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City building games have a Soul Problem pt.2

165 points · 155 comments · lexx

  1. matheusmoreira · · focus · HN ↗
    > Does this look nice to you?

    Yes, it does. It's exactly what I want my real life city to be like.

    No plants growing everywhere completely out of control and invading perimeters they aren't supposed to be in. No cracked pavement that's just a rainfall away from being replaced with potholes.

    Apparently, "soul" means a city that looks like it's unmaintained and teetering on the edge of a precipice, just about to be reclaimed by nature, a few years away from turning into the green urbanscape of The Last of Us.

    1. tcdent · · focus · HN ↗
      You're rejecting the behavior of both human nature and earthly nature in a naively idealistic manner.

      From the moment an object is constructed it is being pulled into the ground. Maintenance has a far higher cost than initial construction. Relative perfection is inversely proportionate to complexity.

      This is the exact same mentality that drives suburban lawn guys crazy when their grass has a brown spot. You are not fully in control.

      1. matheusmoreira · · focus · HN ↗
        > You're rejecting the behavior of both human nature and earthly nature

        Absolutely. The whole point of a city is to reject all that.

        > You are not fully in control.

        I know, which is why I don't bother with lawns. I'd rather fill the entire area with solar panels instead.

        1. HWR_14 · · focus · HN ↗
          The whole point of a city is to allow large numbers of people to live in close proximity to each other. Everything else is a choice.
          1. matheusmoreira · · focus · HN ↗
            Who would choose to live in a decaying city? Broken down buildings, screwed up roads?

            This is stuff you grit your teeth and put up with because it can't be helped. Who would choose to design a city with this decay literally built into it? That's mind boggling.

            1. kelseyfrog · · focus · HN ↗
              I just don't let it bother me that much, but to each their own. A city with rounded down corners feels lived in, comfortable even.
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