SimCity Societies

SimCity Societies is a city-building simulation video game developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, and is part of the SimCity series. The gameplay is significantly different from previous SimCity titles, with a greater focus on social development. SimCity Societies was released in 2007, and received mixed reviews, with praise for the game's improved accessibility and visuals, but criticism for being oversimplified and having poor performance. SimCity Societies has a different style of gameplay compared to previous SimCity titles, with less focus on "stricter city-planner roles", and more focus on "social-engineering". Tilted Mill Entertainment also reduced the complexity of SimCity Societies after the previous games in the series had been described as too complex by Will Wright. Complexity was reduced by removing the need to lay pipes and power grids. The ability to fund buildings individually, building evolution, and zoning were also not featured in the game. The adviser system of previous SimCity games was replaced, with a city's status instead indicated to the player by the behaviour of citizens, with each building having an effect on citizen's behaviour. Furthermore, there was an awards system to give players access to new buildings and other features when they meet certain goals. Six "societal values" feature in SimCity Societies, which determine the attributes of a city. The six societal values are productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority, and knowledge. Focusing on a certain "societal value" can change the visual appearance of a city, for instance the authority "societal value" can result in security cameras appearing on buildings. "Societal values" can also affect what buildings are unlocked by the player. The game is "fully customizable" and allows the player to customize individual buildings, decorations, citizens, and game rules. Prior to its release, when mentioning the depth to which the game would allow customization, a Tilted Mill Entertainment representative stated that those who were proficient in C# and XML will be able to easily edit the gameplay.