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1990's Sim Games. SO GOOD!

2011-05-11 · list · Hank · 3:56 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Pop culture (also: Philosophy & meaning) · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: community lore

Hank reviews the Maxis simulation games and Civilization he grew up on while John hogged the Nintendo, ranks SimCity and SimCity 2000 best, and says their lack of a way to win taught him he can decide for himself what success is.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Reply to John's Amsterdam; Hank's current games (Portal 2 on his gaming channel, Lego Harry Potter, Assassin's Creed); John hogged the Nintendo

  • ★★ Hank has been playing Portal 2 on his gaming channel, plus Lego Harry Potter and Assassin's Creed, which he is about to finish. — 00:00:14 · HankGames
  • ★★ Hank says that because John hogged the family Nintendo (when it wasn't filled with poop), he grew up playing DOS simulation games instead. (playful) — 00:00:21 · John Green

00:00:35 — Setting up the topic: 1990s DOS simulation games, for education and nostalgia

  • ★★ Hank sets out to educate younger viewers and give older ones nostalgia by discussing the best simulation games of the 1990s. — 00:00:39

00:00:56 — Maxis and its games (SimCity, The Sims, SimLife, SimAnt, SimHealth, SimFarm, SimEarth) and Sid Meier's Civilization

  • ★★ Hank says Maxis pretty much created the simulation game, starting with SimCity and later making The Sims. (hedged) — 00:00:56
  • ★★ Hank thinks The Sims is the most popular simulation game ever and finds it weird that people choose to pretend to be a person. (hedged) — 00:01:00
  • ★★ Hank describes SimLife (evolutionary biology), SimAnt (an ant colony taking over a house) and SimHealth, a simulation of America's health-care system that was a nightmare and no fun. — 00:01:14
  • ★★ One of Hank's favourites, SimFarm, was like FarmVille but really simulated farming: pigs die if unfed, you borrow from the bank, sell on futures markets, and only a cash-crop monoculture gets rich. — 00:01:34
  • ★★ Hank says Sid Meier's Civilization has had five incarnations, all really good, and can be won by killing everyone or by peace on a diverse planet. — 00:01:52
  • ★★ SimEarth simulated the whole planet, including CO2 levels and ocean currents; play was limited, but it was a textbook in game form, which suited Hank as a little nerd. — 00:02:15

00:02:29 — SimCity and SimCity 2000 the best; Hank got SimCity at nine and was always a benevolent mayor (except stabbing in Assassin's Creed)

  • ★★★ Hank calls SimCity and SimCity 2000 the best simulation games of all time. — 00:02:29
  • ★★ Hank got SimCity at nine and was always a benevolent mayor; he never does the evil thing in games, except stabbing people when bored in Assassin's Creed. (playful) — 00:02:34

00:02:54 — What sim games taught him: implicit knowledge of the world, and that with no winning you decide for yourself what success is

  • ★★ Hank says he implicitly knows a huge amount about the world because of simulation games. — 00:02:54
  • ★★★ What Hank loves most is that these games often have no winning and no goal; you can't beat SimCity, just as in life we don't know what we're supposed to do. — 00:03:05 · meaning of life
  • ★★ Different societies and cultures weight different things (family, cars, comparison with coworkers, money), but there is no winning; you never get to beat life. — 00:03:17
  • ★★★ Hank says knowing he gets to decide for himself what success is was one of the most important lessons he ever learned, and he learned it from simulation games. — 00:03:31

00:03:42 — John was busy with Nintendo; how Hank became a nerd; sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Hank's description says SimCity taught him that as much as a third of a city is taken up by its roads, and SimEarth that crustaceans existed before fish. — video description
  • ★ Hank's description jokes that he does a very good job of not complaining about how mindless gaming has become. (playful) — video description
  • ★★ Hank says Civilization taught him that peace is orders of magnitude more difficult and less glamorous than war, and tycoon games the value of opportunity and care not to squander the value you have. — video description
  • ★★ Hank tells viewers who want to try these games that many can be had for free with DOSBox and a good Google search. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Hank recalls John controlling the family Nintendo while they were growing up... — 00:00:24

    “when it wasn't filled with poop”

  • SimHealth simulated America's health-care system and was no fun. — 00:01:30

    “It wasn't like "SimSurgery", it was like "SimHMOs."”

  • Hank claims he never does the evil thing in video games; people who watched his Assassin's Creed play are laughing. — 00:02:50

    “I get bored with Assassin's Creed and I just start stabbing people.”

  • Hank says societies value different things in life, but... — 00:03:26

    “unless you're Charlie Sheen, there's no winning.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Maxis · SimCity · SimCity 2000

Also: People: Charlie Sheen

Projects: HankGames

Works: Assassin's Creed · Civilization (series) · FarmVille (video game) · Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 · Portal 2 · SimAnt · SimEarth · SimFarm · SimHealth · SimLife · The Sims

Concepts: meaning of life · nerd

Places: Amsterdam · Missoula, Montana

Products: Nintendo Entertainment System

Only in the description or credits: DOSBox · Sid Meier

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