''SimPark'' is a 1996

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by EA in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including '' The Sims ...

. The object of the game is to cultivate and manage a successful

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

. Similar to '' SimTown'', it is targeted more towards

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

ren than the average player. ''SimPark'' attempts to show the importance of

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

balance. It could well be considered a 'lite' version of '' SimIsle''.

Overview

''SimPark'' was a simple game designed for a younger audience. It is not possible to lose the game by getting fired or running out of money.

Gameplay

Players have to quickly learn how doing (or not doing) various things will affect how their park grows. For instance, if certain

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

types are not planted, the park will not attract

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s. If the bees are not flying around the park, then

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an Stamen, anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by Anemophily, wind. Pollinating agents can ...

will not occur, which is an important aspect of keeping the park growing. On top of properly managing the

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

and

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

population, players are also required to identify the park's plants and animals. Players often receive in-game email, such as their boss telling them to make the park more diverse, or their virtual mother telling about life back at home (e.g.: "I baked you a cake..." etc.) Occasionally, the Boss's pet frog Rizzo will make an appearance on the screen to give the player advice, or nag about the way they are handling things. The park can experience disasters, including: *

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

Dump: The Garbage Dump is just a big pile of rubbish. As soon as it is made, rats start to emerge from it and inhabit your park. The only ways to get rid of the garbage dump are to put water on it or to place many garbage-eating animals, such as rats and black bears, around the garbage dump. *

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...

Kudzu Kudzu (; also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot) is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands, but invasive in many parts of the wor ...

: Kudzu plants begin to overgrown the park. *

Alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

: The Alien Invasion consists of flat, pink-and-blue creatures that litter the park grounds and sometimes float on the water. If the map is clicked to get a zoomed-out map view, the pattern the Aliens form may be in the shape of letters. One example of this is a message which reads: "Surrender, Dorothy". This is a parody of the movie '' The Wizard of Oz''. The only way to get rid of aliens, aside from using cheat codes, is to bulldoze them with the "

Bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

" tool. The option of using a microphone feature allows you to click on park-goers and listen to what they have to say. Some of the more memorable quotes include, "My socks don't match," "I didn't brush my teeth this morning," "Eddie! Oh Eddie! Where are you?" and "My favourite book is ''

Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

.''" It takes about four minutes of real time for a year of time to elapse in the game. The game shows the seasons with the changing color of the leaves.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpark 1996 video games Maxis Sim games Children's educational video games Environmental education video games Business simulation games Classic Mac OS games Life simulation games Strategy video games Windows games Video games about plants Video games developed in the United States Video games with isometric graphics Video games scored by Jerry Martin Video games set in North America