SimMars was a
strategy gameA strategy game is a game in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult...
in development at
MaxisMaxis Software is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of the best-selling computer game of all time, The Sims and the sequels The Sims 2 and The Sims 3...
around the same time as the release of the wildly popular Maxis game,
The SimsThe Sims is an American strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was created by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons in a suburban household...
. A
trailerA teaser trailer, or teaser is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie, game or television series.Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. Sometimes, it is merely a truncated version...
for the game was included on the
SimCity 3000SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
CDCD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback, the 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data. CD-ROMs are popularly used to...
. From the trailer, the premise of the game seemed to be a
manned missionA manned mission is usually in reference to launching a human into orbit or to astronomical destinations, such as planetary bodies or other star systems...
to the planet
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface....
, followed by a
terraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth to make it habitable by terran organisms.The term is sometimes erroneously used more generally as a synonym...
and colonization scenario, typical of the Maxis world-building game style. The game presumed to be an integration of previous Maxis titles presented in 3D, possibly including elements of
SimEarthSimEarth: The Living Planet is a life simulation computer game designed by Will Wright and published in 1990 by Maxis, in which the player controls the development of a planet...
,
SimLifeSimLife: The Genetic Playground is a computer game produced by Maxis in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an ecosystem; players may modify the genetics of the plants and animals that inhabit the virtual world. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self sustaining...
, and
SimCitySimCity is a city-building simulation game, first released in 1989 and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1993, SimCity 3000 in 1999, SimCity...
.
An arcade game titled
SimMars is in
The Sims: Vacation, where it is described as follows:
"Direct mankind's first mission to the red planet! Launch rockets and deploy robot probes! Deploy teams to search for alien resources! Establish and run a network of specialized colonies to create a self-sufficient civilization! Provide your colony with food, shelter, and power! Fast, furious, adrenaline-pumping action!"
On May 12 2000, Maxis released the following statement: "
SimMars is on hold and we do not have staff at Maxis currently working on the game.
SimMars was a
strategy gameA strategy game is a game in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult...
in development at
MaxisMaxis Software is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of the best-selling computer game of all time, The Sims and the sequels The Sims 2 and The Sims 3...
around the same time as the release of the wildly popular Maxis game,
The SimsThe Sims is an American strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was created by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons in a suburban household...
. A
trailerA teaser trailer, or teaser is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie, game or television series.Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. Sometimes, it is merely a truncated version...
for the game was included on the
SimCity 3000SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
CDCD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback, the 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data. CD-ROMs are popularly used to...
. From the trailer, the premise of the game seemed to be a
manned missionA manned mission is usually in reference to launching a human into orbit or to astronomical destinations, such as planetary bodies or other star systems...
to the planet
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface....
, followed by a
terraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth to make it habitable by terran organisms.The term is sometimes erroneously used more generally as a synonym...
and colonization scenario, typical of the Maxis world-building game style. The game presumed to be an integration of previous Maxis titles presented in 3D, possibly including elements of
SimEarthSimEarth: The Living Planet is a life simulation computer game designed by Will Wright and published in 1990 by Maxis, in which the player controls the development of a planet...
,
SimLifeSimLife: The Genetic Playground is a computer game produced by Maxis in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an ecosystem; players may modify the genetics of the plants and animals that inhabit the virtual world. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self sustaining...
, and
SimCitySimCity is a city-building simulation game, first released in 1989 and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1993, SimCity 3000 in 1999, SimCity...
.
An arcade game titled
SimMars is in
The Sims: Vacation, where it is described as follows:
"Direct mankind's first mission to the red planet! Launch rockets and deploy robot probes! Deploy teams to search for alien resources! Establish and run a network of specialized colonies to create a self-sufficient civilization! Provide your colony with food, shelter, and power! Fast, furious, adrenaline-pumping action!"
On May 12 2000, Maxis released the following statement: "
SimMars is on hold and we do not have staff at Maxis currently working on the game. With the phenomenal success of
The Sims, we've decided to move resources to support that
franchiseA media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
as well as other titles that we haven't even announced yet."
Total conversion mod
Recently, SimMars has been reincarnated as a fan-based total conversion modification for
SimCity 4SimCity 4 is a city-building simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack known as Rush Hour which adds additional features to the game...
. The project, currently in beta, will bring new buildings, transportation systems, user-interface and music, giving the feeling of playing a colony on Mars.
External links