Why did we fall in love with simulation business games?
What can you become? The only limitation is the constraints in your mind. Your external world always reflects your inner world. To improve the external world, you must strive to change your inner world.
I don't know if all the players here noticed that the types of games are divided into a series of role-playing, action shooting, sports competition, simulation management, and so on when they first came into contact with games at a young age. Each part of these types has countless loyal fans. For example, the popular CS series, which was once a dominant player in local area networks, continues to progress and has now stepped onto the stage of world sports competitions. There are also cosplayers who play the big brother in role-playing - World of Warcraft, but now they are immersed in the criticism of their fans. For decades, there have been ups and downs, ups and downs, and the waves of the Yangtze River have pushed the waves of the past. Countless games that were once highly praised have been buried on the beach. Apart from being erected with monuments by some players, what remains is the warning and learning of the waves of the future, as well as some middle-aged men who are already old, have wives and children, and perhaps even have a wealthy beer belly, touching these monuments to recall the past. Among these monuments are the meteor butterfly sword that spans an era, the nostalgic swordsman romance, the legendary world of falling into web games, and many unforgettable memories for players: Qin Shang, Mafia 2, Grand Theft Auto: Sin City, Violent Motorcycle, Empire Age, Shore Landing, Red Alert, and so on. These numerous games give players a brand new world, What else can be more attractive than coming to a brand new world and experiencing a brand new legendary adventure? And these masterpieces of these eras are generally closely associated with a type, which was later misappropriated and named - cultivation.
Development (Love Development)
When it comes to nurturing, 90% of players who have experienced that era may have experienced a highly representative nurturing game, which is Penguin Pet. This game has successfully cut off many children's pet dreams. I wanted to raise a little cat and puppy, but my parents didn't agree and couldn't stop my child's crying. This little game successfully solved a major problem for parents (yes, I also came this way). This pet won't dirty the house, doesn't need to take a walk, doesn't have to be afraid of losing it, can ignore him when unhappy, can play with him when happy, and won't get emotional. It doesn't need to spend real money to buy food and drink. If it gets dirty or sick, it can be solved with just a click of the mouse. This pet is simply the perfect companion for lazy people, and it was also the most widely popular cultivation game at that time. In addition, it also has a work and study system, He can be considered a simulation business model, and it can also be considered a side effect.
Then, EA (Electronic Arts Corporation of the United States), jokingly known as the DLC Madness by players, launched a renowned simulation business game in 2000. This game definitely opened the history of business, which was the first installment of the Sims, officially released in July 2000. This game was once believed by players to be the true essence of the game, as its DLC price combined could buy several game entities, but it was indeed enough to attract players' attention. Everyone's life is actually very limited. It is impossible to be a commoner today, become president tomorrow, and become a star the day after tomorrow. However, for humanity, the unknown is the most terrifying and attractive. People can see national leaders giving serious and solemn speeches in front of the screen, but cannot see them working day and night in the background. They can see the shining stars, loved by thousands of people, and cannot see the peaceful late night sweating practice, Every profession has its own brilliance and hidden pain, but people's yearning and envy for other professions are also engraved in their thinking. So EA's Sims satisfies the desires of players very well. Those people have their own desires to become but cannot become, and they have things they want but cannot have. At this time, a game that can satisfy their own desires, infinite reincarnation without taking responsibility appears in front of players. Who wouldn't fall in love with it? So far, Sims has produced four generations. In addition to a significant improvement in graphics, the playability of the game is actually just an extension and fullness of the past. Players can enjoy the journey of one person or a group of people's lives, and continue to play, allowing their Sims to grow into a family tree. However, in the fourth generation, the rapid development of the Sims game is no longer something that can be imitated. A large number of games related to technology, firearms, magic, swords, and even war, as well as the universe, are flooding the market. Sims, which can only be limited to a small community, have already had enough and insufficient resources. In addition, EA's consistent DLC money circulation policy has also made players dissatisfied, At this moment, simulating the operation of this big cake also attracted the attention of a large group of onlookers.
Business (Open World)
So island tycoons, Ubisoft's Age series, City: Skyline, EA's own arena product simulation city, and other games began to compete in the mayor's role. Players are no longer confined to a small house to earn money and support their families, realizing their ideals. Instead, they are beginning to move towards a broader world, with each game having its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, the advantages of Island Tycoon are hostile rebellions and time limited missions, which can make the game rhythm more urgent. However, the shortcomings lie in poor graphics quality and an aesthetic style that is not suitable for ordinary people. The urban skyline is very well-established in gaming city policies, but excessive reliance on memory configuration often leads to some players with insufficient configuration having to wait for a long time and experiencing abnormal lag when loading games. So why do these games attract players' attention? Why are players obsessed with this type of game?
In the simulation life, the causal relationship between all actions of players is very obvious. When hungry, they have to eat, when tired, they have to sleep, work to earn money, read books to increase skill levels. What players need to do is constantly meet the basic needs of the simulation character, so they can have a good mood. A good mood means twice the result with half the effort, and the causal line is very clear. And for business games, their causal lines become layered. They not only include the basic linear causal lines that used to be built when the road was impassable, or when someone fell ill and needed to build a hospital, but also have deeper delayed causal lines. Today, a policy was released, which may take one or two years, three or five years to see its effect. Perhaps now, this road has been built for convenience, But soon players will find that this road blocks a very important commercial area, making it impossible for the buildings in the commercial area to be upgraded. Alternatively, due to the continuous development of the city, the dual lane road can no longer meet people's daily needs and needs to be widened. This makes it difficult for players who used to be accustomed to clear black and white to adapt. For OCD players, it is even more important to plan a whole day and delete files for 5 minutes. But this kind of game provides a new place for players with meticulous thinking and a love for challenges to play (looking at the high-tech big cities of online gods, then looking at the small villages in front of them, lost in thought). This higher degree of freedom and higher development branches are definitely a beautiful holy land that players will never tire of. The ultra-high upper limit and ultra-low lower limit make this game suitable for all ages.
Space (technological, sci-fi, fantasy)
As magnificent and magnificent cities rise up one after another, the game gameplay with diverse styles and similar paths quickly satisfies these super gamers (please allow me to use this revered term), so game developers start their new journey. Space, as an unconquered world for humans, is full of imagination and unknowns. Such a natural theme cannot be abandoned, So a large number of space themed simulation and management games have emerged on the market, such as the realistic hardcore hypoxia, which requires players to have a certain level of chemical knowledge to play well, and survival in the "simulation city" on Mars. This series of space themed simulation and management games injects fresh blood into the already solidified thinking, lacking oxygen and resources for human survival, The most prominent feature of this theme is the abundance of scarce elements and minerals on Earth, bizarre life forms, and advanced technology that transcends reality and is full of fantasy. Breaking away from common sense creates a sense of freshness and difficulty. Players can no longer consider the game process with their original thinking, as disasters such as typhoons have evolved to the level of meteorite falls. But in fact, this innovation has a slight suspicion of changing the soup without changing the medicine. Players still start to "kill all directions" after becoming familiar with the game rules, and various ideas that have appeared on Earth are once again reproduced in endless space. As a result, players feel bored after the novelty, which is commonly known as boredom.
Divergent thinking is gradually dominating
With the invasion of time, simulation business games seem to have entered a dead cycle. The game content is always related to urban construction, but in fact, EA's Sims and Sims City have laid a complete foundation, causing others to only dare to build buildings on this foundation. As a result, this building is getting higher and harder to build, while other places are still in the stage of laying the foundation. But soon someone discovered this new market, and simulation games were the best and most difficult to do because what he learned was reality itself. In reality, there are hospitals, just copy them in the game, in reality, there are police stations, and in the game, there will inevitably be, because the significance of these infrastructure has already been confirmed by generations of predecessors. All he needs to do is play hard. But it's not easy to say or do, after all, players in the game are the masters of an island and a city, and may be able to strategize and wield power. But if being a mayor is so simple, wouldn't every simulation business genius be able to become a mayor? That's not the case. So in order to avoid a narrow audience and difficulty that players cannot accept, the design team also needs to improve the essence of the game so that most players can accept it. This is the most difficult part, where players cannot feel simple and boring, nor can they feel dizzy and disoriented. This scale is the most difficult to grasp.
New Derived Sandbox Survival (Sandbox Game)
Is it possible to simulate the most exciting life, as it was originally a large-scale simulation of managing a city and a farm? The biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans are good at learning, thinking, and being creative. It is understandable that human life is the most exciting and splendid. If we can polish the color of human life and invest it in games, then we must reach a new height. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that the boundary between simulation management and action adventure has begun to blur, and this should be more of a fusion of self and self, just like the highly acclaimed famine, fictional world horse riding and slashing, the future apocalyptic radiation series, and the 2009 masterpiece Minecraft, all from a personal perspective, creating a grand, one centered world that is called action adventure, That's right, fighting monsters, exploring, collecting supplies, having health and hunger, characters will die, and game over. But when it comes to simulation management, it can also unleash its imagination and create a fortress like base, which can have all the prerequisites for simulation management. Even games like Minecraft have climbed to a new height, because the breadth of the world in this game depends on the size of the player's brain. Such a game is called an unprecedented masterpiece, Because he truly created a game world that liberates players' imagination.
Simulation management truly simulates the player's own desires
There used to be a theory online about online novels, which said that if a reader loves fantasy novels, then after reading the novel they are currently reading, they will definitely look for another fantasy novel that is similar to the original novel, rather than a romance novel with a completely different style. This viewpoint is equally effective when applied to simulation management, and these choices are similar to the player's own way of thinking. Just like when playing Wizardry 3, Teresa used herself as bait, pretended to be caught by the Witch Hunter, and helped Geralt extract intelligence. No matter how many times she made the choice, some players still wouldn't watch Teresa suffer and talk to the Witch Hunter mercilessly, beating around the bush, This is related to each player's own life principles. So simulation business has given players such a big Xintiandi, and it is impossible to try to let players fly in it. Just like a thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts, players will still find their own wishes and dreams in their subconscious, which is why everyone can make a different world in simulation business games. At the same time, it is also the true charm of simulation business games.