digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

SimCity Societies: Will Gamers Go Green?

sustainablog.org — I was intrigued when I received an invitation to an “Exclusive SimCity Societies low carbon power online blogger event.” Held by gaming company Electronic Arts and their first ever corporate partner on a game, BP (yes, BP), bloggers had the opportunity to take a sneak peak at the game.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • WordsnCollision, on 11/16/2007, -9/+3Does this mean bloggers are finally getting some respect?
  • Paktu, on 11/16/2007, -3/+37Given that the game is essentially an advertising vehicle for BP, attempting to make them look "environmentally friendly", I really hope someone creates a Gary, Indiana scenario in which you have to clean up all the pollution they dumped into Lake Michigan.
    • catalysis, on 11/16/2007, -3/+2Actually I think BP wants to convince people that some pollution is ok with this game. You can't have too much smog or lots of people will get sick, but it's ok if some people get sick in the name of development, etc..
    • modix, on 11/16/2007, -0/+12Traditionally BP has been rated as the cleanest of the oil companies, by far. Whether or not that's equivalent to the tallest midget, I'm unsure.
    • cliffski, on 11/23/2007, -0/+1actually this is a superb game, and if i hadnt read about BPS involvement I wouldnt have noticed it. there are some very very small BP logos on a tiny number of the games buildings, but no hard sell or marketing to speak off. Plus its a cool game, despite its weirdly low review scores.
  • p0ss, on 11/16/2007, -0/+9EA + BP = ecologically sound entertaining educational game

    wtf?
  • inghamb87, on 11/16/2007, -1/+2http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/?p=321 also covered on environmental graffiti several months ago!
  • chewbacca77, on 11/16/2007, -1/+13They make it sound like pollution didn't even play a role in the previous games.
    Also, I like this quote: "Increased carbon emissions could result in floods, droughts, powerful storms, etc." Maybe every city will have local ice caps that will melt if you do a bad job.
  • wild, on 11/16/2007, -4/+44***** BP. All the PR in the world doesn't change the fact that your ***** over lake Michigan. Out of touch douchebags.

    And ***** Indiana for exempting them from the conservation laws while I am at it.

    Sorry to be so "tree hugger", but if the Chicago beaches become unsafe, I won't see nearly as many hot chicks in bikinis, and that really grinds my gears.
    • Remmy, on 11/16/2007, -3/+16You know what really grinds my gears? People in the 19th century. Why don't they get with the freakin program? It's called an automobile, folks. It's much faster than a horse!
    • 15charmaxwtf, on 11/16/2007, -0/+2Perhaps you should _also_ blame the government for allowing it to happen. If people's property and bodies are being polluted the polluters should be sued. If the property is public property, then thats your problem, there is less incentive to keep it clean.

      If the government can't fix simple and obvious pollution how the ***** are they going to be capable of handling "global warming?" In the case of blatant pollution like polluting lakes the government is the problem---they jsut ***** allow it to happen so why would pandering to that bunch of morons actually do anything (especially in the long term.)
    • edwartica, on 11/16/2007, -1/+1"I won't see nearly as many hot chicks in bikinis, and that really grinds my gears."
      I would think the opposite would "grind your gears."
  • Wiini, on 11/16/2007, -9/+30I had a really great comment... but you know what.. I'm tired of Digg. Ever get that sick feeling when you've watched Digg all day to see waht's new, who liked your comments and who responded? I don't even feel like I worked today. I feel like I just surfed Digg all day and made 30$ an hour doing it. Oops.

    I don't even want to make the easy "Ron Paul will fix it" or "legalize it!", "Bush Sux!" or even my favorite "Creationists are a bunch of *****!!" comments.

    Despite them being funny... I think I'm just sick of Digg. I'll come back another day, digg. Until then... good bye.
    • bbrigg1, on 11/16/2007, -4/+6I did the same thing a few months ago. Some dumbass post was ranked #1 and it was a picture of a dress that looked like a picnic blanket, so I said ***** it. I started coming back a week or two ago, and I have to say, it still sucks, so you won't miss anything.
    • hijinks, on 11/16/2007, -2/+10I'm actually the same way. When you visit digg now its all crap. I have actually gone back to slashdot since most of the morons have seemed to move over here to Digg.. bye bye Digg
    • RunawayElf, on 11/16/2007, -0/+7The real question is if you'll come back to read these replies, and judge your comeback date by how much you are dugg up.
      I digg you down, but only to prevent you from wasting your life here any further. You have escaped the clutches of social news websites. We should all be so lucky.
    • zengonzo, on 11/16/2007, -1/+5He posted this in at least one other thread, so I suppose he's got an encore coming ..
    • modix, on 11/16/2007, -2/+2Does anyone have a good recommendation for a digg-like setup with a more intellectual user-base? I've tried reddit... the commentators do seem better informed, but the forums seem empty at times.
    • sovereign3, on 11/16/2007, -1/+3Who are you kidding? You'll be back on Digg by the end of the day. They always come back.
    • Canadian0207, on 11/16/2007, -1/+2I"M ALREADY MISSING YOU!!! :-(
    • metric7, on 11/17/2007, -0/+1Bye bitch! Like anyone cares
  • RuckusNutz, on 11/16/2007, -6/+6Don't let the screen door hit you on the ass on the way out.
  • SuperJimmyJimbo, on 11/16/2007, -2/+5Do I get to play as Al Gore?
    • KidDynamo0, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1Once you get to a Megalopolis!
    • beckerist, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1Only if one of the natural disasters is a manbearpig
  • dsmx, on 11/16/2007, -4/+10Doesn't really matter what EA do this game still sucks.
    • oceanrain, on 11/16/2007, -2/+6I agree. I thought Simcity 5 would be better than 4, and then they deliver this crap.
    • JoJack82, on 11/16/2007, -1/+6They took everything that was fun out of sim city and released this piece of garbage.
  • plizard, on 11/16/2007, -5/+1no but i has a bucket
  • NekoAmplifier, on 11/16/2007, -2/+4I could say this is a great game, but then I would be lying.
    • snek, on 11/16/2007, -1/+3I agree, it's definitely not as captivating as previous Sim City titles..
  • mtzadogg, on 11/16/2007, -1/+8simcity is a cool game I love making huge metros with extremely hard ghettos and poverty stricken areas filled with pollution and I build my kingdom on the slope of a hill over looking my slums
    • Remmy, on 11/16/2007, -1/+6, said George Bush looking out of the Oval Office window.
      • mtzadogg, on 11/16/2007, -0/+6when I play the sim city games I always like to pretend I am evil soviets forcing my sims into a life of bondage in a ***** economic waist land all while trying to suit my personal best interests as a dictatoresident king of a Orwellian empire
  • BingoPower, on 11/16/2007, -0/+4Bringing a company like BP in to help teach people about pollution is like bringing Hitler in to teach people about loving thy neighbour.
  • theNazz, on 11/16/2007, -0/+7If you look at the reviews from the gaming sites, SimCity Societies failed miserably...
  • gethane, on 11/16/2007, -1/+6btw, simcity societies sucks, don't buy it.
  • Zunger, on 11/16/2007, -1/+7This game was a complete and utter disappointment. EA should of waited until maxis finished up spore before pushing this piece of ***** game to another company....and no tornado? what the ***** were they thinking?
  • mtzadogg, on 11/16/2007, -0/+5so is rush hour still the undisputed champion
    • IEatHamburgers, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1and thanks to Digg I've now gotta go play it again... hope there's a widescreen monitor patch.
  • ckokotay, on 11/16/2007, -0/+6If your into City Building games - Cities Unlimited http://www.cuplanet.com - be part of the development process - they are listening to the community. Societies is garbage.
  • davidryal, on 11/16/2007, -0/+4does it at least still have aliens? that was the best part of sc2k
  • YZBot, on 11/16/2007, -0/+4I've purchased simcity, simcity 2000, simcity 3000, and simcity 4. Simcity Societies will not be on my purchase list. I understand some of the complexity issues they faced in trying to reign the game back into a more new user friendly experience, but Societies was a failed attempt. I've always had an idea of having a mode that allows the city to progress on its own and the mayor can guide the path of the city. This would be particular helpful in simcity 4 because it is incredibly time intensive to build cities on a regional scale. If I could lay a road and have buildings automatically start developement that would be awesome and opens up a whole new method of play.
    • cliffski, on 11/23/2007, -0/+1have you actually played it? IMHO this game is equally as good as the earlier ones. different, but great.
  • pauliusuza, on 11/16/2007, -1/+2They just ruined the classic. Idiots
  • MASTERPL, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1I know I'm not the first, but I also wanted to say Societies was worthless. Most people on the web agree. My wife is a diehard sim city fan, and she really tried to give this game a chance, but after 20+ hours of gameplay, she has given up and given me permission to uninstall. What a waste of $.
    • cliffski, on 11/23/2007, -0/+1so she played it for 20 hours? wow it must suck...
  • portilaj, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1An interesting note from the article:
    When an EA representative was asked if this game was part of a 'green washing' effort by BP, they responded that it wasn't because 'BP came to THEM' (and not the other way round) to make a game focused on educating consumers about the environment.
    That seems like a contradictory it-isn't-because-it-is kind of double-talk.
  • kidcodea, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1these dudes ruined caeser3 into caeser4. did they do the same with simcity? hope not...
  • 2Bnor2B, on 11/16/2007, -0/+2Also in the news...
    Electronic Arts games announced a partnership with the Christian Conservative movement to produce an evolution free version of Spore.
  • ZenMojo, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1If you really wanted to see the effect of the environment in a SimCity game, how about buying any SimCity from 2000-4? Seriously. I think it's funny that someone commented on how frustrating it is to him that a Laissez Faire economy doesn't seem to work in a game.
    How old is this guy, seven? What age do you realize letting money-driven entities do whatever they want with no government intervention allows exploitation?
  • tommcb06, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1Hopefully this simcity is like that last 8 or 9 and you can make custom buildings. Time to start making coal burning plants and oil rigs with the BP logo on them. The possibilities are limitless... BP giant tanker disasters, BP oil pipeline bursts, BP refinery plants to give everything nearby a BP black sheen. That should counteract all BP/EA advertising of pretend environmental awareness. Hopefully they have a BP advisor like in the old simcities. The advisor could tell you not to raise taxes on them and attempt to bribe the other advisors to support BPs stance on taxation. I can't wait to start working with this version of simcity!
  • tommcb06, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1Oh, your BP advisor could be invited to participate in secret energy policy discussions with your Sim Vice-president and when any sims protested and wanted to know who was a participant in those talks, your sim vice-president could stone wall them. What Fun!
  • gamerzworld, on 11/16/2007, -0/+1"SimCity Societies: Will Gamers Go Green?"
    Depends, how many bugs will this EA game have?
    • BingoPower, on 11/16/2007, -1/+0The same amount of "bugs" as BP has put in to the atmosphere.
  • metric7, on 11/17/2007, -0/+2Lots of people having problems with the game, just read the forum on the official website. Evidently they
    didn't print the sys req on the box so people with video cards less than 128mb can't use it, and thats
    just the beginning.
  • zachseaman, on 11/17/2007, -0/+1the first post on the site expresses my opinion fully.
    # Kendra Says:
    November 15th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
    I thought video games were a way to escape reality. I’m constantly feeling green guilt about recycling, the food I eat, energy I use - I don’t think social responsibility needs to enter the entertainment realm. Ah well I’ll do my part by not turning on the game player.

  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.