This could lead to smaller titles coming out of the studio ”like the old days” with SimTower and SimCopter. Right now though everyone’s ”laser-focused” on the new SimCity.
GlassBox lets Maxis ”try things and toss it if it doesn’t work,” which is important to keep as fast a process as possible. They’ve tested various things like a vineyard or a ‘honey factory’.
It empowers the studio to quickly set up sims of varying complexity, letting them try out ideas quickly. ”Yes, that’s exactly one of the core principles of GlassBox, because we know we’ve got to try things and toss it if it doesn’t work, and expand on what’s working quickly. The entire simulation’s data-driven, so everyone could impact the game. But everybody, when they come into the project, has to make their own simulation,” said SimCity senior producer Kip Katsarelis.
”So, we’ve got our own test environment. You can make your own game, basically, within GlassBox. So, we’ve had everything – somebody made honeybees, a honey kind of factory. We’ve got a vineyard, we’ve got haunted houses, ice skaters…it’s just across the board. You’re able to create lots of things within GlassBox and quickly iterate, so everything hot-loads so you can see it right away.”
Maxis have so far released two trailers showing off how GlassBox operates with examples of SimCity in early development. No final visuals are present as right now they’re working hard to nail the pure simulation of it all. The developer will definitely be turning to GlassBox to help them try out smaller project ideas in the future.
”We definitely want to do that at some point. Obviously right now everyone’s laser-focused on SimCity, on the PC product that we’re building, because there’s lots to do,” said general manager Bret Berry.
”Right now I’ve got the team really focused on that but, yes, there’s a lot of great ideas within the studio. A lot of people are passionate about doing other kinds of things. We’ll definitely keep our eyes open for those things in the future, but right now we’re focused on this great product.”
The new engine opens many avenues of opportunity. ”GlassBox is usable on other platforms as well, so it doesn’t have to be just a PC title. So that’s the great thing about it. It is extensible and flexible to do other kinds of products. We’re definitely looking at that,” added Berry in an interview with Gamasutra.
Using GlassBox has led to some accidental discoveries for the team: ”…I think the first emergent magical moment happened early on in the project where we had – we started setting times at where people would shop and kind of entertain themselves after work. We created this bar and it was open kind of late. Everyone went to work, you know, and they came out of work and they went right to the bar and they lined up at the bar,” recalled Katsarelis.
”Then all of a sudden 6 a.m. rolls around and they rush out of the bar and they go to work. That was cool.”
How does Maxis view the SimCity brand - what’s its identity? ”The beauty about SimCity is that it definitely defined a category, right? It’s this ultimate sandbox, with a wonderful ability to create. It gives players self-expression in terms of building a city and being this God-mayor essentially over your world and being able to do things with it. You have the push and pull and decision-making that players have to make,” explained Berry.
”So there’s a lot of – I don’t want to use the word “cerebral,” but there’s a lot of fun stuff for people who like to think about the impact that they’re having on this miniature world that they’ve creating. So it’s just fascinating to watch and just engage with. All of those kinds of things are why we’re so excited about what GlassBox brings, because it’s going to allow us to do that to the 10th degree.”
”I think SimCity is just one of those games that’s full of moments. People relate to it. You can say, “I had a night like that once.” And so I think we’re going to be able to capture those moments as well,” added producer Katsarelis.
SimCity releases on PC in 2013. For the first time, thanks to GlassBox, we get to see what literal impact our urban sprawls have on our Sims and the environment. Check out the vids below for why that is.
