''SimRefinery'' is a computer management simulation game designed to simulate Chevron's Richmond refinery operation. It was developed by the Maxis Business Simulations division of

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 ...

in 1993. John Hiles, who was the head of the Maxis division, was a lead designer on the project.

Development

After the success of ''

SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, ''SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Sim ...

'', Maxis received numerous requests from various companies to develop simulations for their industries. After rejecting many requests from other companies, the team eventually agreed to make a prototype of ''SimRefinery'' for Chevron:

Release and rediscovery

As a commissioned business aid, it was not made available to the public. Until 2020, little information about the game had existed, though Maxis had discussed its creation and some screenshots existed. Most of the assets stayed with Maxis Business Simulations, which Maxis eventually divested in 1996. The division rebranded itself as Thinking Tools Inc. and continued to develop similar corporate simulations, but eventually had to shutter itself, and most of its assets were destroyed. In May 2020, librarian Phil Salvador published a long form investigative article about Maxis Business Simulations and ''SimRefinery'' featuring interviews with Hiles and other members of the division. ''Ars Technica'' reported on the article, which led to a commentor on the website uncovering a floppy disc that contains an in-development build of the game. The anonymous commenter then uploaded a digital copy to the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

to work within its

DOSBox DOSBox is a free and open-source emulator which runs software for MS-DOS compatible disk operating systems—primarily video games. It was first released in 2002, when DOS technology was becoming obsolete. Its adoption for running DOS games i ...

emulator. This emulated version reveals more details about the "gameplay" of ''SimRefinery''. The game resembles ''SimCity'' with different graphics, disasters, and rules, the former to represent oil tanker ports, petroleum storage and piping systems. The user's role in the simulation was the plant manager of a refinery. One of the things the user learned was about supply and demand and how it affects the financial situation.GVI Security Solutions Inc. (1997). ''Form 10-K 1996''. Retrieved from http://www.secinfo.com/dsVsd.8Ex.htm The game was not defined to be an accurate representation of the chemical processes of a plant, as this would have been considered extremely dangerous. Instead, it was intended to show how disparate systems of a chemical plant may end up interacting at the larger scale, incorporating the financial, production, and logistics related to operating a plant. The game allowed some "disasters" to be created by creating explosive mixtures of components that set off fires, as well as external events that may disrupt the plant. The game was not considered to be a fully finished product based on the version received by the Internet Archive.

References

External links

*
SimRefinery
' on the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simrefinery 1993 video games Business simulation games Maxis Sim games Video games developed in the United States Rediscovered works