The reworkings of SimCity 3000

SimCity 3000 from Maxis is finally out, and it certainly has been worth the wait. This isn't a review of the game, but more of a story of its evolution.

A long time ago in 1997 Maxis was in a serious financial crisis. The previous year many of their games sold poorly, and the only bright spot was SimCopter, a flight simulation set in a 3D version of SimCity 2000. Maxis' only hope was put on the shoulders of SimCity 3000 to pull them through their troubles. Due to the relative success of SimCopter everyone assumed SimCity 3000 would be turned into a 3D world, Maxis' management included. Unfortunately this wouldn't work. A feature from GameSpot explains the predicament, "The problem was that the existing 3D technology simply wasn't capable of handling SimCity's microscopic level of detail, which would have required rendering an almost innumerable number of polygons." Development was started anyway and SimCity 3000 was on its way to disaster.

Fortunately for Maxis, they were acquired by Electronic Arts, ending their financial troubles. EA purchased Maxis mostly for the brand name, and if they wanted to keep it a positive name something had to be done about SimCity 3000. So, in November of 1997 the project was started over. Some of the best people in the gaming industry were brought in to help out Will Wright, creator of the SimCity series. Instead of 3D it would stay 2D like its predecessor, only with a few more bells and whistles. Nothing huge would be added, it would familiar ground to anyone who had played SimCity 2000. The graphics have been vastly upgraded, and the game is a little simpler and easier to grasp, allowing for a wider range of audiences. By building on their earlier success, Maxis turned out a first rate game.

The People Rejoice!
After all the turmoil involved, SimCity 3000 was released in February of this year. It became very well accepted and jumped to near the top of best-seller lists. The positive response can be clearly seen across the Internet. Numerous fan sites spot the Web; from Wren Weburg's "SimCity 3000 Resource Center" (http://www.sc3000.com) to Brian McMillin's "The Sim Network" (http://simntwk.cjb.net), all with their own appeal and relevant information. The official web site of the game is http://www.simcity.com, and there you're given the chance in a lifetime to play the original SimCity online (http://www.simcity.com/classic/classic.h... ! Maxis really pulled through for themselves and the Sim lovin' community.

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