Simulating a City

Brad King (EEG News) asks "Sim Simulations: Can Games Teach?"  He cites a great post by Jamais Cascio ("The Map is not the Terrain; the Sim is not the City") that worries from an urban planner's perspective:

All models of reality make assumptions about reality. The better sorts of models try to make those assumptions explicit and, best of all, changeable. More worrisome are the models which hide the assumptions within swanky graphics and animations.

Also cited is this pre-release press release (Andrew Burnes, IGN) for Sim 2 University:

Players will enjoy all-new college based wants and fears that are tied to their Sims' social life and academic goals which will lead to new rewards and powers that will help them achieve their goals and aspirations in college and beyond...

Pranks, parties and college social interactions add to the excitement while your Sims explore campus locations such as college lounges, pool halls, gyms and coffee houses. As in real life, if your Sims start running low on funds, they can earn Simoleans by picking up a part time job, like tutoring, or engaging in riskier affairs like printing money as a member of the "secret society."

Considering game worlds as simulations of real-world systems and processes, is this something to which MMOG players and social systems can uniquely and advantageously contribute.  In contrast to, say, NPC-driven games?  Or perhaps MMOGs preoccupied with their own set of dynamics and interests: AI is craftable and controllable whereas players are numerous and distracted.

Put it another way, by the time one crafted a virtual world with the intent of simulating a city, it may be likely that they would end up creating another city, of a different sort, in a virtual space. 

Comments

[Mike Sellers]

1.

SimCity could definitely be re-creted as a MMOG. I believe it could be both a successful game and potentially (in a "by the way" fashion) civically instructive to those playing. The gameplay dynamics would be far different from those currently employed in MMOGs, however, which could be a problem in the marketplace.

And while some of the human issues that could be inserted into such a world -- issues of space, access, mobility, resources, etc. -- could be illustrative of what's seen in the real world, generalizing from this to the real world difficult at best. There are always assumptions and abstractions in any model; some are explicit while others are tacit and transparent. There's no way to root out all of them to everyone's satisfaction; and in a for-profit MMOG no viable way to make them available for anyone to change.

Nevertheless, I continue to believe that a viable city-building MMOG could be created and could do well in the market. It would stand on the shoulders of virtual worlds like AlphaWorld and Second Life (which present more of the form than the function of a village, town or city), and would represent a new direction in MMOG design and gameplay.

I wouldn't look for this any time soon.

[Mike Rozak]

2.

Isn't every virtual world in some ways like SimCity, except with real players instead of AI-based populations?

The world designers create their world. Players enter the world, take up habitation, exploit resources, open stores, create traffic jams (at spawn sites), and complain. It's up to the VW team to tweak the world to keep the players happy, just like it's up to the sim-city player to tweak the city to keep the AI-population happy. If the VW team doesn't keep its players happy they leave for someone else's VW.

Of course, the VW team could de-reference themselves by one and allow numerous mayors and other officials to be elected from amongst the players. The mayors then have the responsibility of keep the populace happy, and the VW team's goal is to keep the Mayors happy.

Which then is the game? What the players do, or what the VW team does?

[Nathan Combs]

3.

Mike Rozak>

The world designers create their world. Players enter the world, take up habitation, exploit resources, open stores, create traffic jams (at spawn sites), and complain. It's up to the VW team to tweak the world to keep the players happy, just like it's up to the sim-city player to tweak the city to keep the AI-population happy. If the VW team doesn't keep its players happy they leave for someone else's VW.

Perhaps, but wouldn't this argue that these "cities" are w/out "simulation" likeness to a city RL - in other words, virtual worlds as (virtualized) habitations of a different kind?

[Mike Rozak]

4.

Nathan Combs wrote: Perhaps, but wouldn't this argue that these "cities" are w/out "simulation" likeness to a city RL - in other words, virtual worlds as (virtualized) habitations of a different kind?

True, the physics and settings of a virtual world is unlike the real world. (Although SimCity isn't trying to be exactly like a real city, but like a fun-to-run version of one.)

[Chris Rush Cohen]

5.

A geography prof at University of Texas named Paul Channing Adams did a paper you may find of interest - "Teaching and Learning with SimCity 2000." Paul Adams does research on virtual spaces.

SimCity 2000 is obviously quite old at this point, but the research may still be relevant to an inquiry into the educational value of such simulations. Paul Adams was my advisor when I was working on a geography MS in 2000-02. He has some very interesting ideas about cyberspace and virtual worlds, one of you may want to look him up sometime. I'm sure he'd be pleased to get you copies of his articles. He also has a book coming out in 2005 called "The Boundless Self: Communication in Physical and Virtual Spaces."

Here is the abstract of the SimCity article:

Adams, P.C. (1998), Teaching and Learning with SimCity 2000, Journal of Geography, 97(2), pp.47-55.

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces SimCity 2000, a popular computer simulation model, as a tool for teaching urban geography concepts. Situated within a more traditional class format, this software can enhance computer literacy, geographical knowledge, and critical skills. The dynamism and visual refinement of the software add to the entertainment value of attempting to effectively guide a city's development. These strengths of the program also facilitate learning about the complex, dynamic, and interrelated nature of urban problems. Students are highly motivated to use the software because of its game-like aspects, yet after using the program they report attitudinal learning in the form of a greater appreciation of the role of urban planners, designers, and policy-makers. Instructors should consider how to accommodate different levels of previous experience with the software, particularly in relation to a gender-based dichotomy that is indicated by this study. In addition, instructors should consider how to respond to the more critical response of students who have a stronger background in geography and urban studies.