We have already mentioned that SimCity BuildIt will soon appear on mobile. Vice President of EA Jason Willing (Jason Willig) shared with our colleagues from Pocketgamer.co.uk more detailed information.
There was little information in the official press release: they promised 3D graphics and the possibility of a panoramic view, as well as adaptation of the gameplay. According to Willing, this is not all that SimCity BuildIt will be interested in.
The title will contain recognizable elements of SimCity, such as the division of city districts by specialization, zones, roads, and at the same time will differ from its prototype. The gameplay, the authors promised, is adapted to mobile platforms and contains features specially invented for the project.
In SimCity BuildIt, as well as in the console version, there will be natural disasters, but Willing clarified that they will be available only to “advanced” players. We conclude that it will be possible to “unlock” disasters for money.
Despite this, the authors promised that the game mechanics would be balanced in such a way that non-paying players would not feel deprived compared to those who contribute money. However, they managed in general terms, without revealing details.
Willing noted that the company took into account the experience of the previous project, the mobile version of Dungeon Keeper. According to the vice president of EA, the creators of SimCity BuildIt consulted with the players, and therefore hope to avoid mistakes made earlier. Recall that the mobile Dungeon Keeper was criticized for an unsuccessful adaptation of the original game. In addition, the title was unsuccessfully monetized, which led to proceedings with the British Advertising Standards Committee.
SimCity BuildIt will focus on an “individual gaming experience” for now, Willing says. At the same time, users will be able to share achievements, trade with each other, visit friends’ cities and communicate via Facebook and Gamecenter.
Willing promised that in case of negative feedback from users, the game can become “more social”, that is, apparently, a full-fledged multiplayer.
Owns studios such as Bioware, Maxis, Chillingo, PopCap and many others.