I feel really honoured by that.Įxperiencing SimCity on a Mac with a monochrome screen was what motivated me to want to produce games. As SimTower, it became a big hit in Europe and the States.

The author of SimCity, Will Wright, apparently told him that my game was 'interesting', so Maxis immediately decided to contact me to discuss the prospect of a worldwide release for The Tower.

Thanks to his craft, The Tower featured some lovely palette animation, and the day-to-day happenings within the buildings were presented in vivid detail.Īs soon as the Mac version became a hit in Japan, the president of Maxis, Jeff, got in touch with me. Towards the end of development, the Mac's performance was starting to increase, so to switch the designs I'd produced in 16-colour mode to 256 colours, I enlisted the help of designer Horita-san. Next I coloured it with 16 colours, checking that the presentation made clear to the user the intended difference between buildings such as offices and hotels. First I made a basic scaled design in monochrome, setting it in motion with HyperCard.

The Tower was initially a Mac game, and it was produced by a two-man team – me and a freelance programmer called Abe-san. As the tower's rating improves, more facilities can be built by the player, such as a cinema. Population is measured by the number of individuals currently in the tower many hotel rooms will cause population to soar during the night. The player's progress is based on a star system, similar to how hotels are ranked, with new stars awarded for meeting population milestones and other conditions. Too much stress causes them to permanently leave the tower. Waiting for an elevator for too long causes the residents to stress (indicated by a black, pink or red colour as they become more stressed). One of the key activities of the game is effectively managing and building elevators in order to allow occupants to move between floors efficiently. Utilities such as hospitals and recycling centers become necessary as the tower grows in size. Offices, hotels, and condominiums give tenants places to live and work, while shops and restaurants provide commercial balance. The objective of SimTower is to construct and manage a towering skyscraper and keep its occupants happy.

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