The Sims Online was a 2002 massively multiplayer online game (MMO) developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts (EA) for Microsoft Windows. The game was a subscription-based online multiplayer version of the 2000 Maxis game The Sims, in which players could interact with others on virtual user-made lots, buy and customise properties, and make money by taking on jobs the game's virtual economy. The Sims Online was the project of Maxis founder and Sims creator Will Wright, who sought to create an open-ended online game based on social interaction, with ambitions for the game to be a platform for emergent gameplay and the creation of virtual societies and politics. In line with these ambitions and the prior commercial success of The Sims, The Sims Online received considerable pre-release coverage, with expectations that it would be successful and break new ground for online multiplayer games.
A city-building game, or town-building game, is a genre of simulation video game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city or town, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management strategy. Players choose building placement and city management features such as salaries and work priorities, and the city develops accordingly.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to video games:
The Sims Bustin' Out is a video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and in 2004 for the N-Gage. It is the second title in The Sims console series and the first title not concurrently released on Windows PC.
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters. Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
Social simulation games are a subgenre of life simulation game that explore social interactions between multiple artificial lives. Some examples include The Sims and Animal Crossing series.
The Sims 4 is a free-to-play social simulation game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth major title in The Sims series, following The Sims 3 (2009). The game was released in North America on September 2, 2014, for Windows, an OS X version was released in February 2015, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released in November 2017. The game was moved to a free-to-play model on October 18, 2022, monetized by the purchase of various paid downloadable content packs that have been developed since its release.
This is a non-comprehensive list that includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
RimWorld is a construction and management simulation video game developed and published by Canadian-based developer Ludeon Studios. Originally called Eclipse Colony, it was initially released as a Kickstarter crowdfunding project in early access for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in November 2013, and was released on October 17, 2018. The game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as RimWorld Console Edition on July 29, 2022, with development and publishing being handled by Double Eleven. Rather than a test of skill or a challenge, the game is intended to serve as an AI-powered "story generator", where the game is used as the medium for players to experience narrative adventures. The game has received outstanding reviews from critics.
Metroidvania is a sub-genre of action-adventure games and/or platformers focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series Metroid and Castlevania, based on the template from Metroid (1986), Castlevania II (1987), Super Metroid (1994), and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997).
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life sim video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was released for Windows in February 2016, before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is open-ended, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer. This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.
The Stillness of the Wind is a farming simulation game developed by Coyan Cardenas and published by Fellow Traveler. An indie game released on February 7, 2019, The Stillness of the Wind focuses on Talma, an elderly goat farmer who tends her isolated farm as messages from the city where her family has moved become darker and darker. The game's thematic focus on aging and loss is a marked contrast from other games in the cozy genre. Reception to the game was generally positive.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.
Hokko Life is a 2022 video game developed by Wonderscope Games and published by Team17.
Farm life sims are a subgenre of life simulation games which fuse social simulation, dating sim and farm simulation elements. The games generally feature a protagonist going out to a rural setting and taking upon a farm, oftentimes because of an inheritance from a deceased relative, or because of urban boredom. The player-character grows crops and raises livestock to make money, and can interact with a wide cast of characters who are inhabitants of the town, and work toward the main plot's objective, if one exists. The game plots often featured dying ghost towns that must be revitalized by the player's actions.
A walking simulator, shortened walking sim, is an adventure game that consists primarily of movement and environmental interaction. They generally do not have combat mechanics, traditional win/lose scenarios, and sometimes include puzzle elements. While these video game elements originated in the 1980s, people online began pejoratively referring to new games as walking simulators in the late 2000s, notably with Dear Esther. The term was eventually used less pejoratively and adopted by gamers, while still negatively perceived by some game developers and negative gameplay connotation remains. Other descriptors have been commonly used for games of such style, including empathy, narrative and exploration game. Such games are often a hallmark of art games, but some mainstream games have been described as having walking simulator elements.
Mineko's Night Market is a 2023 business simulation video game developed by Meowza Games and published by Humble Games for Windows and Switch. Players control a young girl tasked with revitalizing a local market.
Palia is a life simulation massively multiplayer online game developed by Los Angeles-based game studio Singularity Six. An open beta version was launched in late 2023 on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, with a full release on March 25, 2024.
