Readers weave a tale of two SimCitys
Alone Again
This week, we got news that 2013’s much maligned SimCity reboot would finally be getting a mode that would let you play the game without connecting to the Internet. StagefrightBaby thinks an online SimCity can work, just not the way this one was put together:
I have no interest in ever playing this game, but I can’t help but read almost every article I see about it. It’s truly been one of the most fascinating disasters I’ve ever witnessed. So keep in mind everything I’m saying is coming from someone with no experience beyond SimCity 2000.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with an online SimCity, but it needs to be simple, optional, and incentivized. Unlike 2013’s game, maybe it would be best to keep the interactive touchpoints simple, so you don’t need to bog down servers and so you can replicate player interaction with artificial intelligence partners when offline. With the right design choices, you can create a situation where people can either be content with the offline AI or hop online for a more complex player-to-player experience. Something like Civilization, but more reliant on occasional check-ins than marathon play sessions. And if Electronic Arts really wants to push the online play, they can have little rewards that are only available through the online mode. It’s not a competitive game, so those can be real game-altering rewards, not just cosmetic things.
While the always-online mode got all the bad press, my understanding is that the “Agent system” is what really screwed things up. Tying actions to onscreen actors, like citizens and vehicles, accomplishes some stronger context for visuals. But who wants to play a SimCity game zoomed all the way in, literally and figuratively?
Inspired by Dikachu’s “A Tale Of Two SimCities” quip, CNightwing waxed literary:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of online-only, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of The Cloud, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of GlassBox, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, but only in a very small area, we were all going direct to the nearest employer, we were all going direct the other way…in traffic.
Don’t Save Me
In his review of the gorgeously drawn Viking RPG The Banner Saga, Drew Toal outlined a handful of the game’s bristly edges, potential flaws that work together to create a harrowing and satisfying journey. One example he cited was the game’s uncontrollable automatic saving, which seems programmed to lock-in your game right after anything terrible happens. Whovian was the first to lament this trend, which has popped up in a few games: