Fundamentals of Construction and Simulation Game Design

Introduction

Construction and simulation games (CSGs) offer players the chance to build and/or manage something, such as an anthill or a city, while operating within economic constraints. In this book, you’ll learn about the gameplay of construction and management, and consider the unique actions and challenges these games provide. You’ll also study user interfaces (UIs) in these kinds of games. As an example, we will spend time discussing SimCity, which was the first successful construction game. We’ll also look at pure business simulations, games that focus on managing economic processes. The section on hybrid games examines titles such as Sid Meier’s Civilization V; hybrid games blend certain qualities of management simulations and war games. ...