Simulation

History

1. 1964
   Origin

   The Sumerian Game (1964), by Mabel Addis, a text game set in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, was the first economic simulation game.

   Simulation video game (Wikipedia)
2. 1989
   SimCity

   Will Wright's SimCity popularises city building and simulation as a game with no ending.

   Simulation video game (Wikipedia)
3. 2000

   The Sims brings simulation to the everyday lives of virtual people.

   Sandbox game (Wikipedia)

Reference games

Subgenres

• BreedingYou raise, care for and crossbreed animals or creatures to get offspring with the traits you want. The challenge is understanding how those traits are inherited and planning across several generations.
• Construction and management simulationA simulation game in which you build and run a place, such as a city, a farm, a park or a colony, deciding what to build and where with limited resources, so that what is produced covers what is consumed and the whole keeps growing.
• CookingYou prepare dishes by following recipes: chopping, mixing, cooking and serving on time. The challenge is usually getting each step right or juggling many orders at once without burning anything.
• Courtroom battleYou defend or prosecute someone at trial: gathering evidence, cross-examining witnesses and pointing out contradictions in their testimony. The challenge is deducing the truth and presenting the right evidence at the right moment.
• Flight simulatorYou fly an aircraft with controls modelled on the real thing: taking off, navigating and landing while minding the instruments, the weather and flight physics. It ranges from highly realistic simulation to arcade-style air combat.
• God gameYou play a deity who does not directly command their followers but acts on the world they live in, reshaping the land and unleashing miracles or disasters. The challenge is influencing a population that acts on its own so that it thrives or defeats its rivals.
• Interactive movieYou watch a filmed or animated story and, at key moments, decide what the protagonist does or press a button in time to keep the scene going. Your role is choosing and reacting rather than moving freely.
• Life simulationYou run the everyday lives of one or more people: tending to their needs, their jobs and their relationships with other characters. There is no ending to reach; the challenge is keeping everyone well and seeing what stories emerge.
• Open worldYou roam freely through a large, continuous world and choose what to explore and in what order, instead of following a fixed sequence of levels. You decide your own path between missions, secrets and encounters scattered across the map.
• Programming gameYou solve challenges by writing instructions, in real code or visual blocks, that your characters, robots or machines then carry out. The challenge is thinking like a programmer: breaking the problem down, testing and debugging the solution.
• Virtual lifeYou create an avatar and live through it in an online virtual world shared with other people: socialising, working, shopping or building. There is no main quest; the experience is life in that community.