existence.
     * Additionally a terrain editor and architecture disks were available
       with tileset graphics for settings of Ancient Asia, Medieval, Wild
       West, Future Europe, Future USA and a Moon Colony.

   Multi player SimCity for X11 TCL/Tk on the SGI Indigo workstation
   Multi player SimCity for X11 TCL/ Tk on the SGI Indigo workstation
     * Versions of SimCity for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, and Acorn
       Archimedes computers were published by Superior Software/
       Acornsoft. Programmer Peter Scott had to squeeze the 512k Amiga
       version of the game into 20k in order to run on the ageing 32k BBC
       Micro and Acorn Electron. Despite this, it kept almost all of the
       functionality of the Amiga game and very similar graphics (although
       only using four colours).
     * DUX Software published a Unix version of SimCity for the NeWS
       window system using the HyperLook user interface environment, and a
       multi-player version of SimCity for the X11 window system using the
       TCL/ Tk user interface toolkit, both developed and ported to
       various platforms by Don Hopkins.

   For other Sim games, see the list of Sim games.

Critical acclaim and legacy

   SimCity was critically acclaimed and received significant recognition
   within a year after its initial release. As of December 1990 (from a
   Maxis document by Sally Vandershaf, Maxis P.R. Coordinator), the game
   was reported to have won the following awards:
     * Best Entertainment Program 1989.
     * Best Educational Program, 1989.
     * Best Simulation Program, 1989.
     * Critics' Choice: Best Consumer Program, 1989, Software Publisher's
       Association.
     * Most Innovative Publisher, 1989, Computer Game Developer's
       Conference.
     * Best PC Game, 1989.
     * Member of the 1989 Game Hall of Fame, Macworld.
     * Game of the Year, 1989., Computer Gaming World.
     * Second Best Simulation of all Time for C-64.
     * Fourth Best Simulation of All Time for Amiga, .info.
     * Editors' Choice Award: Best Simulation, 1989, Compute.
     * Editors' Choice Award: Best Recreation Program, 1989, MacUser.

     * Best Computer Strategy Game, 1989, Video Games & Computer
       Entertainment.
     * Best Game Designer of the Year: Will Wright, for SimCity, 1989,
       Computer Entertainer.
     * Best 20th Century Computer Game, 1989, Charles S. Roberts Award.
     * Software Award of Excellence, 1990-1991, Technology and Learning.
     * Best Educational Program, 1990, European Computer Leisure Award.
     * Tild D'Or (Golden Award): Most Original Game, 1989, Tilt (France).
     * Game of the Year, 1989, Amiga Annual (Australia).
     * World Class Award, 1990, Macworld (Australia).

   In addition, SimCity won the Origins Award for "Best Military or
   Strategy Computer Game" of 1989 in 1990, and the multiplayer X11
   version of the game was also nominated in 1992 as the Best Product of
   the Year in Unix World.

Legacy

   The subsequent success of SimCity speaks for itself: "Sim" games of all
   types were developed — with Will Wright and Maxis developing myriad
   titles including SimEarth, SimFarm, SimTown, Streets of SimCity,
   SimCopter, SimAnt, SimLife, SimIsle, SimPark, SimSafari, Sim Theme Park
   and The Sims, as well as SimsVille and SimMars, which were both never
   released. They also obtained licenses for some titles developed in
   Japan, such as SimTower and Let's Take The A-Train (just called A-Train
   outside of Japan). The most recent development is The Sims, and its
   sequel, The Sims 2. An upcoming release, Spore, was originally going to
   be titled "SimEverything" - a name that Will Wright thought might
   accurately describe what he was trying to achieve. Three SimCity
   sequels were also spawned - SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4.
   At present, a fifth SimCity is revealed by EA chief financial officer
   Warren Jenson to be "in the pipeline."

   SimCity inspired a new genre of video games. "Software toys" that were
   open-ended with no set objective were developed trying to duplicate
   SimCity's success. The most successful was most definitely Wright's own
   The Sims, which went on to be the best selling computer game of all
   time. The ideas pioneered in SimCity have been incorporated into
   real-world applications as well. For example, VisitorVille simulates a
   city based on website statistics.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
