Its what Will Wright wanted

[kev5873 0]

I haven't spoke here for a long time, but I usually come and visit to see how things are going, and now I have returned to point something out.  Back when SimCity 5 was simply talk, Will Wright explained a few things on what SimCity 5 would be like

Read this:

http://www.simcity4.co.uk/content/view/13/2/

Quote:

It also talked about how Will Wright commented on how complicated the game was for new users.

Will Wright wants the game to be simpler so its not overwhelming to new users.

Quote:

A member of the Maxis team talked about how SimCity 5 would go back to its roots and become much simpler

Well ok even a Maxis team member said the game would become simpler..

So SimCity Societies is just that, the game is simplier and perhaps should attract the new players who thought the game was intimidating at once.  Tilted Mill is making Will's dream come true, to get the players he lost back in.

I feel its gonna be a hard thing for Tilted Mill because they do their best to put in all your features, in addition to keeping the game as simple as possible without it being overwhelming.

[Pixelrage 34]

"It also talked about how Will Wright commented on how complicated the game was for new users."

--I'd love to know how he came to this conclusion...market research? Complaint letters? Returns?

I cant believe the gaming society has gotten so dumb to the point where they couldn't play a commonplace game that came with a decent manual...makes you wonder if the developers of Myst, Oddworld, Warcraft, Starcraft and any other strategy or "thinking man's game" had the same conclusion (I don't think so..)

[storms991 0]

If they're going to dumb down all these games, i think they should just stop creating strategy games, they're obviously too hard for the average gamer!... -_-. THESE GAMES ARE MEANT TO BE HARD! YOUR supposed TO LEARN how to play them WELL!!! ahhhhh!!

[Explodingsims 3]

These people who don't know how to play them give up too quickly. Like storms said"THESE GAMES ARE MEANT TO BE HARD! YOUR supposed TO LEARN how to play them WELL!!! " Geez

[Ninja12 3]

Seriously, How hard is SC4 damn Its not that hard to layout pipes and building powerplants

stupid mistake EA and Maxis

back to SC4

[ianpaschal 77]

Yeah, simcity 4 was too complicated. That's why ST has way over 100,000 members.

[Gman55 0]

First of all, there's a HUGE difference between "dumbing down" a game and reducing entry barriers.

As an example: dumbing down would be providing auto aim in a FPS game to appeal to the lowest common denominator. On the other hand, reducing entry barriers would involve integrated gameplay tutorials that teach players how to aim (see Half-Life). See the difference?

I've been playing SimCity since 1993 and agree with Will Wright about how the series has steadily become too complex. I have no problems with zoning, RCI demand, power plants, pipes, etc. -- after all, these features are what make SimCity SimCity. The complexity stems from too many features crammed into the same underlying game WITHOUT the appropriate adjustments to make these new features easily usable. This Slashdot post details other problems with SC4.

BUT this is not to say that I like what they're doing with SCS, which features an over-abundance of hippie, fairy crap.

As a side note, I think it's interesting how Team Fortress fans think Team Fortress 2 is "dumbing down" the series. In addition to the cartoony graphics, TF2 removes long-standing features like hand grenades and "bunny hopping." Vets think this is a bad move; Valve thinks it will open the game to more people. Replace Valve with EA and we have similar situations.

p.s. We'll never really know what Will wants until he starts actively working on SimCity again.

[Ntq€310 1]

sure when we first got it we were overwhelmed, but WE LEARNED and made it great, if it's to simpile like what their doing,( learn more at http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3160151 ) people will not by it, it almost seems like they think 5 year olds play this game

[zzsim 3]

Originally posted by: Gman55 First of all, there's a HUGE difference between "dumbing down" a game and reducing entry barriers.

As an example: dumbing down would be providing auto aim in a FPS game to appeal to the lowest common denominator. On the other hand, reducing entry barriers would involve integrated gameplay tutorials that teach players how to aim (see Half-Life). See the difference?

quote>

 

Excellent point!  Making a game more accessible does not need to equal simplifying its features.  Another great example to add to yours is the Forza series, which in review after review has been hailed for being one of the most in depth and custamizable racing sims out there, while still being easy to pick up for new racing fans.  How do they do this?  For one, alot of the custimazation and indepth tuning is not required for those who simple want to enjoy the racing aspect of the game and two they give a highly scalable racing aid to help improve the driving skill of those new to the series.  This racing aid, the driving line, tells racers where and how fast they should enter turns as well as when to break and accelate.  It can be turned off or scaled back depending on the user's skill.  I feel that a similar technique should have been used with SC5 in that they give users a greater amount learning tools and optional assistance as well as more ajustable difficulty settings.  This way new players could get a feel for the game without being overwhelmed, while us veterans could jump right in to the meat of the game.

[SMSmart 0]

Well, there was already evidence of Maxis wanting to ease players into SC4. Just look at the built in tutorial region and the expanded tooltips, and the pesky advisors. So clearly there has been a drive to ease the game, though there was no "dumbing down" of the actual game mechanics.

[offgreen 1]

Will Wright likes sales and apparently not good games. What are the sales figures for civ4 though? What are the "roots" of sim city?

[Sc4jeeks 35]

Will Wright is controlled by EA now. I realize he's putting all of his energy in to Spore, but if he was still involved with SimCity, we wouldn't be seeing Societies.

[Imprezza05 1]

          There is a massive difference between dumbing down and making it more accesible, making it more accesible just add tutorials and make the difficulty effect the complexity. 

          But how the hell could someone not know how to play simcity... i playes sc 3000 when i was 3 and when i was 9 i played sc4 with no problems... how thick must people be to not know how to play the game !

[LivingInThePast 364]

Hey! Where's my post? Who censored it?

[JanYpe 17]

Was it a post full of the same repetitive insults, impotent rage and crazy assumptions that have are so abundant these days?

Because if it was, I think the giant forum llama ate it. He does that sometimes, you should know that by now. You do remember that when the site crashes, it's because he spit on it, right? I think it's in the faq anyway.

[tkd720man 0]

There's an easy solution to this: do what MS Flight Simulator did a few years back.

They came out with two versions of the game - one that was a stripped-down intro for newbies, and another that was a complex, feature-packed masterpiece for the series' hardcore fans.

There's no reason why the same couldn't be done for Sim City.

[JanYpe 17]

Are you talking about Flight Simulator X? The only difference between the standard and deluxe editions was that the deluxe version had extra content. They were exactly the same game underneath, not radically different as you seem to imply.

[offspring_dude01 0]

I hope The Sims 3 is a stripped down format. I can't understand how it works right now. It's far too complex. I'm a casual gamer and have little time to understand what 'Click the left mouse button' could possibly be imploring me to do. If Will Wright really wants to appeal to the casual gamer and attract a bigger fanbase, I suggest he strip The Sims 3 down to the bare bone and allow the computer to do everything. That way we could watch, and it would be much easier; and therefore much more accessible for tards like myself. At the same time I think the computer should decide when I get off my ass to get something to eat, and when I go to take a piss.

/mindframe of SCS's new target audience

[KurtangleTN 10]

If the game was too damn hard for todays moron, they could have just made the easy mode to try to make it easier

Example

Easy- Takes out zoning, allows just plops..  no power/water management.. pretty much this game

Medium- Takes out power/water management, bit easier on money

Hard- Everything that we like from Sim City.

But unfortunately thats probably harder then alienating such a large fanbase.

[Braxton 0]

I'm sure Will Wright would have found a way to make the next Sim City easier for people to get in to it while at the same time keeping everything in the game. What Tilted Mill is doing is wrong. You can keep the way SC4 was, it just had to be executed better. Too bad we're going to have to wait a lot longer to see that.

[The_Dalai_Llama 15]

Originally posted by: JanYpe Was it a post full of the same repetitive insults, impotent rage and crazy assumptions that have are so abundant these days?

Because if it was, I think the giant forum llama ate it. He does that sometimes, you should know that by now. You do remember that when the site crashes, it's because he spit on it, right? I think it's in the faq anyway.quote>

 

How do you know about the forum llama?  Blast... must've escaped again.  We may need the summon the mounties for this one.

Anyway, until Will Wright makes a statement or is asked about SCS, nobody can say for sure that this is what Will Wright wanted.  Yes, he wants a more streamlined, less complex SimCity, but is Societies the game he envisioned?

[SMSmart 0]

Just on the note of what the general populace would want from a game like SimCity, I'm guessing it would be a game that allowed the player to quickly create a megalopolis with a thousand skyscrapers and with the ability to drive around through it. The current SC gameplay model is waaay too time-consuming and challenging (expenses exceed income, with all the infrastructure and buildings being plopped).

[SpecialEddie 3]

I don't think Will Wright would've wanted his beloved 20 year old game looking like some demented 3 dimensional cartoon .