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DS

SimCity Creator DS and the Global Warming Age

by Carmine Red - September 21, 2008, 12:57 pm EDT
Total comments: 30

I guess I've always had a tiny element of environmental awareness when it came to the SimCity games (lots of green space! parks everywhere!), so I was happy to spot giant environmentally conscious wind turbines in SimCity Creator for the Wii last Friday at EA. But my attention was also piqued with an aspect of SimCity Creator DS that, while not overt, showed an awareness of the modern day concerns about global warming.

SimCity Creator DS is about building a city through different eras of civilization, from the stone age to modern day. But the developers have dubbed the modern day time period as the "Global Warming Age." Each distinct time period has its challenges, and I wonder whether the challenge in this age was about dealing with pollution and energy sources, some sort of reflection of our times?

Developer Mitch Ueno, presenting the DS game, also told us about a "future" time period that players would be able to play in if they'd "beaten" the "Global Warming Age" era. We were told that it would be a long and challenging process, but that determined players could overcome the challenges we face today and emerge in a sort of "Post-Global Warming" future, with brand new architecture and technology.

It's great that EA is optimistic in envisioning a future where mankind has overcome our greenhouse issues. SimCity Creator DS is obviously meant purely for entertainment, but I also think it's wonderful that the game's "hard mode" is fixing today's problems, and that a pollution free future is the ultimate alternate ending.

Talkback

KDR_11kSeptember 22, 2008

I'm not sure if letting the player reach a good end after a long and difficult struggle counts as optimism. It IS a videogame, can't have it be unbeatable.

King of TwitchSeptember 22, 2008

Do you get an Al Gore statue when you hit 500,000 people?

RABicleSeptember 22, 2008

THey should've been more open ended about it. There should be an environmentalism phase and post apocalyptic phase, which shows the horrible society we'll have if nothing is done to combat global warming.

DAaaMan64September 22, 2008

Have we all tried just turning on our fans yet?

UltimatePartyBearSeptember 22, 2008

I don't understand what's different.  Sim City has always included managing pollution.

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

I don't understand what's different.  Sim City has always included managing pollution.

You're right, but it's still worthwhile to step back and appreciate that SimCity doesn't do it an overt manner, but just slides it in there. Maybe that's just a result of the type of game it is though: simulations and interconnected systems are great for showing how things can interact and affect each other. They're much more subtle (insidious?) than obvious attempts to 0impart lessons to gamers.

walkingdeadSeptember 23, 2008

Quote from: RABicle

THey should've been more open ended about it. There should be an environmentalism phase and post apocalyptic phase, which shows the horrible society we'll have if nothing is done to combat global warming.

or like many other people believe you could have the global warming stage... then the global cooling stage... cause man made global warming is not very factual right now.

KDR_11kSeptember 24, 2008

Yeah, yeah, that'll be the US version.

Apparently we're allowed to talk about politics in the blog section.

RABicleSeptember 25, 2008

Quote from: walkingdead

Quote from: RABicle

THey should've been more open ended about it. There should be an environmentalism phase and post apocalyptic phase, which shows the horrible society we'll have if nothing is done to combat global warming.

or like many other people believe you could have the global warming stage... then the global cooling stage... cause man made global warming is not very factual right now.

Thank you first time poster. I guess all those trees we're cutting down and all that carbon we're releasing into the atmosphere is making no difference.

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

I don't understand what's different.  Sim City has always included managing pollution.

Because back then, all pollution affected was land value and life expectancy.

UltimatePartyBearSeptember 25, 2008

Quote from: RABicle

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

I don't understand what's different.  Sim City has always included managing pollution.

Because back then, all pollution affected was land value and life expectancy.

So what they've added is basically a technology level that's locked until you get local pollution under some value, which somehow fixes a worldwide climate problem.  As if the series wasn't already too optimistic about renewable energy.  :)

CalibanSeptember 25, 2008

Quote from: RABicle

Thank you first time poster. I guess all those trees we're cutting down and all that carbon we're releasing into the atmosphere is making no difference.

I wouldn't be so worried about deforestation other than the fact that it is causing the disappearance of biodiversity that affect macro and micro ecosystems, and not to mention that the Taiga (Boreal Forest) that contains 1/3 of all the trees on Earth, so I wouldn't be too worried about Oxygen production.

What is making a significant difference in the global greenhouse effects is Methane that is brought by the insane amount of both cattle, and their farting. Methane as a greenhouse gas is far more effective than water, or Carbon Dioxide, and its levels are alarmingly rising without giving our planet enough time to absorve it.

Quote from: RABicle

Thank you first time poster.

This is a personal attack and is ad hominem to boot.  You are warned.

Quote from: insanolord]

No.  Politics and environmentalism are two separate things.  You may discuss the latter in this thread to the extent that it relates to this game or gaming in general.  This is a gaming forum, so keep the discussion game-related no matter what other issues become involved.

RABicleSeptember 27, 2008

Quote from: Caliban

Quote from: RABicle

Thank you first time poster. I guess all those trees we're cutting down and all that carbon we're releasing into the atmosphere is making no difference.

I wouldn't be so worried about deforestation other than the fact that it is causing the disappearance of biodiversity that affect macro and micro ecosystems, and not to mention that the Taiga (Boreal Forest) that contains 1/3 of all the trees on Earth, so I wouldn't be too worried about Oxygen production.

What is making a significant difference in the global greenhouse effects is Methane that is brought by the insane amount of both cattle, and their farting. Methane as a greenhouse gas is far more effective than water, or Carbon Dioxide, and its levels are alarmingly rising without giving our planet enough time to absorve it.

And guess what cleared Amazon turns into? That's right, soy farms to feed cattle.

CalibanSeptember 27, 2008

True.

ShyGuySeptember 27, 2008

I blame Brazil for the shoddy SimCity DS port.

IceColdSeptember 27, 2008

Quote:

What is making a significant difference in the global greenhouse effects is Methane that is brought by the insane amount of both cattle, and their farting. Methane as a greenhouse gas is far more effective than water, or Carbon Dioxide, and its levels are alarmingly rising without giving our planet enough time to absorve it.

So what you're saying is that we should all eat more steak?

Skeeter8887Chuck Jose, Staff AlumnusSeptember 27, 2008

Just think of the world we'd be in if our world leaders played video games.

CalibanSeptember 28, 2008

Quote from: IceCold

So what you're saying is that we should all eat more steak?

We can, but it is essential that there should be methods to be devised to reduce the amount of Methane brought onto our atmosphere. Oh, and if we eat more steak wouldn't that increase the number of cattle in the sense that cattle owners would come to the conclusion that if there is a demand for it than they should increase the production of such food.

ShyGuySeptember 28, 2008

I blame EA for the attempted endangerment of the bovine species.

KDR_11kSeptember 28, 2008

If the methane becomes too much we'll just ignite it and watch the fireworks :P

You'd think that, by now, somebody could have come up with a device to strap onto the butt of every cow out there that would eliminate the methane.

Maybe they already have:

http://www.garmentguard.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=8

KDR_11kSeptember 28, 2008

Many cows are bred in poor countries, you can't exactly sell hightech solutions to those farmers, especially solutions for problems that they see no immediate need for solving. And hell, American farmers believe it's all just a theory anyway and there's no need to cut into their profit margins to fight it.

CalibanSeptember 28, 2008

In Argentina they tested the addition of extra elements to the base food of the cattle just to see if there was any decrease. They tested with alfafa sprouts mixed in with the usual grass, and they saw 10% decrease in methane release. No technology involved, so it's all a matter of finding a local plant that has the same effects yet is free for the farmers because it is a local plant. Source (Actually I'm sure I read on this in that it was tested in Argentina, but I can't find the link at the moment)

In Argentina they also tried this. It's just a tad ridiculous though.

Even the Japanese have something.

I think my girlfriend would love to see me try this out after eating Mexican.

CalibanSeptember 28, 2008

If you watch far enough into the video from my first link you will feel kind of... well I don't know what you will feel because I just thought it was like "wow they did that to the cow".

Hi, remember when I suggested that posts should relate to gaming?  Let's try that again.

CalibanSeptember 29, 2008

I plead guilty.

KDR_11kSeptember 29, 2008

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Hi, remember when I suggested that posts should relate to gaming?  Let's try that again.

Cows relate to gaming. Cows relate to everything.

Quote from: KDR_11k

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

Hi, remember when I suggested that posts should relate to gaming?  Let's try that again.

Cows relate to gaming. Cows relate to everything.

Llamas are in Sim City Creator for Wii... does that count?

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