Maxis: "We're making SimCity, not some dopey casual game"

After the release of the more casual SimCity Societies (not developed by Maxis), fans have been understandably concerned about the upcoming SimCity and it going down a similar route. In an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit yesterday, key developers on the Maxis team assuaged these fears -- no easy feat on the Internet.

"I think the reaction to SimCity Societies made it pretty clear that something was missing," noted chief architect Andrew Willmott. "And we're looking to bring back that 'secret sauce' in the new SimCity."

Creative director Ocean Quigley was a little more direct, and remarked the game is built with accessibility in mind for those new to the series, but that doesn't mean it will lack long-term depth.

"We’re making SimCity, not some dopey casual game."

"If we do our job properly, the game will have the integrity that long-time fans require, and still be approachable by newbies. It’s not a casual game, but it can’t assume that you already know SimCity and have played it for thousands of hours. It can’t have a vertical learning curve."

"It has to be accessible to people who have never played SimCity before. Just because the simulation is complex doesn’t mean that it should be hard to understand."

A sound design principle, if we ever heard one.