GameSpot on SimCity

2013 = SimCity and GTA V. Can’t… freakin’… wait!

The global market is not an auction-house style of service; you will not directly buy from and sell to each other. Instead, you purchase goods from the market. The finer details of how this will work in the game are still in development, but our main concern is how people will try to break it. What will the limits of a player’s influence be? How will the game change when you’re not online? Does that mean you lose access to the global market, a service seemingly designed to be both a resource safety net and a way to earn some extra cash? How Maxis balances this service whether you’re playing online or offline could greatly determine if this is a single-player- or multiplayer-focused game.
Presentation
A key point the developers from Maxis stressed was accessibility. They want the return of SimCity to appeal to those who don’t find poring over spreadsheets and tax reports an enjoyable way to spend the evening. That means giving these numbers a fresh coat of paint. Electrical power distribution was the example shown. By toggling an overlay, you can view a red line leading out from your (nonfunctional) power plant across the city to all your buildings. When you power up the plant, a yellow bolt of energy shoots down the line, lighting up all the buildings along the way with a jingle.

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