Bob the Builder

Every year I go through periods where I play at being a urban planner, a city builder. (please excuse the shitty lack of paragraphs, blogger don't like me today)

I play out my fantasies via a computer game, Sim City, perhaps one of the all time great games and one of the few that doesn't rely on violence or other such attractions for its entertainment value.

It must have been 1989 or 90 when I first came across this game, then it was very simplistic compared to todays version. Whilst the basic premise remains the same, the game has been developed and expanded over the years until its become pretty bloody flash.

The current version (4) was released back in 2003, so in real terms its old as, yet it is not dated or redundant. For many reasons, one being the nature of the game play and its addictive nature - perhaps addictive isn't the right word. More the time required to build a city or region is such that one needs to invest many, many hours into ones city.

Now I'm quite a keen 'gamer', I can't think of a better way to compliment a pile of CDs that require listening to than a game, reading is cool but often you lose yourself in a book to the point where you stop hearing the music you want to hear, or much of it. With games I find even when engrossed up to ones armpits in sanitation and setting new taxation rates for industry I don't lose track of what I am also listening to.

The thing about Bob's gaming habits, is one; I am crap at games, shockingly terrible to put it mildly. I have this inbuilt nature that always wants to do one thing and the game requires one to do the oppositie to achieve the 'results' as set by the game, these winning results are often not what I am in the game for. Thus I find means to customise the game to play the way I want - this can be in the form of MODS (user made modifactions) that change the nature of the game and addins/ons that add elements to the game to either dress it up, add things that enhance the game that didn't come with it and other small tweaks.

I also depending on what it is I am seeking from my diversion and game, cheat. In the case of Sim City my cheating is simply, gaining money from, as I like to call them, silent investors, rather than only from those whom inhabit my city and thus can be taxed, making it easy as to build a major metropolis quickly and easily.

Sim City is a game that is built for add ons, being a city building program new buildings are a must. And wow there is no shortage of material on the net for one to add to your game/city. Since buying Sim City 4 and its Rush Hour Expansion in '03 I have accumulated 1.2 gig of addons to it. These are mainly buildings (hundreds of) which I can place in my city. Most grabbed from Simtropolis an amazing resource for city builders.

I've only just discovered some New Zealand items on Simtropolis (a few pictured here), which has got me quite excited - yes I am that sad! Now if I had the inclination and time I might go that extra step and work out how to create my own custom content, however I am lazy and prefer to grab from the multitude of amazing things other have built.

Now I've been in my current phase of building since January and have created two city states that suck the kumara - I did say I am crap at these games... a city builder I so am not. Having said that each and every time I don hard hat and roll up my sleeves I learn more about urban development (well in the context of te game) and as I learn my cities slowly get better in design and more attractive to, at least, my eye.

I haven't considered giving up the day job just yet to move into urban planning, but I do feel after 17 years, I am close to actually making one city that isn't complete pooh. If my current level of interest doesn't wan, I do feel it is time to embark on the quest for one city of mine to reach 10,000,000 inhabitants and hopefully also be pleasant on the eye. (previous best approx 3 million). I am now deciding on if I should use a Auckland region map from Simtropolis for my development or to do as I have before, slowly create my own landscape as I build my city....

Today's silent dilemma, one that I shall wrestle with as I go about my daily grind and shall hopefully have settled by the time I get home and am bored enough with telly and mucking about to settle in for a evening of construction.

For a glimpse of what can be done with this game check this dudes Dubai, one word - wow! (please note the link may not always work as this site restricts non members access due to demand).

Now to decide if the Dead C compilation I have just got, is the perfect aural background to sucessful city building..... I think it could be and dozens of sane minds would no doubt disagree.

In short, Bob is a sad sad man and the child that resides within is skipping with joy at that fact.

righto, thats enough of an insight into a part of my world that I rarely mention to others, see you in the nightclub I shall place somewhere on the waterfront (perhaps by my sky tower) of my yet to be built megalopolis, your shout of course..