SimTower: The Vertical Empire

About SimTower: The Vertical Empire

SimTower: The Vertical Empire (1994), first released in Japan as The Tower, is Yoot Saito's skyscraper management simulation in which keeping the lifts moving is the key to a five-star tower.

SimTower: The Vertical Empire in Depth

The player builds and runs a modern multi-use skyscraper, deciding where to place restaurants, condominiums, offices, hotel rooms, shops and lifts. Tenants leave if their stress rises, so they must be given medical centres, car parks, recycling, clean hotel rooms with housekeepers and, above all, efficient transport. Built around an elevator simulation program, the game puts great weight on lift management: standard lifts span at most 30 floors, while express lifts can run the full height of a tower of up to 100 floors above ground and nine below. Attracting more tenants raises the tower from one star to five, unlocking new facilities.

The top rating, Tower, is awarded only for building a cathedral on top of a five-star building with every floor above ground developed. Random events keep the player busy: terrorists may phone to demand a ransom for a hidden bomb, which security must find before it explodes; workers digging underground may find gold treasure; and visiting VIPs judge the tower on things like a comfortable suite and easy navigation, their favourable rating being needed to reach the next star. At the end of each year Santa Claus and his reindeer fly past the tower. Graphics and sound resemble earlier Sim games, with background office buzz and lift bells.

Making SimTower: The Vertical Empire

After his first game, a simulation for a publishing house's media project, Saito's employer refused a second because it was not a video game company, so he left and built on his ideas of elevators and towers with freelance programmer Takumi Abe. Late in development he raised the palette from 16 to 256 colours and brought in a second designer for animation. The Tower was a profitable success in Japan, and after Will Wright told Maxis president Jeff Braun about it, Maxis localised it and renamed it to fit the Sim series, releasing it for Windows and Macintosh in November 1994; Saturn and 3DO ports followed in Japan in 1996. Reviews praised its open-ended, immersive formula but criticised its thin documentation and slow game speed, a real problem since time must pass to earn income.