Every building and object is rendered at several levels of detail, and the company has come up with an unusual solution to the processing-power challenges of drawing it all: multiple pass, or iterative, rendering. Maxis promises unprecedented levels of detail - right down to windowsills on buildings and air conditioning units on rooftops. Consequently, all the props are "real," and the town is sprinkled with 7-11s and Versateller ATMs. "In focus groups, people found it interesting to see real stores such as Blockbuster Video and Bank of America," says Executive Producer Steffen Bartschat. The brand names that appear in the game are not sold sponsorships. And if things start to go the way of LA, you can watch the U-Hauls leaving town. Zoom in on that neighborhood and you might catch your sims writing graffiti or getting mugged. "A BMW dealer in a poor section of town will likely go up for sale and get replaced," says Producer Chris Weiss. The game's economic models follow those of a real city - you'll find affluent neighborhoods and economically depressed areas. Further, a McDonald's usually only serves a several-mile radius, while a car dealership can serve a whole city. Stick a McDonald's right downtown, then slash the price on Big Macs, and you may end up with a traffic problem. You will be able to place specific businesses at specific locations, then adjust the relevant microsimulators to your liking. The game also employs a realistic zoning and land-use model. And you'll be able to watch the results up close and personal - you can zoom down to street level and observe your polygonal population of sims wandering around, looking for lunch, and getting into car accidents. The most intriguing new concept is the "microsimulator," which allows mayors to make very specific, localized changes within buildings. SimCity 3000 promises to up the scale in terms of both micro-control and graphics. And Maxis, the title's developer and publisher, hopes millions more will open the book of Genesis all over again this fall, with SimCity 3000. This is a gaming classic and a global media brand, and the reason is simple: The idea of building and running a city, from the sewer pipes on up, clicks with control freaks and power trippers across generations, sexes, and cultures.
You can play the game in Swedish or Korean, for example - if "play" is even what you do, as you while away hours tweaking obscure variables in a detailed simulation of a working city. First released in 1989, and ported to platforms as diverse as the Commodore 64 and the PlayStation, SimCity and its 1994 follow-up, SimCity 2000, have sold some five million copies across the globe.
SimCity is the Coca-Cola of computer gaming.