Games for Cities
CityOne (2010)
New York [US]
Developed by:
Digital game designed to help IBM’s industry and business clients quickly understand the potential effect of ‘smarter planet’ city solutions in areas of energy, water, retail and banking.
What if you could manage your home water consumption in real-time, compare usage with your peers and against historical data, and identify potential leaks? Likely, you would conserve more water and reduce the costs of overuse. IBM’s CityOne game offers players an online virtual world — reminiscent of the SimCity interface — in which to explore just these kinds of new and innovative solutions.
In the game, players transform cities by implementing alternatives in areas of energy, water, retail and banking. Players start with one industry and must evolve all four on a limited budget, while making decisions affecting revenue, profit, citizen satisfaction and environmental betterment. In a series of crisis scenarios, players work through missions summoning them to successfully dictate a balance between the city’s economic, environmental and sociological interests.
The game is not just for fun. IBM’s explicit intention for the game is to illustrate to its clients the potential impact that industry solutions could deliver to complex problems. The game motivates players to implement these innovative solutions as new challenges and obstacles emerge, with the ultimate goal to create more connected, intelligent and efficient cities.
