Cities XL Interview

21 Jul 2009 at 18:13:23 by James Chalmers

Cities XL is one of the many, many titles that we've taken a keen interest in, so we thought we'd sit down with owner and CEO of Monte Cristo Jerome Gastaldi and ask the man himself about the game.

A lot of comparisons between have been made between the single-player mode of Cities XL and SimCity. What has Monte Cristo done to make sure Cities XL looks and plays differently to SimCity?

Obviously the game looks distinctive anyway, as it uses our own proprietary engine and avatar studio – and the way we’ve built it means that it’s more gritty and realistic at the closest levels of zoom when compared to the homogenised world presented by the Maxis-made metropolises. We have that highly-polished Richard Rogers element in there too, but we also have graffiti and bins, which is not very Sims, but is more in tune with the real world. We’ve also used real-world maps (for example, of Mount St Helens) which means players are facing real-world geographical challenges.

Do you expect fans of the SimCity series to venture out of the safe haven they have with SimCity 4 and try Cities XL?

We already know that they have with our previous title City Life, so we know they’re more adventurous than you might think – and their loyalty is previously untested. Of course, not only is our game more stunningly beautiful than any of the SimCity games but it’s also packed with new features that take the genre where it’s never been before: the in-game trading for resources is not only necessary to build the most impressive cities, it is also necessary to build Megastructures such as the Empire State Building. Also, the social-networking side means that players can really cooperate with others to build something bigger than they could ever do if they played solo.

Single-player apparently has 25 different maps. Will each map have certain objectives, or will we be seeing an open game where you can choose the map and various settings before working on your city from there?

There are no objectives in each map, except those you make yourselves. Whilst this means we don’t have the drive of a plot, you’d be surprised at how compelling the aesthetic drive of an artificer or architect can be. We’re more pleased that this doesn’t have the grinding aspects of a mainstream MMO; that people feel the need to continue playing not because of where they’re going and what they’d like to make, but because of what they’re doing then and there, and what that will lead to later. The game is compelling both from moment to moment, and over the whole course of building your city.

You've promised hundreds of buildings that have been influenced by European and American designs. Will you have any iconic landmarks in the game which you will be able to add into your city such as Big Ben or the White House?

We should do, yes. We’ve been in talks with many famous architects to get the rights for modern buildings, but many very famous buildings are already in the game. There are also likely to be licensed brands and products in there – partially because it makes the game look even more real-world, and partially, and we’ll admit this without shame, because we can make some money from that.

Have you thought about the future of the buildings - perhaps the release of more buildings inspired by other continents such as Asia or Africa?

We are planning to release specific building packs so you can customise your city more completely, and those are set to include designs and styles from other countries. These new buildings will be given for free for those who join our Planet Offer.

In SimCity you had to manually implement the whole pipe system for your city. Is this in Cities XL or will they all be automatically added to new buildings? How about power stations?

There is no piping system in Cities XL, partially because it was one of the elements that players had trouble with in the later Sim City games, and partially because we have a more elegant, simpler solution to do with water tables (it resembles Children of the Nile’s style). You will have water towers and such, but right now there is no specific pipe system to layout. There are power stations and you will need to keep increasing your power reserves as your city expands, but as with the water system, you don’t have to lay out every electric pole in your city.

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