Reading Material: Dream City
Submitted by John on Mon, 11/28/2011 - 09:44
An interesting new column by Will Doig on Salon.com entitled Dream City begins with an article about trends in urban renewal and the motivating forces behind them. Well worth a read at the link below.
How should we design the cities of our dreams? by Will Doig, via Salon.
Sim City 5 Rumors Afoot (Again)
Submitted by John on Wed, 08/31/2011 - 09:07
In a couple of news posts over at Simtropolis recently, the old spectre of Sim City 5 seems to have reared its head yet again. Most interestingly, statements from a former executive at EA seem to indicate that they are considering resurrecting some "old franchises". Whether that includes Sim City or not is anyone's guess.
Movin' On Up
Submitted by John on Sun, 08/07/2011 - 06:04
A rather significant change is afoot here at the Metropolis Project: I (and thus the project) am making a move from Tokyo to the U.S. of A. Although the decision to move wasn't based on the recent events here (this has actually been in the offing for quite some time,) it will certainly be a relief not to worry about things like radiation and power shortages. (Of course, the U.S. is appears to be having it's own meltdown, just one of an economic nature.) Regrettably this will mean a bit less free time to work on the project in the short term, but for the future I think it's a positive step. In the meantime, progress continues on the new and improved website, and I'll try to make time for the odd article when I can!
Drawing Board: Disasters
Submitted by John on Fri, 07/08/2011 - 15:35
As you might expect, recent events here in Japan have had me thinking a great deal on the subject of disasters, and with the immediate crisis receding I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about the role of disasters in the game. Disasters have been a part of city builders since the very first Sim City (Cities XL was a notable exception to this trend). While at first glance they might seem like something of a tacked-on feature, a way to experience the perverse enjoyment of tearing down what we just built, disasters, if executed properly, play a larger role than is immediately apparent in shaping city development. In fact, allowing disasters requires a good deal of forethought in almost every area of the simulation, and is probably one of the trickiest things in the game to model.
