Simulation Games

Simulation games generally share many common gameplay features, such as time control (allowing you to speed up the simulation while you wait for something to happen and slow it down while you deal with emergencies). 

Simulation Games Can Be Boring

"There must be someone else who feels this way, but I’ve never met them - to the best of my knowledge Gabriel is the only person who doesn’t find Will Wright’s games enthralling. Or, in any case, he’s the only person who doesn’t mind saying so, willing to put his gamer card at risk by taunting Olympus."

—Penny Arcade 

SimEarth SimEarth shows what’s possible for planetary simulations. It models atmosphere, geological forces, winds, climate, ecology, evolution, civilization, disease, energy usage. It adds challenge to the simulation by penalizing the “energy” use of each manipulation. Simearth Lesson Plan Ideas "Start a new world and place a nanotech city on it then Nuke the crap out of it....after a few years something new will crawl from the crater...a new lifeform...robots! Robots require no food sources and reproduce like mad...they will gradually increase there numbers gain sentience and take over the world! Whats more once they are on the world you CANT get rid of them fry em freeze em nuke em they're still there."

SimCity 4 SimCity clearly illustrates the high level of detail a city simulation can incorporate. It touches on the civic politics of different interest groups with competing issues, ableit in an oversimplified form where petitioners are just proposals with advisories to accept or reject. It shows how a square grid is useful in simplifying the complexity of large layouts. Features: day to night and lets you track individual citizens to and from work. Scenario Creation SimCity allows you to create scenarios that would make interesting prototypes for Empowerment scenarios. For example, you could create a scenario where an elite global summit draws protesters and police into conflict unless you can find an acommodation with your powerful visitors.

SimLife

These biological simulators are good examples of how natural environments and organisms can be convincingly modeled. SimLife illustrates the difficulty of maintaining a fragile ecosystem of evolving organisms.

SimAnt

SimAnt is a simpler simulation of playing from the perspective of a single species trying to survive in competition with other ants and survive human intervention in the natural environment. Lucasarts also has a Star Wars ecosystem game like SimLife designed for children. Features:

Civilization III

This series shows how a civilization can advance from the perspective of an immortal ruler. It demonstrates the impact of technology on society at a macro-level. Features: vast historic technology tree, diplomacy, cultural imperialism, simplified city economic development model, technological warfare, espionage, social revolts and mass entertainment.

Tropico: Mucho Macho

Tropico is a great example of political simulation showing how different ideological groups of individuals react to government policies. Watching capitalists applaud industrial development and wage inequality while socialists demand improved housing and education is very interesting. It handles elections, international diplomacy, national debt, economic development, citizens’ families, workplaces, homes, feelings. Tropico is a valuable look at the pressures developing nations are under.

Capitalism 2

This business simulation models the market forces and corporate competition for control of resources, production, research, marketing and retail is fascinating. Its virtual stock market is interesting. It handles multiple interrelated cities in a way The Empowerment will have to do similiarly at first. Capitalism is a hands-on education in big business.

The Political Machine

“Take command of the campaign of a US presidential campaign in The Political Machine. The new strategy game that covers the race for the white house. Design or choose your candidate and your opponent and help them run for the nation’s highest office.

Take out ads promoting yourself or smearing your opponent, give rousing speeches on the issues that matter, win the endorsements of those “special interest groups”, hire smear merchants, spin doctors, scandal mongers and more to sway voters in those key battle ground states as you head in towards election day.

Candidates can play against the computer or other players via the Internet. Play in the “real world” modeled using exit polling data, census data, or set up a fantasy map where you control what the issues are. The Political Machine awaits you.”

Political machine simulates electoral campaigning. It lets you mange day-by-day activities of various kinds of operatives such as spin doctors and consultants is interesting. Message targeting is tied into budgeting of media costs and state demographics in interesting ways. Print, radio and television are modelled by their state locality or national spread. It is a very useful tool for Empowerment simulation.

Global Effect

an older game that simulates ecological consequences

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