The Business Simulation Game was the first computer game I got extremely hooked on. This was way back in the mid to late 1980s. It had minimal graphics, and was played on the first computer I owned, an IBM XT 80286 with a 8MHz Intel Processor without a hard disk. Thus, the game ran on a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk, with only 586K of RAM.
Those were the days when you are known as a computer expert if you can use Lotus 123 and Wordstar word processor. I used to develop Payroll and Time Billing Programs using the macro commands in Lotus 123, back then.
The game puts the gamer in the position of CEO of a new start up of a technological company, not unlike Apple in its first years of operation, with only $500,000 paid up capital. You have to buy production capacity, decide on number of production labour shifts and quantity of goods to produce and keep in stock, as well as the sales pricing.
It also required decisions on investments in marketing advertisements expenses, as well as R&D, through different phases of market maturity for each product category. R&D can prolong product lifecycles, as well as bring on new products into the market. At a more advanced stage, it also required geographical expansion into other territories, and the competitive advantage of being a First Mover in a new territory versus being a Technological Leader in a particular product category.
For a game that is probably the very first in the business simulation category, it had very sophisticated modelling of the effects of marketing investments, R&D Investments, impact of Economic Booms and Busts, right down to cashflow management. A wrong decision will cause bankruptcy for the firm.
The game was so good that it was subsequently used by a number of universities to provide simulation experience for business degree students.
This game was an instant hit with me. I spend hundreds of hours experimenting with all kinds of business ideas to fight the competitors and improve the share price of the firm I was managing.
I finally stopped playing the game for two reasons. First, it was no longer challenging. I had managed to consistently, i.e. every time I play the game, win against all 4 other competitors by a mile, ending up with millions of dollars in personal fortune from my own stake in the company. Second, and the most important, technological progress made impossible to run 5 1/4 in floppy disks unless I wanted to invest in one, solely just to play the game.
RTK II is a computer simulation of the world during the Later Han Dynasty, i.e. around 189 AD to 260 AD. I played the game for about 4 years before computer technology made it obsolete to continue booting the program up on 5 1/4 inch floppy disks. If I remember correctly, I started playing this game in 1990.
I tried many different strategies to conquer China, and probably spent more hours on the game than I did studying any one single subject for an exam! Such is the addictiveness of the game, although it had only very simple graphics and played on the IBM 80286 and 80386 machines.
I did not manage to play RTK III and RTK IV due to work commitments, and after that, KOEI stopped producing the English version of RTK as a PC Game, although it continued to do so in the Playstation market.
Thus, it was with tremendous excitement that I found out in July 2008 that Koei would finally be producing an English Version RTK XI for the PC Game Market. Naturally, I bought a copy of the game soon after it was published, and I am happy to report that I am not disappointed by it, although due to time constraints, I have yet to finish the tutorials in starting to play the game.
From what I have seen of the game, it is much, much more complex than RTK II, and with a lot more degrees of freedom to craft strategies to win / lose. I expect to spend many years playing the game, from many different perspectives and strategies, trying out one scenario after another. Already, I have four uniquely different strategies to test out, and I haven't even got started yet. Life cannot be anything but exciting over the next few years, with this game installed on my PC.
Sim City 2000 is a simulation game where you set your own game objective, unlike other normal games, where the game objective is set for you. It is about you being the Mayor, responsible for Urban Planning & Economic Development of your own city. The economic model is so realistic that some universities require students to do a project with Sim City 2000 before they can graduate. If I remember correctly, I started playing this game in 1992.
I spent equally as much time on Sim City 2000 as with RTK II. I read up on various economic theories, and tested the economic model under different economic conditions.
In one scenario, I rammed up the development of the city, not unlike what Dubai has done in the last 3 years, pouring a lot of money into infrastructure development. For a few years, while the money and government spending was forthcoming, the City enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom. Subsequently, when the money ran out, and I needed to consolidate the City's finances, and start paying down the debt burden, which had become a strain on future growth, the economy went into doldrums, and many parts of the City became a ghost town.
Will this be the fate of Dubai after the City starts consolidating its Government Spending? I don't know, but based on my economic simulation with Sim City in the early 1990s, this was the most likely result. Maybe, the Dubai Economic Council had better play Sim City before they make another decision? Haha, just kidding.
I also tested the Keynesian Economic Model under poor economic conditions. Of course, if Government Spending is increased on the City, the economic growth will improve. And if we apply Keynesian Economic Stimulus at the right time, i.e. when the City needs it the most, this is probably the medicine the doctor ordered.
However, the key to Keynesian Theory is not whether one should apply the Theory, but where one will find the money to implement the economic stimulus. This was the key learning experience from many months of simulation testing. Thus, it was necessary that in good times, the Government save and develop the necessary Government Budget Surplus so that it can spend and stimulate the economy during the rainy days.
Alas, this is not to be for most countries, including the USA and UK. Most Governments spend during normal and even during booming economic times. And when the economy is in trouble, they spend even more. So, when does a Government ever save? Practically NEVER, for most Governments. This phenomenon, I attribute to being a weakness of Democracy, i.e. to get democratically elected, the President / Prime Minister must spend, spend, and spend some more, to please the voters and his key political supporters.
In my humble opinion, all Presidents and Prime Ministers to be, must be made to play Sim City and not allowed to stand for election until they have successfully managed the City, by taking it to greater heights, sustaining economic growth, whilst achieving a Government Budget Surplus in the process. Hahaha, that would be the day, wouldn't it?
Sid Meier's Civilization was the next game I played with equal enthusiasm and time investment, as RTK II and Sim City 2000. This was probably in 1993 or 1994. Sid's Civilization appeals most to the average schoolboy who wanted to play a war game.
Again, I tested out various scenarios, including the hypothesis that the British were once a great colonial power because they are an island nation, and with naval supremacy, they could protect their own shores and live in peace for many years, while they expand their empire.
I also tested out an even more remote scenario of the US, i.e. the hypothesis that it was on a completely different continent, away from the European stage of World War II that it emerge dfrom WW II as the Super Power of the World.
Yes, in both scenarios, I actually managed to make both hypothesis work.
Of course, I also tested out other hypothesis, for example, a Hitler War Mentality, robbing neighbouring countries, for resources, rather than concentrating solely on building my own. Another was to be as peaceful as possible, but to deter war against a neighbour who adopts an aggressive War Mentality, i.e. the American Hypothesis that to prevent war, you have to be superior militarily.
Again, Yes, I am happy to report that both these scenarios worked. BUT, sometimes, even if you try your best to live in peace, you may be plunged into war, due to the actions of others. Also, there will be times when you have to take a stand and fight, no matter how peace loving you may be, by nature.
I stopped playing computer games for a few years after that, except for Sims and Sims 2. I found the simulation game extremely interesting and addictive, and so did my wife, who is never interested in any computer game, with this single exception. It is her dream to play Sims with me, when we are both retired. Haha! Finally, after a few thousand computer games had been published, we find one single game that we can play together.
We spent a few hundred hours together playing this game. It is addictive, and the most crucial learning point of this game is Time Management. If you play all the while, you will not be able to move forward in your career. If you focus solely on your career, you will not be happy. Etc., etc., etc. Life is interesting when you start interacting with the unique characters in Sims, and start dating!!! I understand that in Sims 2 or was it Sims 3, you can even get married and have children, with your genes! Wow! We haven't got that far.
However, my wife found the game too addictive and thus, taking too much time, and we stopped playing, so that she can get back to normal life.
Ok, ok. The million dollar question you guys want to know right? Did the game bring us closer together? Yes, sure did. It is one thing to play the game; it is another to enjoy and interact with your loved one, while playing it. Quality attention time, as far as the wife is concerned!
Since moving on from Sims 2, I have been playing only two games exclusively over the last 4 years, i.e. FIFA Manager 2002 and Total Club Manager 2005.
These two soccer management simulation games puts me in a position of Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) or Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), if I wish. However, I find it not interesting to manage the world's greatest clubs, which is already successful.
Thus, all my playing time, which probably equals the total time I spent on the other games thus far, is spent playing as manager of various League 2 teams. The big question I wanted answered was, "How difficult is it to manage a League 2 team, and make the dream of getting promoted, year after year, to League 1, and then, the Championship League, and then, to the Premier League, and then, win not only the Premier League ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, but also the European Championships and the World Club Title.
In my four years of playing TCM 2005, I managed to do that only once, and in the process, amassed a huge capital of more than 50 million pounds in cash. This may not sound like much, especially today, when a single Cristiano Ronaldo is probably worth more than that, but for a struggling League 2 club, with only 500,000 pounds at the start, and a whole bunch of "not so skillful" players, this is an achievement I can be really proud of. What's more, I needed to build the stadium from a 9,000 seating capacity into a 45,000 seater, in the process.
Despite the many years, invested in playing the game, I still cannot make the Youth & Reserve Team development strategy work well. Is it the game simulation model, or is it me? Or, is it the way, the world really works?
In recent times, I have been experimenting with player development and trading of players at a profit in more detail, as a strategy to quickly grow the club's financial strength, without sacrificing the club's promotions prospects. I noticed that I am not able to become the Champion of the Division, with this strategy, but I do get promoted, and in the process, I achieve my key objective, which is financial strength from the very beginning, whilst attaining promotion to a higher division each year.
In the past, I have been able to achieve winning a promotion in each of the division played, but at the risk of bankruptcy, from overspending on good players. To be able to win, whilst minimizing risk, through stronger and stronger cash position, is an important part of football club management. Yet, if we do not invest enough in quality players, can we continue to win, after we are promoted to a higher division?
For me, the challenge is not in managing a team with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, etc. For me, the challenge is in building a completely unknown team, from 4 divisions away, into a world class force, that consistently beats the team with such elite players, and in the process, have millions of pounds in cash.
In this regard, I am very curious, and excited to be able to try out FIFA Manager 2009, for a few years, to see if I can improve on my football club management skills.
As you can see, I am very biased in my selection. I only play Strategy and Simulation games, and are not interested at all in Shoot Them Ups, and other arcade action games.
Neither am I interested in Futuristic games like
Galactic Civilizations II which is supposed to be one of the hottest turn based strategy games today, or the extremly popular Role Playing Game,
World of Warcraft .
Maybe one day, I may explore, but not in the foreseeable future. However, if I ever do stray from my standard genre of Turn Based Historical Strategy Games and Simulaton Games, it probably would be the Strategy Simulation game that enables me to explore possibilities of a nuclear war between USA and the Soviet Union, entitled
World in Conflict.
When I play a computer game, I play the same game for years, trying out many different strategies and scenarios to satisfy my curiousity of what will work, under what kinds of conditions. For me, the results from the simulation testing of ideas and the learning, is the satisfaction I gain from playing the computer game.
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However, I hope that one day, I can play the following computer games, or their later editions: -
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The choices from No.1 to No.4 are quite obvious. They are all strategy war games of different eras. Spore should be interesting because it is a game on the Theory of Evolution, i.e. from one single cell, evolves all other beings on the planet. I don't know much about the game, but I think there are many things I will learn, and many ideas to test out on this game.
As for "The Political Machine 2008", well, who doesn't want to test and learn how he can be the next Obama? At least without having to spend his own money in the campaign process. Haha.
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The first two choices are obvious from my earlier comments. It is not easy to find a good business simulation game that can match the Business Simulation Game I first played. Hopefully Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 or later versions will provide some interesting challenges, with complicated business modelling for me to try out various business strategies at a much more advanced level.
These games are all about fun, fun, and more fun. Yes, even I do like games that are really fun, but not "Shoot Them Ups".
GTR Evolution is supposed to be one of the best car racing game simulations, and I can't wait for the day when I can buy a sophisticated steering wheel with a gearbox system, gas and break pedals that will allow me to fulfil my fantasy to be the next Michael Schumacher. Currently, it cost about US$7,500 to set up a full system, and I can't wait to make enough money, to afford such a system one day.
I don't think that I will ever indulge myself in car racing in real life, so this is about "As Good As It Gets", with this sport.
Boxing has always been of interest, although I find real life boxing too boring, especially if there are no knockdowns. Thus, I would rather play the game, "Title Bout Championship Boxing" than watch the real action. In this way, I get the key action scenes without needing to wait too long. Hopefully it is not disappointing.
As for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, I can't find a better way to enjoy the views of the various famous golf courses in the world, without actually going there. The game provides some interesting challenge in the process, although I am not so much into golf that I would aim to keep playing the game to the extent that I can beat Tiger Woods, even on a computer simulation.
The aim here is to enjoy and experience the scenery that each course provides. However, I am interested in the strategy to play each round in each of the course. This can be learned from the computer simulation, which is sufficiently realistic to me.
The last two games are about flight simulation. I want to learn to be a pilot on a commercial aircraft like the Boeing 747, or the latest Airbus 380, and enjoy the breathtaking scenic views from the top of the world.
I also want to experience being a fighter pilot in World War II. These two games give me a chance to live a different life that I will never experience in real life.
Lastly, if I ever live life long enough, to get around to playing Adventure Games, there are two that I am keeping an eye on. The first, which has always intrigue me, is living the life of a despondent, i.e. Leisure Suit Larry, with all his sexual escapades! Haha, what you can't do in real life, at least you can try on the computer - Safe .... without the danger of Aids.
Next, "The Longest Journey" reminds me of the Arnold Schwazenneger movie, "Total Recall", where you live a life of fantasy, by going for an adventure of your dreams. Why not make life a little more exciting by experiencing what you will never experience in real life, and probably don't want to go through the real world trauma?
If one day, I managed to play all these computer games listed above, I definitely have made it financially many times over, because, finding the time to play all these games, especially with the intensity that I play a single game, will take me years of playing time. When I play a computer game, it is about quality of the time spent, not the quantity of the games played.
I know for sure that my old age will never be boring or lonely, because I have this computer gaming world that will keep me intellectually stimulated. Computer Gaming is not everything, and can never replace the joy of human interaction.
However, in times when there is personal space and time, it is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend my time, at least from my perspective of life today. This is one way, I take time to "smell the roses" and enjoy my life doing the things I want to do.
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