Talk:Life simulation game

Chao
Should we maybe put something about Chao here? I realize they aren't a separate game, but they are a fully developed subgame, aren't they?Razor Rozar7 (talk) 18:13, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Category
I've made a category for Category:Life simulation games to avoid having a big list of games here. There's so much overlap between these, Category:People games and Category:Communication games that I'm wondering if these categories should be merged together? Marasmusine 13:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
 * "People games" should definitely be merged with Life Simulation Games. "Communication Games", iirc, is a term invented by Nintendo to designate Animal Crossing (and perhaps NintenDogs)? It should probably be incorporated under Life SUmlation Games as well, with a short note. Mikademus 19:28, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Should the "Princess Maker" series of games by Gainax be added to the lists in this topic? There's a page for them here at Wikipedia. Look up Princess Maker and you can read more about it. Basically, you find yourself in charge with making decisions on how a young girl is to be raised. Your decisions will result in what she will end up doing as an adult. This is NOT a Hentai game (although many assume it is) albeight some of the 'fates' the girl can come do are things like a prostitute if you give her a very bad upraising. Yanqui9 07:18, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm also surprised that Princess Maker isn't on this list. Since the above question has been neglected for two months, I'll add it. - DTRY 23:05, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Shouldn't Shenmue be added under this article? In the game one can get a job, purchase possessions, sleep, eat, save money, interact with people in a variety of ways, and features mostly non-linear gameplay. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion would also fit this category.

Building article with research
i've tapped a few books that mention life simulation games... let's see if we can reduce the amount of unverified claims in this article... Lifeisrill (talk) 23:53, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

The section on Biological Simulation games could definately use a lot of work, since at the moment it pretty much just says "Spore is one". Personally I feel it'd be better to focus more on games like Creatures where the organisms each have their own internal biology ticking away in the background and will mutate and evolve themselves from generation to generation rather than being rebuilt at will by the player from a set of pre-made parts. Now it's been released there seems to be a lot of debate within the A-Life community about whether Spore really qualifies as a simulation at all, or is strictly a God-Game/Real Time Stratergy Game.

Steve Grand's two books 'Creation: Life and how to make it' and 'Growing up with Lucy' could also provide some background on the subject and a general overview of what A-Life is and the differences between biological simulations, pet games and god-games. Danikat (talk) 09:09, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Few additions
I added a few games to the list - I was surprised to find out they weren't there. I'm sorry if I messed anything up (unexperienced Wikipedia user here!)

flOw - because it is a game about a biological environment, where the predator creature must feed itself upon the bodies of others in order to evolve

E.V.O. - because it is among the first games to feature a narrative and an evolving character, while dealing with very profound themes

Lack of Love - this is a wonderful example of Life Simulation games, where the character must relate to other creatures in order to gain the power to evolve beyond its form, while the planet is being prepared to be colonized by Mankind.

In social simulations I added:

Moon RPG Remix Adventure - a mix between RPG and social game, where the player must relate to other characters, help them solve their problems in order to gain their love and affection - the only way he can remain alive. This was one of the first games where the Day/Night cycle really made a difference since characters or events would only occur in certain places according to the hour of the day.

Maybe I can add a few more games in the future, as the term "social simulation" can also be found in many other games as a very important part of their game play elements, even if their main genre isn't totally focused on that scheme. I agree that Shenmue should be added to the list because it simulates the life, society, culture, weather and urban landscape of a small town.

Dieubussy (talk) 09:30, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


 * What we need to be doing is showing where these games have been called "life simulations" by reliable sources. As editors, we don't define the genre ourselves; see WP:Original research. Whilst I see plenty of reviews calling the Shenmue games "simulations", sources need to be explicitly describing it as a social simulation for it to be included in this article. I haven't seen anyone calling Moon RPG a simulation in any respect, so should be removed from the list. Marasmusine (talk) 11:46, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

I just realized that Conway's Game of Life isn't listed here, and i felt like a Nobel Prize Winner. Thanx wikipedia!


 * Keep feeling like that. But Conway's Game of Life simulates life about as much as it simulates the bubbles in a glass of coke. And I doubt it could be called a "game" either.--91.148.159.4 (talk) 20:30, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

I've got this horrible feeling that the new "evolution-inspired" section is going to spill out with people adding any game that happens to have the word "evo" or "life" in the title. I think we should be strict, and only include games that have been described as simulations by multiple, reliable sources. Marasmusine (talk) 08:38, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

E.V.O.?!
Well someone had to ask. Everything comes down to E.V.O. in one part of the wiki. Why even bother mentioning the others or does someone have an original idea of how to compare them?93.125.198.182 (talk) 19:49, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Hmm, yes, not sure when that happened, it wasn't the original text. Someone having a giggle. Fixed, thanks. Marasmusine (talk) 11:22, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Bird Week?
I question the inclusion of this game in the article. I've played it, and it's hardly a simulation of any kind. You do play as a bird, and you have to feed your baby birds until they're able to leave the nest. You do have to dodge predators, too, although most predators in this game are not animals that would prey on a small bird. And the color scheme of the levels does change to represent seasons.

But the biggest tip-off that this isn't a life simulation game is that the game sprites could have easily been changed to something else and they would have made just as much sense. You could be playing as an alien flitting about in the wreckage of a spaceship, collecting valuable bits of salvage and putting them into your cargo bays until they're full. You have to dodge space debris and enemy salvagers that are also flying around the wreck. Then you move on to a different wreck in some nebula somewhere, and the background and color scheme change.

In addition, the game plays like a fairly typical arcade-style action game. Not a simulation. 98.235.202.85 (talk) 19:55, 18 March 2016 (UTC)


 * (7 years later) I've removed it. Looks like someone in 2010 really, really wanted it to be included, but the evidence is too thin imo. Also edited Bird Week article to tighten it up and re-define it as a sort of arcade / action game. Hornpipe2 (talk) 23:17, 10 September 2023 (UTC)

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Persona games?
persona 3/4/5 clearly are a mix of slice of life/rpg could they be added?