Codecat

It’s not easy being green, but considering the ongoing discussion about global warming, it makes a nice buzz.

SimCity Societies, the newest installment in the Sim City series to be released in mid-November, received help and money from BP. The money was paid by BP to include the logo in the game, as a form of in-game advertising. Help was given to the developers so players could "understand the role of electricity in climate change", as reported by Scientific American. What is really new about this?

Well, first that an energy company is teaming up with a game developer. In-game advertising or product placement is not new, Bullfrog’s Theme Park had the logo of a bank in the starting screens already in 1994. But this rarely went beyond the exchange of money for screen-time.

Did the developers really gain any valuable input? This remains to be seen. Already in the earlier Sim City versions there was a need to balance the positive and negative effects of a power supply. Coal power was cheap, but created lots of pollution. Gas power was more expensive, with less pollution. Nuclear power was expensive, with little pollution, and it made the sims unhappy. Wind and water power was also available.

So it already was cost vs. pollution.

Not present was the effect of global warming. Pollution made areas unattractive, reducing income for the city. It did not lead to other environmental effects, like floods. The Civilization games modeled this. Big cities caused pollution, as did certain city enhancements (airports, factories, etc.), leading to a climate change. Without counter measures, formerly green areas would become desert with no food output and little resources.

Overall, I think the approach of Sim City Societies is valid and good: the player makes decisions and has to live with the consequences. Some energy forms create pollution, leading to global warming and a changing climate (I can already hear lobbying groups screaming in protest after the game is released). While the educational aspects should be lauded, it is not really new.

Fortunately.