*[Enwl-eng] New Edition of SimCity Looks At Climate Change
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Mar 15, 2013, 2:36:13 PM3/15/13
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New SimCity game addresses climate change
By Glenn Chapman | AFP – Tue, Mar 5, 2013
Illustration Omitted:
People visit the "SimCity" stand at the E3 gaming conference on June 5,
2012 in Los Angeles, California. A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the
arrival of "SimCity", a computer game that challenges players to build
thriving cities in the face of conditions such as limited funds and
climate change. AFP/Getty Images
Illustration Omitted:
Will Wright, creator of computer games "SimCity" and "The Sims", is
pictured in California on March 24, 2008. Millions of people have played
SimCity since the computer game designed by Wright was first released in
1989.
Illustration Omitted:
Director Davis Guggenheim is pictured at the Sundance Film Festival in
Utah on January 26, 2013. "When you play 'SimCity' it is in your face;
if you build a coal power plant you feel the consequences -- smog in the
city, water table getting dirty, and your people getting angry,"
Guggenheim said of the computer game
A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the arrival of "SimCity", a computer
game that challenges players to build thriving cities in the face of
conditions such as limited funds and climate change.
The sequel to the city-building computer game that factors in real-world
consequences of energy choices, urban plans, and policy decisions debuts
in the US for $60 a copy.
"SimCity" will be available in Britain three days later as part of a
global rollout, according to game publisher Electronic Arts. The game is
tailored for play on personal computers powered by Windows software.
Millions of people have played SimCity since the computer game designed
by Will Wright was first released in 1989 but the Maxis Studio title to
hit on Tuesday will be the first fresh installment to the franchise in a
decade.
The original title won a broad, devoted following and led to a
successful line of "Sims" strategy games in which players manipulate
worlds and animated characters in simulations of real life.
Technology in "SimCity" has been updated along with forces influencing
the health of cities and the happiness of inhabitants, according to Maxis.
Along with rich 3D graphics, the game will have a new simulation engine
that enhances its realism and extends ramifications of urban design
decisions past borders to affect neighboring cities.
"SimCity" has garnered enthusiastic reviews and won early endorsements
from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Davis Guggenheim, the director of
the Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth".
Maxis collaborated on the title with Games For Change, a group devoted
to the creation of games that combine fun with learning about social issues.
"I love the game," said Guggenheim, who played an early version with his
son last year.
"Climate change is the biggest crisis of our time, but there is a
disconnect because it is not in front of us," he added.
"When you play 'SimCity' it is in your face; if you build a coal power
plant you feel the consequences -- smog in the city, water table getting
dirty, and your people getting angry."
Stone described "SimCity" as encouraging systems that help make "better
humans, a smarter world and a healthier planet."
Players become virtual mayors, guiding development of pretend cities and
reaping rewards or suffering ramifications of decisions.
"Their mission is to make a thriving, happy city," Erik Reynolds of EA
said of the game on the eve of its release. "It you don't have enough
schools, you will have uneducated Sims and uneducated Sims get up to no
good."
People can play SimCity solo, or establish in-game regions open where as
many at 16 cities can be built by different players.
"If you have a super-dirty coal burning town and a neighbor is green,
when the wind is blowing in their direction they will reap what you've
sown," Reynolds said.
Play in regions is hosted at the EA online Origin game forum.
Early this year, EA kicked off a SimCityEDU project with in-house
nonprofit studio GlassLab to test the game's potential as a tool for
promoting science, math, and engineering in public schools.
Some teachers and children in schools in the California city of Oakland
dabbled with SimCity game as part of a GlassLab effort to explore its
potential for teaching children and getting them excited about
technology studies.
"There is huge focus on mastering new skills to run a successful city,"
said GlassLab general manager Jessica Lindl.
"These children are coming in on their own during recess to play the
game and we literally have to tear them away from the computer when it
is time to go back to class," she continued.
Feedback from the students will be used to specialize a version of
SimCity for schools, according to Lindl. Backers of GlassLab include the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/simcity-game-addresses-climate-change-070935415.html
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
------------------------------------
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Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:18 PM
Subject: News: New Edition of SimCity Looks At Climate Change
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By Glenn Chapman | AFP – Tue, Mar 5, 2013
Illustration Omitted:
People visit the "SimCity" stand at the E3 gaming conference on June 5,
2012 in Los Angeles, California. A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the
arrival of "SimCity", a computer game that challenges players to build
thriving cities in the face of conditions such as limited funds and
climate change. AFP/Getty Images
Illustration Omitted:
Will Wright, creator of computer games "SimCity" and "The Sims", is
pictured in California on March 24, 2008. Millions of people have played
SimCity since the computer game designed by Wright was first released in
1989.
Illustration Omitted:
Director Davis Guggenheim is pictured at the Sundance Film Festival in
Utah on January 26, 2013. "When you play 'SimCity' it is in your face;
if you build a coal power plant you feel the consequences -- smog in the
city, water table getting dirty, and your people getting angry,"
Guggenheim said of the computer game
A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the arrival of "SimCity", a computer
game that challenges players to build thriving cities in the face of
conditions such as limited funds and climate change.
The sequel to the city-building computer game that factors in real-world
consequences of energy choices, urban plans, and policy decisions debuts
in the US for $60 a copy.
"SimCity" will be available in Britain three days later as part of a
global rollout, according to game publisher Electronic Arts. The game is
tailored for play on personal computers powered by Windows software.
Millions of people have played SimCity since the computer game designed
by Will Wright was first released in 1989 but the Maxis Studio title to
hit on Tuesday will be the first fresh installment to the franchise in a
decade.
The original title won a broad, devoted following and led to a
successful line of "Sims" strategy games in which players manipulate
worlds and animated characters in simulations of real life.
Technology in "SimCity" has been updated along with forces influencing
the health of cities and the happiness of inhabitants, according to Maxis.
Along with rich 3D graphics, the game will have a new simulation engine
that enhances its realism and extends ramifications of urban design
decisions past borders to affect neighboring cities.
"SimCity" has garnered enthusiastic reviews and won early endorsements
from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Davis Guggenheim, the director of
the Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth".
Maxis collaborated on the title with Games For Change, a group devoted
to the creation of games that combine fun with learning about social issues.
"I love the game," said Guggenheim, who played an early version with his
son last year.
"Climate change is the biggest crisis of our time, but there is a
disconnect because it is not in front of us," he added.
"When you play 'SimCity' it is in your face; if you build a coal power
plant you feel the consequences -- smog in the city, water table getting
dirty, and your people getting angry."
Stone described "SimCity" as encouraging systems that help make "better
humans, a smarter world and a healthier planet."
Players become virtual mayors, guiding development of pretend cities and
reaping rewards or suffering ramifications of decisions.
"Their mission is to make a thriving, happy city," Erik Reynolds of EA
said of the game on the eve of its release. "It you don't have enough
schools, you will have uneducated Sims and uneducated Sims get up to no
good."
People can play SimCity solo, or establish in-game regions open where as
many at 16 cities can be built by different players.
"If you have a super-dirty coal burning town and a neighbor is green,
when the wind is blowing in their direction they will reap what you've
sown," Reynolds said.
Play in regions is hosted at the EA online Origin game forum.
Early this year, EA kicked off a SimCityEDU project with in-house
nonprofit studio GlassLab to test the game's potential as a tool for
promoting science, math, and engineering in public schools.
Some teachers and children in schools in the California city of Oakland
dabbled with SimCity game as part of a GlassLab effort to explore its
potential for teaching children and getting them excited about
technology studies.
"There is huge focus on mastering new skills to run a successful city,"
said GlassLab general manager Jessica Lindl.
"These children are coming in on their own during recess to play the
game and we literally have to tear them away from the computer when it
is time to go back to class," she continued.
Feedback from the students will be used to specialize a version of
SimCity for schools, according to Lindl. Backers of GlassLab include the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/simcity-game-addresses-climate-change-070935415.html
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
------------------------------------
To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
envecolnew...@yahoogroups.com
From: "Yahoo Newsgroups" <vasi...@ramapo.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:18 PM
Subject: News: New Edition of SimCity Looks At Climate Change
------------- * ENWL * ------------
Ecological North West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia
Independent Environmental Net Service: http://www.bellona.ru/enwl/
Russian: ENWL(discussions), ENWL-inf(FSU information), ENWL-misc(any topics)
English: ENWL-eng (world information)
en...@lew.spb.org, enwl...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org
Subscription, Moderator: vf...@lew.spb.org or en...@enw.net.ru
Archive: http://enwl.bellona.ru/pipermail/
and http://groups.google.com/group/enwl/
SEE ALSO: http://www.bellona.org (English)and http://www.bellona.ru
(Russian)
RSS: http://groups.google.ru/group/enwl/feeds?hl=ru
(C) Please refer to exclusive articles of ENWL
-------------------------------------
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Enwl...@enwl.bellona.ru
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