SimCity was released in 1989, was originally called Micropolis and was designed by the infamous Will Wright. For those that don’t know Will Wright, its suffice to say he’s one of the most popular and influential game designers of our time. SimCity, TheSims, SimAnt, SimFarm and Spore are a few of his hits and TheSims has taken many records since its original release.
Wright had trouble finding a publisher for a game in which you couldn’t really “win or lose.” Turned down by Broderbund, Wright eventually pitched the idea to Jeff Braun of Maxis. Maxis agreed to publish Simcity as one of its first two games.
When near complete, Wright and Braun took the game back to Broderbund to clear the rights for the game. Broderbund executives Gary Carlston and Don Daglow saw how addicting the game could be and signed Maxis to a distribution deal. Four years after initial development, SimCity was released for the Amiga and Macintosh platforms, followed soon after by the IBM PC and Commodore 64. On January 10th 2008, the SimCity source code was released under the GPL license as… Micropolis!
The objective of the game is simple, build and design a city. Though the player could focus on building a highly efficient city with an ever growing populace, it was by no means required. In a sense, open ended, the player was free to design the city as they chose.
Included in the city building experience was the possibility of natural disasters such as flooding, tornadoes and more. Pre-designed scenarios were also included in the game such as the Boston 2010 nuclear meltdown, or mass coastal flooding of Rio de Janeiro of 2047 … even a Godzilla attack of Tokyo in 1961.
In the years to follow, the SimCity franchise would continue to expand with greater detail as SimCity 2000 (1993), SimCity 3000 (1999), SimCity 4 (2003) and a host of other “Sim” games and until the release of “The Sims” in 2000, the SimCity series was the best-selling line of games made by Maxis.
In Fall of 2008, EA will release the next child in the SimCity family, SimCity Creator for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems. And thus, history continues!
Hey Derrick, Jen & Don
Question of the week: Does Kinect sound more desirable with all the new information and rumored pricing make you consider the purchase?
Kinect & Wii have some cool concepts but its going to have to be really good to get me to buy into it. The main reason why I’m a bit weary is because the kind of games Kinect has to offer isn’t the game genre I’m into. I like to play games as a graphic novel. In a game I look for creative stories, good dialog, really in depth character relationship/background & also appreciate graphic art. I am a Fantasy/RPG gamer I don’t play Casual games much & in the limited occasions I do want to play a quick Casual game, it will be a free Indy game or something from Xbox Live arcade for around 10 dollars. Casual games become too quick to master & the same repetitive task becomes boring quite quickly To get me to invest into Kinect will be tough cuz for me to feel as if my money is well spent; it will have to get me into a new genre I’m not into. The reasons quoted above are the same reasons I didn’t buy into the Wii. Though I can see this appealing to the masses just like the wii
@ Game flash back those games sound a bit too sleazy for my likening lol. Also I wonder if you would mind to review Red Dead Redemption. Got the game recently & really enjoy the game. I guess I like it cuz I like Spaghetti Westerns =p.
Thanks for the Cast
Sorry to hear of your loss Don =(.
Hey Derrick, Jen & Don
Question of the week: Does Kinect sound more desirable with all the new information and rumored pricing make you consider the purchase?
Kinect & Wii have some cool concepts but its going to have to be really good to get me to buy into it. The main reason why I’m a bit weary is because the kind of games Kinect has to offer isn’t the game genre I’m into. I like to play games as a graphic novel. In a game I look for creative stories, good dialog, really in depth character relationship/background & also appreciate graphic art. I am a Fantasy/RPG gamer I don’t play Casual games much & in the limited occasions I do want to play a quick Casual game, it will be a free Indy game or something from Xbox Live arcade for around 10 dollars. Casual games become too quick to master & the same repetitive task becomes boring quite quickly To get me to invest into Kinect will be tough cuz for me to feel as if my money is well spent; it will have to get me into a new genre I’m not into. The reasons quoted above are the same reasons I didn’t buy into the Wii. Though I can see this appealing to the masses just like the wii
@ Game flash back those games sound a bit too sleazy for my likening lol. Also I wonder if you would mind to review Red Dead Redemption. Got the game recently & really enjoy the game. I guess I like it cuz I like Spaghetti Westerns =p.
Thanks for the Cast
Sorry to hear of your loss Don =(.
Raining his man-seed! That’s a quote I have to use at some point in conversation this week.
@ Leisure Suit Larry – I remember playing this on a green screen VGA monitor at school. Yes, someone had managed to install a selection of games (Test Drive, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry) onto our school’s three pcs waaaaay back in 1991.
I have never forgotten taking Larry to the convenience store to by some condoms. An Indian man behind the counter (reminds me of Apu from The Simpsons) would ask a series of qustions. What colour, what flavour, striped or spotted etc. He would then broadcast it on the stores PA system that you had ordered a stripy orange chocolate flavoured condom, causing tons of people to appear from the aisles to laugh at you. I might have been 12, but that was hilarious to me at the time. (Perhaps because I was an immature kid!)
@ Being on the fence – If you are “on the fence” you have actually made a choice. You chose not to choose.
@ PSP Go free games – the 10 games that we can get over here are : 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Gran Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Notice typo on the Playstation website! Epic Fail!), Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm Arctic Edge, Wipeout Pure, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, Need for Speed Shift, James Cameron’s AVATAR: The Game.
With the exception of Avatar, if I ever start buying more games for my PSP, these are actually all games I would consider playing. Even so, I won’t be upgrading to the PSP Go, which is supposed to have a pain-inducing thumbstick. The regular PSP one is bad enough already.
Raining his man-seed! That’s a quote I have to use at some point in conversation this week.
@ Leisure Suit Larry – I remember playing this on a green screen VGA monitor at school. Yes, someone had managed to install a selection of games (Test Drive, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry) onto our school’s three pcs waaaaay back in 1991.
I have never forgotten taking Larry to the convenience store to by some condoms. An Indian man behind the counter (reminds me of Apu from The Simpsons) would ask a series of qustions. What colour, what flavour, striped or spotted etc. He would then broadcast it on the stores PA system that you had ordered a stripy orange chocolate flavoured condom, causing tons of people to appear from the aisles to laugh at you. I might have been 12, but that was hilarious to me at the time. (Perhaps because I was an immature kid!)
@ Being on the fence – If you are “on the fence” you have actually made a choice. You chose not to choose.
@ PSP Go free games – the 10 games that we can get over here are : 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Gran Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Notice typo on the Playstation website! Epic Fail!), Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm Arctic Edge, Wipeout Pure, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, Need for Speed Shift, James Cameron’s AVATAR: The Game.
With the exception of Avatar, if I ever start buying more games for my PSP, these are actually all games I would consider playing. Even so, I won’t be upgrading to the PSP Go, which is supposed to have a pain-inducing thumbstick. The regular PSP one is bad enough already.
… funny, I attended a funeral myself today ..
@Beat ‘em and Eat ‘em: zomg! Can’t belive you guys covered this kind of game. You did a pretty good job at it, despite the game discussed (was going to say the matter at hand :P).
@Sony trying to bribe people to buy a PSP Go: Laaame! If a product was reviewed and labeled as bad, adding chocolate topping to it doesn’t help. It makes buyers even more suspicious.
Derrick, I liked your take on it, with the yard sale …
@Activision’s Indie Game Competition:
Boy, when I heared firt time of this, it pissed me off soooo bad … So, Activision gets the IP, you might win, and even if you win, Activision decides at its own will wether to publish it or develop their own game based on the IP of the winner.
Derrick, read the PDF.
It is more than a CV, when you’re required to sign a “release of claims against Sponsor”, Activision can take your idea.
When you have to sign an “acknowledgment of Sponsor’s development of game concepts that may be similar to entrant’s Submission” it means that Activision can make spin-offs from your idea.
There is no win for the indies. If you decide to submit a lame game, just to be in the competition, people watching it will then associate the said indie developer with a lame game. As a dev, you don’t want that.
@Microsoft releasing an Xbox 360 Slim:
Me not a console dude. I am tempted though in buying a controller, to use it on my pc. A friend of mine claims that the controller is quite good, so …
@Next Assassin’s Creed due out in November:
Oh my, milking the cash cow …
– core engineers = bad engineers. They should write design documents instead of keeping all their knowledge in their heads.
@Question of the week:
No. I don’t have an XBox360, not tempted to buy one, nevermind Kinect. Besides the fact that I have to keep an eye on my expenses, I don’t see myself throwing away my mouse and keyboard. I will buy an XBox360 controller at one point, I see them as awesome for platformers, but that’s it.
… funny, I attended a funeral myself today ..
@Beat ‘em and Eat ‘em: zomg! Can’t belive you guys covered this kind of game. You did a pretty good job at it, despite the game discussed (was going to say the matter at hand :P).
@Sony trying to bribe people to buy a PSP Go: Laaame! If a product was reviewed and labeled as bad, adding chocolate topping to it doesn’t help. It makes buyers even more suspicious.
Derrick, I liked your take on it, with the yard sale …
@Activision’s Indie Game Competition:
Boy, when I heared firt time of this, it pissed me off soooo bad … So, Activision gets the IP, you might win, and even if you win, Activision decides at its own will wether to publish it or develop their own game based on the IP of the winner.
Derrick, read the PDF.
It is more than a CV, when you’re required to sign a “release of claims against Sponsor”, Activision can take your idea.
When you have to sign an “acknowledgment of Sponsor’s development of game concepts that may be similar to entrant’s Submission” it means that Activision can make spin-offs from your idea.
There is no win for the indies. If you decide to submit a lame game, just to be in the competition, people watching it will then associate the said indie developer with a lame game. As a dev, you don’t want that.
@Microsoft releasing an Xbox 360 Slim:
Me not a console dude. I am tempted though in buying a controller, to use it on my pc. A friend of mine claims that the controller is quite good, so …
@Next Assassin’s Creed due out in November:
Oh my, milking the cash cow …
– core engineers = bad engineers. They should write design documents instead of keeping all their knowledge in their heads.
@Question of the week:
No. I don’t have an XBox360, not tempted to buy one, nevermind Kinect. Besides the fact that I have to keep an eye on my expenses, I don’t see myself throwing away my mouse and keyboard. I will buy an XBox360 controller at one point, I see them as awesome for platformers, but that’s it.
Question of the week: Does Kinect sound more desirable with all the new information and rumored pricing make you consider the purchase?
LOL, no I didnt go to prison, I made a move to Miami that has been anything than uneventful, but things has stabilized where I can take time to listen to your podcast again!
In regards to Kinect, (and Sony’s Move) I’m not impressed, to me it’s 4 year old tech call the Nintendo Wii. Yes they are taking an entirely new route with it, and good for them in making it their own. However, in order for me to buy a Kinect it has to be lower than $100. I cant justify spending money on a peripheral that is a controller-less Wii.
@Adult games, the Angry Video game nerd did a video on the Atari Adult games. Quite funny, you should check it out if you havent. http://www.cinemassacre.com/2007/08/22/atari-porn/ Also, you might want to check out the Guy Game, it’s not straight up porn, but the womens do show off their ta-ta’s and some of the mini-games are fun.
Question of the week: Does Kinect sound more desirable with all the new information and rumored pricing make you consider the purchase?
LOL, no I didnt go to prison, I made a move to Miami that has been anything than uneventful, but things has stabilized where I can take time to listen to your podcast again!
In regards to Kinect, (and Sony’s Move) I’m not impressed, to me it’s 4 year old tech call the Nintendo Wii. Yes they are taking an entirely new route with it, and good for them in making it their own. However, in order for me to buy a Kinect it has to be lower than $100. I cant justify spending money on a peripheral that is a controller-less Wii.
@Adult games, the Angry Video game nerd did a video on the Atari Adult games. Quite funny, you should check it out if you havent. http://www.cinemassacre.com/2007/08/22/atari-porn/ Also, you might want to check out the Guy Game, it’s not straight up porn, but the womens do show off their ta-ta’s and some of the mini-games are fun.