Reflections on Different Types of Building Games

I always say that I love city-building games, but I am actually often not sure whether the game really is one or not. Where do we draw the line? Surely, Cities: Skylines obviously is one because you’re literally building a city. But what about a game like Islanders? Technically, you are at least building a settlement on a small island. But this game doesn’t have any of the usual mechanics like a power grid or managing traffic. It only leaves the juggle of trying to place buildings and structures on a very confined space.

My first PC games (after my initial start with the Commodore 64 when I was six) were Sim City 2000 and Cultures – Discovery of Vinland. I always classify Cultures as a city-building game, even though it is essentially very different from games like Sim City. Cultures let you manage individual settlers. They all have needs, personalities, etc., and you choose who is doing what in your village. Sim City or Cities: Skylines also have named individuals. But they go on their merry ways without you being able to choose what they do. In Cultures, you manage production chains (farm, mill, bakery, for example). In Cities: Skylines, you mainly zone districts. However, there are also some limited production chains that you can have (special farming districs, for example). And games like Cultures often have an element of fighting or combat, at the very least having to defend your village. Cities: Skylines or Sim City are completely peaceful. And in the end, if goods are transported by a van or by a single carrier viking, that isn’t much of a difference.

The size of what you are building is, though. A Cultures village will always be a cozy “everybody knows everybody” (and after a few generations, surely, “everybody is related to everybody” as well) while Cities: Skylines tells you there are hundreds or thousands of people living there.

So I guess it’s justified to call these games “city-building games” as they in essence are. But where is the line? Or does it even really matter? In the end, they all focus on building a settlement, village or town. And they are all about placement. Whether I am managing a small village or a bustling town, for me, city-building games are about the “Wuselfaktor“, seeing the place come to life with simulated citizens as opposed to having a lifeless spatial puzzle. In the end, it is the inhabitants that truly make it a city-builder.

(Blaugust Post No. 13)