Much like hard-core gamers are in the real world, simulators
are seen as the social outcasts of the gaming world. While other games are
shooting people’s faces off, beating up prostitutes and travelling through
fantasy lands; simulators are all about getting from where you are to where you
want to go as realistically and efficiently as possible. In short, simulators
(and in particular transport simulators) are considered the ‘boring’ side of
gaming, and therefore the most unimaginative. That being said, the market is
thriving at the moment with a shedload of (mostly rubbish) simulators flooding
the shelves of every high-street gaming shop in Ireland, and indeed the rest of
the continent, already adding to the established Flight and Train simulator titles from
Microsoft. So what’s the draw?
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| In all bloody fairness! |
Before I answer that question I must first refer to these
new ‘simulators’, who aim is now to imitate every mundane facet of our day-to-day
existance. You can’t look through a selection of games without finding some
half-rate game with ‘simulator’ slapped onto the end of the title, Garbage
Trucks, Street Cleaners, Tow Trucks (now with even more verbal abuse!), you
name it there’s a simulator for it. This complete over-saturation of the market
has taken away from whatever respectability the genre had. At least the old titles,
while niche in their nature, were made to be as realistic as possible, while
offering a level of detail that made the player feel like he actually was
flying a 747, or at the head of a Japanese Bullet Train.
One exception to this trend is that of the Truck Simulator
series, developed by SCS Software, a tiny game development company in the Czech
Republic who started with just four employees. First they created 3D engines
for games like ‘Deer Hunter’ (A massively successful arcade game) and the ‘Duke
Nukem’ series. From there they set their sights on making full games of their
own, and with a team than less than 20 they created the first in the 18 Wheels
of Steel series in 2002, which received an average score of 7.5 on IGN, between
review and user evaluations. Fast-forward a few titles and 16 years to the
birth of Euro Truck Simulator, which has really brought the series to the forefront
and shop shelves. Over 300,000 copies of the game were sold in Europe, while the
graphics in its sequel ETS2 would be worthy of a developing giant like EA,
given SCS’s stature it’s a phenomenal achievement.
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| Isn't She Lovely? |
Going back to my original question we must now talk about
the most popular simulation series of them all, a game that I’m sure you all
have tried at one stage in your life, I’m talking of course of the Microsoft
Flight Simulator series. Admittedly the game has a much steeper learning curve
than other simulators, and breaking into Fort Knox would be easier than trying
to land a jumbo jet with keyboard buttons. But casual gamers who get frustrated
about the user unfriendly nature of Flight Sim have only scratched the surface
of a game which offers so much. Okay, a bit of googling is required, but the sense
of achievement of knowing exactly how to fly such a complicated piece of
equipment, as well as putting it back on the ground from 36,000 feet matches
any cup or league I’ve won in FIFA or Madden I can assure you.
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| Might as well be real life! |
Moreover, flight simulator has a massive online community,
both in terms of multiplayer flying, and added content. Scenery can be found
for nearly every single town, city, and airport in the world, totally free and
easily installed. Airplanes from every era, use, type and airline can be downloaded
in a single click. There’s even a full time radio station that hooks up with
the game to keep the near 45,000 active pilots entertained while flying! There
are virtual airlines which track your progress, offer community forums, and
allow you the chance to recreate what the real world pilots are doing up in the
sky. It really is as close as you can get to being an airline pilot without the
€60,000 journey to get a commercial pilot’s licence. And if you like you can be
playing your xbox or browsing the web while your autopilot does most of the
work!
While other games try to drag us away from our everyday
lives by creating new worlds, simulators show us the extraordinary ones lived
within our own. In one day you can fly a plane from Cork to Paris, take the
tube to Leicester Square, deliver important cargo by truck from London to
Berlin, and still have time to manage a few games with Manchester United whilst
never leaving your living room. Truly well-developed simulators give us an
understanding and appreciation of everyday things which no other genre can
provide, and for that they’re as valid and justifiable as any other type of
game being produced.
