SimCity–Fun and Educational
In the Blog, SimCity that I Used to Know, by Doug Bierend, Bierend discusses how Sims is not just an entertainment game but it is also educational.The Blog presents the creator of Sims, Will Wright’s, views on the game from an interview with him on the games 25th birthday. Wright believes that playing is one of the most effective and enjoyable way for humans to learn. Therefore he has incorporated economic, accounting, and ethical concepts in the game that will be unraveled for each player according to the decisions they make in the game. As a Sims player myself, I believe the most important lesson that Sims teaches us is to plan in advance, consider consequences, and balance cost and return.
According to Wright, the reason why we enjoy entertainment so much is because it is fundamentally educational, but we’ve made an artificial distinction between the two. Therefore if intraprenuers could take advantage of this idea and create products or services that truly is ‘fun and educational’ and not just claim to be, then there would be vast opportunities. I consider Sims to be a successful app that is fun and educational, but we definitely could use more of these!
