Simulation video game

A simulation game is a game that is intended to simulate the world, or an aspect of it.

Overview

A simulation game, or sim game, (also known as a game of status or mixed game) is a mixture of a game of skill, a game of chance and a game of strategy, which results in a simulation of a complex structure (like a stock exchange, or civilization flux). These games are quite current through their mirror of modern society. Its benefit is the representation of complex situations of communal life, interconnections in society, and partial aspects of the economy (for example, the development of the railroad).

The term can also be used to describe a video or computer game that is truer to reality (for instance, racing simulations would be racing games in which cars would handle more realistically, tank simulations would include more real life mechanics as part of the gameplay) or a game that attempts to simulate tasks performed in an artificial reality (for instance, MechWarrior/Battletech type games and games that include space flight are considered simulations, even though they have little basis in reality). The term simulation is often applied to games such as this without any modifiers, using the term this way however usually constitutes a different genre than sim games as discussed here, and are most often games with a first-person perspective (that is to say, that you view the game through though the eyes of your own fictitious character), and are often considered by a significant number of players to be overly elaborate, unwieldy, and drudgerous. It may be more accurate to describe such titles as "simulator" rather than "simulation" games, though the lines have been blurred in titles such as Activision's Battlezone and Battlezone II: Combat Commander.

Genres

Some simulation games are intended to simulate the real world; others are intended to simulate a fictional world; still others are designed to be able to do both. Simulation games also operate on different scales. Role-playing games and skirmish war games are played on an individual scale; each player controls one character. Tactical war games and operational war games simulate small-scale battles, typically involving a few hundred or at most a few thousand soldiers. Strategic war games simulate large-scale battles, campaigns, and entire wars. Grand strategy war games and nation-simulation games allow the players to control nations. Another popular genre, dating sims are meant to simulate a relationship or friendship. While fewer in number, pet-raising simulations are becoming more widespread, especially with the release of the title Nintendogs, though earlier pet sims exist, such as the Nakayoshi Pet Advance series on Game Boy Advance.

Simulation games have been played with pencil and paper since time immemorial. Maps are drawn on paper and cardboard counters or metal figures represent the characters or military units. The players may all be on the same side, or they may be on two or more opposing sides. A referee decides what is done by characters who are not controlled by players, and resolves situations which are not covered by the rules. Recently, simulation games have come to the computer. Computers are inarguably superior to humans in creating simulations, and they have allowed simulation games to become more realistic than ever before. They do, however, have one great drawback: They do not have the creativity and flexibility of a human referee. Some people also prefer the face-to-face interaction of paper-and-pencil simulation games to computer games which are played over a network. A new type of simulation game known as computer-assisted gaming seeks to overcome the limitations of both computer and paper-and-pencil (or tabletop) games.

• Role-playing games
  • Compputer/Console RPGs
    • MMORPGs
• War games
• Nation-simulation games
• Serious games
  • Group-dynamic games
  • Organizational-dynamic games
• Board games
  • Monopoly (game)
  • Backgammon
  • Settlers of Catan
• Tabletop games
• Computer games
• Computer-assisted games
• Dating sims

Computer and video games

In computer and video games, these are frequently called sim games.

Examples

• Odell Lake, a fish life simulator
• 1603 A.D., a city builder game set in the New World.
• Thomas M. Disch's Amnesia (1986), Text adventure from EA that simulates each block and street corner in Manhattan.
• Angelique, a series of ren'ai games that started in 1994.
• Animal Crossing, a life simulator for GameCube
• Harvest Moon Series.
• Caesar III, a city builder game set in ancient Rome.
• Capitalism, capitalism/economics/business simulator.
• Civilization, a whole world sim by Sid Meier.
• Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, a city builder game set in ancient China.
• Forza Motorsport, a driving/racing sim.
• Gran Turismo, one of the first and most realistic driving/racing simulators.
• Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile, a society builder game set in ancient Egypt.
• Jones in the Fast Lane, an early life simulator by Sierra Entertainment.
• Master of Olympus: Zeus, a city builder game set in ancient Greece.
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (1979), a game, originally created by Bruce Artwick, where the player pilots an aircraft.
• My Life My Love - Boku no Yume - Watashi no Negai, a life simulation for Famicom.
• Noctis, a galaxy simulation where the player explores from the first-person viewpoint.
• Pharaoh, a city builder game set in ancient Egypt.
• Seven Cities of Gold (1985), a simulation of the exploration of the New World (Americas), designed by Dani Bunten.
• SimAnt, where the player controls an ant colony in a suburban backyard
• SimCity, a game written by Will Wright where the player can create and develop a city. Three sequels followed: SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4.
• SimEarth, where the player controls the ecosystem of an entire planet through eons of development
• SimFarm, where the player controls a rural American farm
• SimIsle, where the player controls a caribbean island
• SimLife, where the player controls the evolution of creatures
• SimPark
• SimTower, where the player constructs a simulated building complex.
• The Sims, a game designed by Will Wright, where the player can control the lives of player-created people, or "Sims". As of 2003, it was the highest-selling computer game of all time, and spawned seven expansion packs, as well as a sequel, The Sims 2.
• Trauma Center: Under the Knife, a game for the Nintendo DS where you play a doctor who has to operate on people. The game makes good use of the touch screen for DS.
• Utopia on Intellivision (1982) by Don Daglow, often credited as the first "world sim" video or computer game.

See also

• City-building game
• Computer and video games
• Computer-assisted gaming
• Dating sim
• Game classification
• God game
• Grand strategy
• List of Sim games
• Nation-simulation game
• Role-playing game
• Simming
• Simulation
• Tabletop game
• Wargaming