{"product_id":"building-simcity-how-to-put-the-world-in-a-machine-9780262547482","title":"Building SimCity: How to Put the World in a Machine","description":"\u003cb\u003eA deep dive into the trailblazing simulation game \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e, situating it in the history of games, simulation, and computing.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuilding SimCity\u003c\/i\u003e explores the history of computer simulation by chronicling one of the most influential simulation games ever made: \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e. As author Chaim Gingold explains, Will Wright, the visionary designer behind the urban planning game, created \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e in part to learn about cities, appropriating ideas from traditions in which computers are used as tools for modeling and thinking about the world as a complex system. As such, \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e is a microcosm of the histories and cultures of computer simulation that engages with questions, themes, and representational techniques that reach back to the earliest computer simulations. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGingold uses \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e to explore a web of interrelated topics in the history of technology, software, and simulation, taking us far and wide--from the dawn of programmable computers to miniature cities made of construction paper and role-play. An unprecedented history of Maxis, the company founded to bring \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e to market, the book reveals Maxis's complex relations with venture capitalists, Nintendo, and the Santa Fe Institute, which shaped the evolution of Will Wright's career; Maxis's failure to back \u003ci\u003eThe Sims\u003c\/i\u003e to completion; and the company's sale to Electronic Arts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA lavishly visual book, \u003ci\u003eBuilding SimCity\u003c\/i\u003e boasts a treasure trove of visual matter to help bring its wide-ranging subjects to life, including painstakingly crafted diagrams that explain \u003ci\u003eSimCity\u003c\/i\u003e's operation, the Kodachrome photographs taken by Charles Eames of schoolchildren making model cities, and Nintendo's manga-style \"Dr. Wright\" character design, just to name a few.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChaim Gingold is a designer and theorist whose work has been featured in \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCNN\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times.\u003c\/i\u003e He worked closely with Will Wright on \u003ci\u003eSpore\u003c\/i\u003e and designed the \u003ci\u003eSpore Creature Creator\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50645271019794,"sku":"9780262547482","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d05e7b70-b0ae-449d-add9-5f838f0413d4.jpg?v=1733146686","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/building-simcity-how-to-put-the-world-in-a-machine-9780262547482","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}