5.5 CITIES IN MOTION (2011

objects from materials, producing currency sources by selling or exporting products, designing the city

layout, etc.). In this case, the player reacts to computer outputs in a continual interaction and

engagement, depending on whether the effect is short or long-term. Furthermore, by visiting other

players' cities, the player can interact with them.

5.5 CITIES IN MOTION (2011)

Cities in Motion is a 3D simulation game that is based on public transport implementation and the

management of realistic traffic flow. The game takes place in four major European cities throughout the

course of 100 years of transportation history, encompassing four eras from 1920 to 2020. Players can

choose a city where to shuffle commuters and the starting year of play. They will have at their disposal

30 different transportation vehicles such as metro, trains, trams, boats, buses, water buses, helicopters,

and in particular means that were used in that period to create the perfect network line for customers.

Since technology changes as the years go by, the city also changes in one hundred years, and commuters

gain access to better transportation means such as updated buses, more subway lines, modern cars, and

helicopter taxis. In a God’s-eye perspective, the player takes the task of sustaining population mobility

through the city space.

Figure 110 Screen shoot from Cities in Motion video game

As part of the gameplay, is possible apart from maps to call up graphs and statistics which reveal detailed

information related to traffic management, such as commuter satisfaction, the waiting time, the price of

fuel, and so on. The player can decide bus stops, tram stations, tram stops, subway stations, timetables,

ticket prices, instructing drivers where to stop to pick up passengers. Passengers on their side are divided

into different target groups based on their needs. In deciding the routes and the webs of transit, the

player has to take into account the cost efficiency of his actions. In this sense, gameplay resembles

challenges of real transportation management in the city.

Representation

The user interface is highly realistic. Four of the biggest cities in Europe Vienna, Helsinki, Berlin, and

Amsterdam are rendered in detail, including many unique buildings, await the steady hand of a planner

to manage their transportation needs in “Cities in Motion”. Realism is at a point that even for

transportation specialist would be difficult to understand the difference between real cities and virtual

ones because of the realistic traffic patterns presented by the game and realistic commuter demands.

The interface is based on a god-like view (or birds-eye view, in which the player can monitor a large area.

Design experience

The story is set in a precise period and place. The player is asked to orchestrate the transportation

system. Hence, his perception of the city is based on an eye view and his task is to provide good service

to travellers, considering the accumulated budget. In this sense, various in-game artefacts such as text,

graphs, characters suggestions are posed as challenging elements that serve to move on the narrative.

Cities are experienced in 3D in a birds-eye view, as third-person navigation. Using navigation, maps are

possible to fly from one part to another, without any restriction as the topography of the game is open,

continuous, and free to be explored. However, game space in part is static as the player cannot

manipulate the landscape and buildings but is enabled only to intervene in the transportation system, by

deciding trails and stops and active transportation means. The cities are dynamic, which mean that they

change based on the decisions and interventions that the player makes.

Design interaction

The main elements and resources on which the game is built are 30 transportation means, cities maps, 4

types of commuters with their specific needs simulated by computer, and a budget depending on the

use of transportation means. Players are asked to build roads and create transportation networks in a

pre-build city. In Cities in Motion, players’ actions are reflected in real-time in the dynamics of the

transportation system. Due to the computer outputs, based on simulation, the player is in a constant

state of interaction and engagement to respond to the challenges simulation offers in real-time.

The game can be played in three modes: campaign, multiplayer, and sandbox responding to different

type of demands and from game genre relate to a feeling of progression, to cooperatively and

competitively game genre up to a sandbox mode in which player chooses a map and play worrying about

meeting deadlines. In this case player is free from limited funds, dictated tasks, city growth, etc, giving

them full control over the game experience.