Construction and management simulation
Encyclopedia
Construction and management simulation (CMS) is a type of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy video game
s sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding their project. But pure CMS games differ from strategy games in that "the player's goal is not to defeat an enemy, but to build something within the context of an ongoing process." Games in this category are sometimes also called "management games".
SimCity
represents an early example of success in the genre. Other games in the genre range from city-building games like Caesar
, pure business simulation games like Hollywood Mogul
, and or true CMSs like Theme Park. Sometimes strategy video games such as Age of Empires combine aspects of CMSs with wargame
s.
CMSs are often called "simulation games" for short. Although games can simulate many activities from vehicles
to sports
, players usually deduce the kind of simulation from the title of the game.
Construction mechanisms in CMSs tend to be one of two types: plan-and-build where the construction is completed gradually, or purchase and place where the construction appears immediately. Random disasters can also create new construction challenges, and some games impose constraints on how things must be constructed. But usually the act of construction is quite simple, and the main challenge of a CMS is obtaining the resources required to complete construction. Players must manage resources within a growing economy, where resources are produced, consumed, and exchanged. Resources are drawn from a source, such as money from a bank, or gold from a mine. Some CMSs allow players to convert resources from one type to another, such as fermenting sugar into rum. Common resources include money, people, and building materials. Resources are utilized in one of two ways: either construction, where players build or buy things to serve some purpose, or maintenance, where players must make ongoing payments to prevent loss or decay. Sometimes demolishing a structure will cost resources, but this is often done at no cost.
Unlike other genres, construction and management simulations seldom offer a progression in storyline, and the level design is a simple space where the player can build. Some games offer pre-built scenarios, which include victory conditions such as reaching a level of wealth, or surviving worsening conditions. But success in one scenario seldom has an impact on another scenario, and players can usually try them in any order.
The player in a CMS is usually omnipresent, and does not have an avatar. As such, the player is usually given an isometric perspective of the world, or a free-roaming camera from an aerial viewpoint for modern 3D games. The game world often contains units and people who respond to the players actions, but are seldom given direct orders.
, was a relatively simple text-only game originally written for the DEC PDP-8
in which the player controlled the economy of a city-state.
Utopia
was released in 1982 for the Intellivision
, and is credited as the game that spawned the construction and management simulation genre. Utopia put players in charge of an island, allowing them to control its entire military and economy. The population had to be kept happy, and the military had to be strong enough to thwart attacks from rebels and pirates. This game required complex thought in an era where most games were about reflexes. The game sold fairly well, but it had an influence on games of all genres.
In 1983, Koei released the historical simulation
game Nobunaga's Ambition
, where the player takes the role of the historical figure Oda Nobunaga
and must conquer, unify and manage the nation of Japan. It combines number crunching, Japanese history
, and grand strategy simulation
, including elements such as raising taxes and giving rice to prefecture
s. Nobunaga's Ambition went on to define and set the standard for most console simulation games, and has had many sequels, while Koei continued to create other simulation games since, including the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
series from 1986 and Bandit Kings of Ancient China
in 1989. That same year, Capcom
released a simulation game of their own, Destiny of an Emperor
, also based on Chinese history
.
Utopia had a notable impact on SimCity
in 1989, which is considered the first highly successful construction and management simulation. The game allows players to build a city from the ground up and then manage it, with challenges such as balancing a budget and maintaining popular opinion, and was considered a sophisticated simulation of city planning
when it was released. It appealed to a wide audience in part because it was not a typical high-speed violent game, and was notable for shunning a traditional win-or-lose game paradigm. SimCity has spawned numerous successful sequels and spinoffs, is credited with inventing the city-building
subgenre. SimCity also led to several other successful games in the same mold such as SimTower
and SimFarm
, and launched its designer Will Wright into a position as one of the most influential people in the game industry. These games influenced the eventual release of the Tycoon series of games, which are also an important part of the genre.
with SimCity
, which emphasized continuous building versus competing to win and "blowing stuff up". Players followed personal preferences in design and growth. Indicators of success were maintaining positive budget balance and citizen satisfaction. Subsequent SimCity titles soon followed when high sales of the game demonstrated its popularity.
The first Sim game, Utopia
(1982) covered many of these same elements, but the primitive screen resolutions of its era meant that it displayed two islands because the detail necessary to show cities was not possible. Unlike the thousands of individual spaces possible a few years later in SimCity, each island held approximately 16 "buildable" spaces for schools, factories, etc. The players' score was based on the well-being of their people.
A second boost in genre popularity came in 1993
with the publishing of Caesar
, which modeled cities in ancient Rome
, replacing electricity and mass transit with aqueducts and roads. Subsequent titles in the City Building Series
followed, all modeling cities in past civilizations.
Also in 1993 the Dungeons & Dragons
PC
game Stronghold appeared, which was advertised as "SimCity meets D&D in 3D." Elves, humans and dwarfs each built neighborhoods with unique architecture within the player's town. The title also had elements of real-time strategy
games when enemies attacked the city, and the line between city-building and RTS games has often been blurred with this kind of hybrid title. True 3D graphics were not yet possible in 1993, and the advertised 3D was actually a clever use of 2D graphics with mathematically-generated terrain and overlaid bitmaps and sprites
.
The closest example of a 'pure' economic simulation may be Capitalism
, the goal of which is to build an industrial and financial empire. Another highly ambitious business simulator is Transport Tycoon
.
Active development of Internet technologies and the growth of the Internet audience in recent years gave a powerful impetus to the development of the industry of online games, and in particular, online business simulations. There are many varieties of online business simulations—browser-based and downloadable, single-player and multiplayer, real-time and turn-based. Among the most notable online business simulations such as Virtonomics
, IndustryPlayer
and Tycoononline.
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
s sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding their project. But pure CMS games differ from strategy games in that "the player's goal is not to defeat an enemy, but to build something within the context of an ongoing process." Games in this category are sometimes also called "management games".
SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
represents an early example of success in the genre. Other games in the genre range from city-building games like Caesar
Caesar (video game)
Caesar is a city-building computer game where the player undertakes the role of a Roman governor, building ancient Roman cities.Released in 1992 on the Amiga, ported the next year to Atari ST, PC and Macintosh, the game was similar to SimCity...
, pure business simulation games like Hollywood Mogul
Hollywood Mogul
Hollywood Mogul is a computer game released in 1997 that allows players to take charge of a movie studio. It was conceived, designed and published solely by Carey DeVuono. An economic simulation game, players can choose movie plots to use for a movie, set production budgets and select the talent as...
, and or true CMSs like Theme Park. Sometimes strategy video games such as Age of Empires combine aspects of CMSs with wargame
Wargame (video games)
Wargames are a subgenre of strategy video games that emphasize strategic or tactical warfare on a map, as well as historical accuracy.-History:The genre of wargame video games is derived from earlier forms of wargames...
s.
CMSs are often called "simulation games" for short. Although games can simulate many activities from vehicles
Vehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
to sports
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
, players usually deduce the kind of simulation from the title of the game.
Economic challenges
Economics play a primary role in construction and management simulations, because they allow players to build things while operating within economic constraints. Some games may challenge the player to explore or recognize patterns, but the majority of the game challenges are economic in that they focus upon growth. These games are based in a setting where an economy can be built and managed, usually some kind of community, institution, or empire. The player's role seldom corresponds to a real life activity, since the player is usually more involved in detailed decisions than a real manager or administrator. Players usually have two types of tools at their disposal: tools for building and tools for managing.Construction mechanisms in CMSs tend to be one of two types: plan-and-build where the construction is completed gradually, or purchase and place where the construction appears immediately. Random disasters can also create new construction challenges, and some games impose constraints on how things must be constructed. But usually the act of construction is quite simple, and the main challenge of a CMS is obtaining the resources required to complete construction. Players must manage resources within a growing economy, where resources are produced, consumed, and exchanged. Resources are drawn from a source, such as money from a bank, or gold from a mine. Some CMSs allow players to convert resources from one type to another, such as fermenting sugar into rum. Common resources include money, people, and building materials. Resources are utilized in one of two ways: either construction, where players build or buy things to serve some purpose, or maintenance, where players must make ongoing payments to prevent loss or decay. Sometimes demolishing a structure will cost resources, but this is often done at no cost.
Goals
CMSs are usually single player games, as competition would force players to eschew creativity in favor of efficiency, and a race to accumulate resources. They typically have a free-form construction mode where players can build up as they see fit, which appeals to a player's sense of creativity and desire for control. As such, many CMSs have no victory condition, although players can always lose by bankrupting themselves of resources. These games emphasize growth, and the player must successfully manage their economy in order to construct larger creations and gain further creative power.Unlike other genres, construction and management simulations seldom offer a progression in storyline, and the level design is a simple space where the player can build. Some games offer pre-built scenarios, which include victory conditions such as reaching a level of wealth, or surviving worsening conditions. But success in one scenario seldom has an impact on another scenario, and players can usually try them in any order.
Interface
Because the player must manage a complex internal economy, construction and management simulations frequently make use of a windowed interface. In contrast to genres such as action games, CMS players are given computer-like controls such as pull-down menus and buttons. Players may also understand the game economy through graphs and other analytic tools. This often includes advisers that warn players of problems and describe current needs. As such, CMS games have some of the most complex interfaces of any game type. These games can be quite popular even without the latest graphics.The player in a CMS is usually omnipresent, and does not have an avatar. As such, the player is usually given an isometric perspective of the world, or a free-roaming camera from an aerial viewpoint for modern 3D games. The game world often contains units and people who respond to the players actions, but are seldom given direct orders.
History
The Sumer Game, a later version of which was called HamurabiHamurabi
Hamurabi is a text-based game of land and resource management and is one of the earliest computer games. Its name is a shortening of Hammurabi, reduced to fit an eight-character limit.-History:...
, was a relatively simple text-only game originally written for the DEC PDP-8
PDP-8
The 12-bit PDP-8 was the first successful commercial minicomputer, produced by Digital Equipment Corporation in the 1960s. DEC introduced it on 22 March 1965, and sold more than 50,000 systems, the most of any computer up to that date. It was the first widely sold computer in the DEC PDP series of...
in which the player controlled the economy of a city-state.
Utopia
Utopia (video game)
Utopia is a video game, released on Intellivision in 1981 and often regarded as among the first sim games and god games. It is also regarded as setting the scene for the real-time strategy genre. It was designed and programmed by Don Daglow....
was released in 1982 for the Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
, and is credited as the game that spawned the construction and management simulation genre. Utopia put players in charge of an island, allowing them to control its entire military and economy. The population had to be kept happy, and the military had to be strong enough to thwart attacks from rebels and pirates. This game required complex thought in an era where most games were about reflexes. The game sold fairly well, but it had an influence on games of all genres.
In 1983, Koei released the historical simulation
Historical simulation
Historical simulation in finance's value at risk analysis is a procedure for predicting value at risk by 'simulating' or constructing the cumulative distribution function of assets returns over time. Unlike most parametric VaR models, Historical Simulation does not assume any distribution on the...
game Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
, where the player takes the role of the historical figure Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
and must conquer, unify and manage the nation of Japan. It combines number crunching, Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
, and grand strategy simulation
Grand strategy wargame
A grand strategy wargame is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources.-Scope of games:...
, including elements such as raising taxes and giving rice to prefecture
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...
s. Nobunaga's Ambition went on to define and set the standard for most console simulation games, and has had many sequels, while Koei continued to create other simulation games since, including the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (video game series)
, or Sangokushi in Japanese, is a series of turn-based tactical role-playing simulation grand strategy wargames produced by Koei. Originating from Japan in 1985, eleven installments of the game have been published in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and North America to date.-Overview:The games are...
series from 1986 and Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China, also known as Suikoden-Tenmei no Chikai in Japan, is a turn-based strategy role-playing simulation video game developed and published by Koei, and released in 1989 for MS-DOS, Amiga and the Macintosh and in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
in 1989. That same year, Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
released a simulation game of their own, Destiny of an Emperor
Destiny of an Emperor
is a strategy role-playing game by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in , with an English language localization released for the North American market in ....
, also based on Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
.
Utopia had a notable impact on SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
in 1989, which is considered the first highly successful construction and management simulation. The game allows players to build a city from the ground up and then manage it, with challenges such as balancing a budget and maintaining popular opinion, and was considered a sophisticated simulation of city planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
when it was released. It appealed to a wide audience in part because it was not a typical high-speed violent game, and was notable for shunning a traditional win-or-lose game paradigm. SimCity has spawned numerous successful sequels and spinoffs, is credited with inventing the city-building
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
subgenre. SimCity also led to several other successful games in the same mold such as SimTower
SimTower
SimTower: The Vertical Empire is a construction and management simulation computer game developed by OPeNBooK Co., Ltd. and published by Maxis for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS 7 operating systems in November 1994. In Japan, it was published by OPeNBooK that same year and was later released for...
and SimFarm
SimFarm
SimFarm: SimCity's Country Cousin, developed by Maxis in 1993, is a computer game in which players build and manage a virtual farm. As the title suggests it is the country cousin to the SimCity series.- Gameplay :...
, and launched its designer Will Wright into a position as one of the most influential people in the game industry. These games influenced the eventual release of the Tycoon series of games, which are also an important part of the genre.
City-building games
City-building game is a subgenre of CMS where players act as a city-planner or leader. Players normally look at the city from a point-of-view high in the sky, to grow and manage a simulated city. Players are only allowed to control building placement and city management features such as salaries and work priorities, while actual building is done by game citizens who are non-playable characters.Evolution of the subgenre
The city building game genre was established in 19891989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
with SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
, which emphasized continuous building versus competing to win and "blowing stuff up". Players followed personal preferences in design and growth. Indicators of success were maintaining positive budget balance and citizen satisfaction. Subsequent SimCity titles soon followed when high sales of the game demonstrated its popularity.
The first Sim game, Utopia
Utopia (video game)
Utopia is a video game, released on Intellivision in 1981 and often regarded as among the first sim games and god games. It is also regarded as setting the scene for the real-time strategy genre. It was designed and programmed by Don Daglow....
(1982) covered many of these same elements, but the primitive screen resolutions of its era meant that it displayed two islands because the detail necessary to show cities was not possible. Unlike the thousands of individual spaces possible a few years later in SimCity, each island held approximately 16 "buildable" spaces for schools, factories, etc. The players' score was based on the well-being of their people.
A second boost in genre popularity came in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
with the publishing of Caesar
Caesar (video game)
Caesar is a city-building computer game where the player undertakes the role of a Roman governor, building ancient Roman cities.Released in 1992 on the Amiga, ported the next year to Atari ST, PC and Macintosh, the game was similar to SimCity...
, which modeled cities in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, replacing electricity and mass transit with aqueducts and roads. Subsequent titles in the City Building Series
City Building Series
The City Building Series is the collective name of a series of historical city-building games for personal computers developed by Impressions Games, BreakAway Games, and Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment and Myelin Media...
followed, all modeling cities in past civilizations.
Also in 1993 the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game Stronghold appeared, which was advertised as "SimCity meets D&D in 3D." Elves, humans and dwarfs each built neighborhoods with unique architecture within the player's town. The title also had elements of real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games when enemies attacked the city, and the line between city-building and RTS games has often been blurred with this kind of hybrid title. True 3D graphics were not yet possible in 1993, and the advertised 3D was actually a clever use of 2D graphics with mathematically-generated terrain and overlaid bitmaps and sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
.
Business simulation games
Business simulation games are a subset of CMSs that simulate a business or some other economy. These games typically involve more management than construction. Rather than investing in physical buildings, construction can be abstract, such as purchasing stocks.The closest example of a 'pure' economic simulation may be Capitalism
Capitalism (computer game)
Capitalism is a business simulation computer game first published in 1995 by Interactive Magic, developed by Enlight for the Macintosh and MS-DOS and designed by Trevor Chan...
, the goal of which is to build an industrial and financial empire. Another highly ambitious business simulator is Transport Tycoon
Transport Tycoon
Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe are computer games developed by Chris Sawyer and published by MicroProse in 1994 , and 1995...
.
Active development of Internet technologies and the growth of the Internet audience in recent years gave a powerful impetus to the development of the industry of online games, and in particular, online business simulations. There are many varieties of online business simulations—browser-based and downloadable, single-player and multiplayer, real-time and turn-based. Among the most notable online business simulations such as Virtonomics
Virtonomics
Virtonomics is a browser-based multiplayer economic game. Virtonomics is a business simulation, simulating economics. It allows users to study the basics of management. The game is turn-based and the conversion of a game situation occurs once a day.-Gameplay:The game resembles the game Capitalism 2...
, IndustryPlayer
Industryplayer
IndustryPlayer and the webserver-based version IndustryMasters are business simulation games, -multiplayer on-line business strategy games based on a simulation of real world economy, developed by Tycoon Systems Ltd....
and Tycoononline.