The SimCity series has built up a strong reputation over the years, but mainly on the PC. However, thanks to a helping hand from Nintendo, the Maxis classic was reworked for the SNES and following that there was no turning back, with SimCity 2000 eventually making its way to that system, as well as even the GBA. However, now EA has created a fresh edition, based on SimCity 3000 for the DS and Cubed3 was lucky enough to catch up with the development team to talk about this latest project, SimCity DS.
Cubed3: First of all, could you please introduce yourself and explain what your role is on this project?
Takahiro Murakami, Producer, EA Japan: My name is Takahiro Murakami, Producer at EA Japan. I have been involved with the development of SimCityDS since the planning stage, overseeing overall direction, development, and production.
C3: How large is the team working on SimCity DS and how long has the game been in development?
TM: The original team consisted of 15 members, which expanded to over 20 during crunch time. The development period was about a year, including pre-production, which involved analysis of the SimCity 3000 code.
C3: It has been mentioned that this game is loosely based on SimCity 3000. Could you please explain how much of the PC game has been used and what the key differences are?
TM: What we adopted from the PC game is not so much the actual code, but the basic logic of computing that is required for progression of population, street and building layouts, etc. We were cautious about directly basing our game on the PC code, as we believed it was too complex for the Nintendo DS hardware specs. We determined a much simpler logic of computing from ground up for the DS version, while respecting the basic structure and game play of the original SimCity game.
So, all in all I would say we used about 30% of the original SimCity3000 elements, including background music and several building graphics, etc.
C3: What had to be considered when attempting to bring SimCity to a DS audience predominantly made up of non-gamers? Were there aspects of the game you felt needed simplifying to appeal to this sector?
TM: The PC version is designed to be played in a relaxed, home environment for a long period of time. On the other hand, the NDS hardware (at least in Japan) is generally used as a truly on-the-go device, allowing casual game play during commute.
The original idea behind SimCityDS was to develop a lower-threshold game to bring in casual gamers into the SimCity fan base, providing fun game play in a short period of time. For this reason, we incorporated new features such as easy-to-play action events that can be played with stylus, took out underground areas (subways and sewer) to simplify controls, and so on. The detailed tutorial section is another feature that we included especially for the casual gamers.
C3: Were there any difficulties implementing touch-screen control or did you face any other issues during development?
TM: Actually, I already had the basic game design in mind when we began planning for this title, so touch screen controls and NDS specific interface did not pose much of an issue during development. Looking back, I still think that it was a great idea to add an Undo feature to the touch screen controls… Other than that, we just concentrated on making the controls as user friendly as possible.
What was challenging was tackling the issue of processing speed, which, I believe, is the eternal challenge for this franchise. The computing involved with this game is so complex that adopting that of SimCity3000 would have caused the game to freeze on NDS, even with the simplest act of building a basic city. We had to incorporate many small gimmicks on the back end, like re-arranging calculating formula to speed up processing speed or stopping game time when the player is moving the cursor on the top screen, etc.
C3: What are your thoughts on the DS Wi-Fi system and how is it used in SimCity DS?
TM: Wi-Fi is a highly exciting function that opens up a lot of possibilities from a developer’s perspective, as well as an attractive feature for the consumers when deciding what game to play. The caveat is that it is also a function that demands a certain amount of time and cost for development, so I would personally be careful about utilising the feature unless it absolutely adds something to the game experience. I am a believer in first and foremost ensuring a fantastic single player game… and then considering incorporating a Wi-Fi multiplayer communication feature only when there is a truly compelling game system that enhances that single play experience.
For this reason, I chose to incorporate a wireless communication feature that enables exchange of landmarks with other players for SimCityDS, instead of a Wi-Fi feature. I am also very interested in assessing (through this feature) how much of the target players of this game would actually enjoy multiplayer communication functionality.
C3: SimCity DS has already started with very strong sales in Japan. Has its performance met with your expectations so far and do you think it can emulate this success in the US and Europe?
TM: Although there were constant releases of the PC version, we hadn’t released SimCity games in Japan on console platforms since Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) and 64DD versions [ Ed: the latter appearing on the ill-fated Japanese-only disk drive add-on for the N64 ]. As this was the first SimCity game in a long time for the console gamers that make up the NDS market, I was actually very nervous about how many of these gamers would come back to the franchise. In that sense, I must say that the success in Japan to date was certainly above my expectations, and I was genuinely happy to see how well it is being received.
I hear that NDS gamers in North America and Europe are mostly much younger than in Japan. As SimCity is a franchise that has always been supported by older gamers, I am curious to see how SimCity DS will be received in the Western countries. I am confident, however, that the game will offer a fun and exciting experience to gamers of all ages, so looking very forward to seeing how it does.
C3: If strong success is indeed achieved in Western territories, is there a chance we will see another SimCity game on DS? And do you think it would be possible to tailor SimCity 4 to a system like the DS?
TM: I do already have some ideas in my head, and certainly hope that I will be fortunate enough to work on another SimCity game! Play style and understanding of a game varies greatly depending on platform and user demographic, so I would love to create a completely new SimCity game in the future…leveraging my past experiences to come up with something that no one has ever seen before. Sequels need fresh inventions to retain fans, especially when we are dealing with a fantastic franchise like SimCity and following a great game like SimCity DS.
C3: What are your thoughts on Nintendo’s Wii and its control system? Would it work well with a game like SimCity?
TM: That’s a hard one (*laughs*). I certainly think that the Wii controller has a lot of exciting potential. If I were to develop something on the Wii… I might consider using the controller in a conventional way for the most part, and incorporate few highlights in the game that utilise the pointing and sensor functionality in the most effective manner. For example, use the controller as a sword in an RPG, but only for the final climax of finishing off the final boss character. I believe that being selective in where the function is used would give players a sense of accomplishment, as well as prevent the game from being monotonous. I would hate to tire the players out by making them swing the controller forever.
I think Wii is a great potential console for SimCity as well, as it is a franchise that can expand on gameplay, and not rely solely on graphic quality. It could also appeal to families by having features that teach children about building a city, or make full use of the network connectivity.
C3: If the demand is there, would you bring SimCity to Wii?
TM: We are always open to all available platforms. I would be very interested in hearing consumer feedback on the platform going forward.
C3: What is next for your team in terms of development projects?
TM: We are working on some very new and exciting projects, but unfortunately there is nothing to announce at this point.
C3: With SimCity from the SNES already appearing on the Virtual Console, could we see other old Sim games (such as SimEarth or SimAnt) released on that system?
TM: We have nothing to comment on this right now.
C3: Finally, what have you been playing in your spare time? And what are you looking forward to the most?
TM: Although this is not a new game, I’ve recently been playing the Zelda series on Nintendo64 system extensively…especially “Majora’s Mask”, which I have played many times over. I am so in love with the overall game balance and content of “Majora’s Mark” that even though I usually load the game for research purposes, I always end up getting carried away with gameplay and research goes out the window (*laughs*).
I also play a lot of Western games by various different publishers for research, including games developed by EA. As someone who works out of EA Japan and is in a unique position of being exposed to both cultures, I find it fascinating to see the different philosophies and techniques incorporated into games developed by Japanese and Western developers.
The game that I am looking forward to the most from a Japanese developer is Super Paper Mario on Wii, and SPORE from a Western publisher. For Super Paper Mario, I love the idea of switching between 2D and 3D graphics, and the art style is also very interesting. There seems to be a lot to learn from that title.
As for SPORE, I am curious to see what kind of game balance would support such an incredibly vast vision. It is no doubt a highly innovative game, which I cannot wait to get my hands on and even wish that I was part of the development team!
