Video Game Teaching Guide - brainmeld



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SimCity Creator:

Environmental Explorations in Simulations for 10th Grade

Written by

Stephani Johns-Hines

Table of Contents

Teaching Guide Overview 3

SimCity Creator Description 3

Using SimCity Creator in the Classroom 5

The Advantages of Teaching with Games 6

Goals and Objectives 7

Grade Level Standards and Content Area 7

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum 8

What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning 8

Hardware Requirements 10

Lessons Overview 10

Lesson One 12

Lesson One Goals and Objectives 12

Lesson One Setup 13

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay 13

Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing 14

Lesson One Extensions 15

Lesson Two 15

Lesson Two Goals and Objectives 15

Lesson Two Setup 15

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay 15

Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing 17

Lesson Two Extensions 17

Teacher Resources 19

References 20

Appendices 21

Teaching Guide Overview

This teaching guide has been designed to help educators use SimCity Creator in the classroom with minimal preparation. As a whole, video games are becoming more recognized as an effective means of introducing ecological issues to young people; more effective than pie charts and bar graphs and much more effective than a power point presentation by Al Gore. While some organizations, such as Greenpeace, have begun providing issue specific games for younger players, SimCity Creator is able to exhibit the consequences of population, mass industrialization and ecological impacts of such for more mature players. It is in fact, quite possible, that a student gamer might be the one to figure out a solution to the eco-messes we have so diligently created!

Where real life can make students feel helpless, hopeless and disenchanted with global issues, the virtual environment in SimCity Creator is comprehensible and a space where change and consequences are transparent and apparent. SimCity Creator is used in this guide as an educational eco-training ground and to foster the perspective that one person can solve big problems.

SimCity Creator Description

Genre: Simulation

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Maxis

Series: Sim games

Platform: Wii

The goal of SimCity Creator is to construct a town and help it grow into a thriving metropolis. As the mayor of the city they construct, players must meet the demands of citizens, keep a careful eye on the city budget, and build new structures that encourage growth. In addition, SimCity Creator features day and night cycles and players may choose to face a variety of potential disasters. Building and maintaining a thriving metropolis is hard work, but many students delight in the challenge.

Players begin by building their city. They have three zones to lie down: commercial, residential, and industrial. The ultimate goal of the game is for players to keep their mayor approval rate high and to create a thriving region of cities. Details, details, and more details need players' attention as they build and maintain—essentially, micromanage. First, they'll need to provide their Sims basic utilities, such as running water, trash disposal, and power—all with their eye on pollution, and within the constraints of budget. Players fill their city with such important things as police stations, hospitals, fire stations (well-connected ones!), educational systems, and parks.

Soon, players' cities come alive. As they play, planes fly over the city, cars travel along the well-planned streets, roads, and highways, school buses appear in the mornings and afternoons, and so on. SimCity Creator is rich with realistic detail. Players must always think ahead and engage in both short- and long-term planning. They must keep their eyes open, pay attention to news headlines that provide important feedback, monitor their mayor approval rating, listen to city advisors in areas like city planning, finance, and environment. They must employ intelligent tax strategies and use logic in their city planning.

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For example, they don't want to place industrial and residential zones too close together (for health reasons) nor too far apart (the Sims wouldn't be happy with the commute!). Transportation issues are another big concern: players must try to keep traffic flowing and open such things as airports, subway systems, and railroad lines. Decisions made always have consequences and, ideally, rewards. However, tradeoffs are a constant reality. Players need to weight the costs and benefits before making their decisions.

Using SimCity Creator in the Classroom

SimCity Creator can be used to enhance ecological and environmental units. It functions as a standalone computer activity or as a pivotal, interconnected project. Use the lessons provided in this guide to integrate SimCity Creator into your curriculum or create other lessons to meet your needs.

Students will use technology throughout a three-week period to enhance their comprehension of critical social studies benchmarks and skills. SimCity Creator, a computer simulation program, simulates the process of spatial and economic growth in a city. As the decision-maker and city planner, students start from an empty plot of land and attempt to build a prosperous city. Student groups make decisions about where and how to zone the land, what types of resources they will use for power, how to attract businesses and residents, and how to deal with the various demands of daily life.

The Advantages of Teaching with Games

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?" --Robert Schuller

Classrooms nationwide have recently begun to adopt video games as tools to teach problem solving and critical thinking. Once lambasted as couch potato fodder, video games are now gaining wide attention from the education population as a method to inspire and motivate learners. According to Marc Prensky, author of “Don’t Bother Me, Mom – I’m Learning.”, less than one percent of schools currently teach with video games but those that are, commend the games as effective in developing 21st century skills like problem solving, networking and multi-tasking. Games use new technologies to incorporate principles crucial to human cognitive learning. Some educators have go so far as to compare playing video games with the scientific method: Players enter a scenario, make observations, form hypotheses and test them while noting cause and effect. Many games have evolved beyond the simplicity of problems or puzzles and have become micro-worlds. In the Sim micro-environment, learners develop a stronger sense of social processes and how different content relates to other content. Learners in a video game environment are challenged to draw meaning from every aspect of their environment to solve problems and issues according to their personal interests and motivations.

In his article: The Motivation of Gameplay or, the Real 21st Century Learning Revolution, Marc Prensky states: “One of the biggest problems in all formal learning, whether classroom, online, distance, or “e-,” is keeping students motivated enough to stick with the learning process to the end of anything – a class, lesson, session, course, semester, or degree.” (Prensky, 2002 p. 1).

Students today are so technological integrated that, when an instructor asks them to turn off cell phones and other digital devices, we may inadvertently be turning off a very effective and motivational learning mode. Although traditional learning methods are still a very important to the learning process, we must also utilize relevant and current technology to keep students motivated and engaged. (Aldrich, 2004.)

Goals and Objectives

Utilize the interactive and engaging aspects of the video game to challenge and motivate learners and assist them to become invested in their education process. Using a game format provided an interesting and exciting teaching and learning environment that helps students understand and use the skills necessary for individual and collaborative work outside the school walls.

• Increase the student's awareness of the amount of pollution and garbage a city produces

• Study problems that arise from waste disposal and pollution while considering possible solutions.

• Develop awareness of the types of materials introduced and discarded into the environment.

• Identify and classify the types of materials.

• Learn to predict and evaluate information.

Grade Level Standards and Content Area

The standards used are taken from the Kansas State Education Standards:

Economics Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of major economic concepts, issues, and systems applying decision-making skills as a consumer, producer, saver, investor, and citizen of Kansas and the United States living in an interdependent world.

Benchmark 1: The student understands how limited resources require choices.

Benchmark 2: The student analyzes how different incentives, economic systems and their

institutions, and local, national, and international interdependence affect people.

Life and Physical Science Standard:

1. Understands constructive and destructive processes, including weathering, erosion and deposition, dynamically reshape the surface of the earth.

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum

Curriculum Frameworks

Economics - Fundament Economic Concepts

Students should understand fundamental economic concepts, including choice, ownership, exchange, cooperation, competition, purposive effort, entrepreneurship, incentive and money. The study of Economics should help prepare students to make rational economic choices in their own lives and in their participation as citizens in policy decisions of a city, state, nation, and the world. Ideally students develop awareness that they are in fact global citizens who will be required to make tough economic choices in an increasingly complex, changing world. Knowledge of Economics provides students with analytical tools for interpreting economic events and making personal economic choices, even under changed conditions.

Physical Science - Human Alteration of Environments

Students have an understanding of the ways in which human activity has changed the world, such as removing natural barriers; transplanting some animal and plant species, and eliminating others; increasing or decreasing natural fertility of land and the mining of resources. They explain how science, technology, and institutions of many kinds have affected human capacity to alter environments.

What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning

In order to take full advantage of this guide the teacher must be familiar with the game and have a basic understanding of the tools and techniques. In SimCity Creator, players are in charge of building a city and need to make sure to keep the citizens happy, that they have enough to eat, that they're safe from crime and fire, deal with natural disasters, and many more things.

SimCity Creator offers several play options, including “Misson” where players are assigned specific missions to complete while constructing their city under certain preset constraints. The “Free Build” option allows players to choose their budget, their advisors, the size of their city and any other details. The focus here is simply to grow and succeed. See Appendix 1, “How to Play SimCity Creator” to get started.

There are several modes available for players to see their city's information in a variety of ways. The main mode is the only place that time will move. Players can see the different buildings in the city on the top screen and some basic stats. They can also choose how fast they want time to move from this screen.

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The Building mode is where players design their city. Initially, players have the ability to add basic residential, commercial, and industrial zones.

The Stats mode is where players go to determine how the city is doing on money levels, check the city Budget, hire advisors and make sure that the city is making enough money to keep running before spending it on other things. If money runs out, the city could end up bankrupt! This mode also has useful tools to keep the city healthy. Under it, players can see information about food support, land values, crime statistics, flammability problem areas, trash levels, and environment levels. All of these are important to help figure out where there is a need to build more schools, hospitals, police stations, fire stations, ponds, parks, and other things.

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Hardware Requirements

• One Nintendo Wii console and SimCity Creator game for every four students in the class

• Two Nunchuks and two controllers for every Wii console

• One TV, projector, or monitor with Audio/Video inputs for each Wii game console

Lessons Overview

The development and growth of a city is totally dependent on the services it provides: utilities, such as power, water, sanitation, and telecommunications; government services, such as law enforcement, fire protection, transportation, and education; and recreational and cultural services, such as public parks, zoos, museums, and libraries. The availability (or lack thereof) of these services affects the value of land, the desirability of neighborhoods throughout the city, and ultimately, the quality of life in the city.

A city cannot function with utilities. Utilities supply the power to run lights and house appliances, provide clean water for drinking and bathing, or remove the waste materials that can choke a city. As with many things in the real world, there are tradeoffs for providing these necessities, including high costs and pollution.

Each type of government service affects a city on many levels. For example, police departments lower the crime rate, which in turn raises property values. Mass transportation reduces the amount of traffic on the streets, which in turn decreases the amount of pollution in an area. Schools and colleges increase the overall education level of the population, which in turn increases the economic potential of the workforce. And parks and recreational facilities provide visual relief and places for play, which increases the overall well-being of the population.

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Time: 30 – 60 minutes demonstration instruction; three to eight hours game play in one to two hour increments; Off-console activities vary from 15 minutes to day-long activities.

• Before beginning Lesson One, teachers should spend a minimum of 30 minutes instructing students on the basics of city construction, using appendix materials and projected screenshots for clarification.

1. Introduce the game and show how to start and open land. Demonstrate and help everyone to understand the navigation controls; top and side scroll, zoom and reverse zoom, rotate and center. Understanding the combination of center and zoom is very important.

2. Quickly do a run thorough of the menus. Give a brief overview of each major heading and a couple examples of the menu items.

3. Demonstrate and help everyone understand how the tools on the tool bar work. Have every one create roads, power lines, a power plant and a few public building.

• Copies of “How to Play SimCity Creator” and “Tips for Expanding Your SimCity” should be provided to students.

• Students should be allowed at a minimum of 20 minutes each to explore the controls and tools demonstrated, with teachers present for guidance and direction.

Lesson One

In this lesson, students will replace the power plants in an existing city with different kinds of power plants to observe the costs and the effects on pollution of each type of power plant. Students will discover that the price per megawatt of non-polluting power plants tends to be higher than that of polluting power plants. They will also discover that in some cases, the number of power plants needed to generate enough electricity to power the city is either unreasonable (as in the case of windmills) or more polluting than smaller numbers of power plants that actually generate more pollution per plant (as in the case of gas power plants).

Lesson One Goals and Objectives

• Students will decide on the most effective and efficient use of power for their city, based on fluctuating economic and environmental conditions.

• Students will analyze current power use and pollution levels over a fixed time period.

Lesson One Setup

Below are some sample discussion questions to help you get your class talking and thinking.

• Do you think government services and facilities always have a positive effect on a city? Why or why not? If not, what are some of the negative effects that the service or facility might produce?

• What are utilities? What are the different utilities needed to make a city run?

• If you were running a city and had to choose between a cheap, polluting power plant and an expensive, clean power plant, which would you choose? Why?

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay

Have students perform the following actions:

1. Start SimCity Creator.

2. Select the “Preferences” option from Change Settings and select “Disable Disasters” then close “Preferences.”

3. Construct a basic city with all basic amenities as indicated in “How to Play SimCity Creator” and let run for one year.

4. Select the “View Data” and click on “Charts” Look at “Electricity” use and answer the following questions:

a. What type of power does this city currently use?

b. How much power (in megawatts) in used each year?

c. Based on this number, approximately how much power is used each month?

d. Check population total and calculate amount of power used per month, per person.

5. Open the “Pollution Data Map” in the “View Data” window. Select “Air Pollution” to view this map.

6. Use the “Graphs” tool in the “View Data” window to view the pollution over time.

a. Record the value for pollution over the past year.

7. Open the “Construction” menu and select “Power Plants” Click each type of plant to view information about each type. For each power plant listed, calculate the following:

a. The number of this type of power plant to produce equal or greater amounts of power than is used by the city each month.

b. The cost of placing this number of power plants.

c. Whether or not this type of power plant generates pollution.

8. Locate the power plants in your city and use “Bulldozer” tool under “Construction” to remove them. Save this as “Power City”.

9. Open “Construction” menu and select a power plant different from the ones you had originally. (If you have oil, use coal and vice-versa.) Place as many as necessary to produce the amount of power being used previously. Run city for one year. At the end of the year, “Pause” simulation.

a. Is pollution increasing, decreasing or remaining the same compared to the previous year?

Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing

Have the students use the information they recorded to answer the following questions:

• What is the cost per megawatt for each type of power plant? Based on these numbers, which type of power plant is most cost effective?

• Some of the power plants produce no pollution. When you used these power plants did the level of pollution go to 0? If not, why not? What might be some other possible sources of air pollution in the city?

• Normally, coal power plants produce less pollution than oil power plants. Did you find this to be the case in this simulation? If not, what are some possible reasons why not?

Lesson One Extensions

• Have the students investigate what happens when the power plants in a city do not produce enough to meet the power demands of the city. Ask students to use the Bulldozer to remove one of their power plants. Then run the simulation for several years. Discuss what happens.

Lesson Two

In this lesson, students will observe what happens when a city's sanitation services are removed. First students will run a simulation for a year for a city that has a landfill to observe the amount of garbage pollution that accumulates. Then they will remove the landfill and run the simulation for another year to observe what happens to the garbage, the level of garbage pollution, and the land value of the area.

Lesson Two Goals and Objectives

• Students simulate city landfill use for fixed economic period

• Analyze effect of sanitation services on pollution levels and whether levels change in tandem with sanitation changes.

Lesson Two Setup

Below are some sample discussion questions to help you get your class talking and thinking.

• What would happen if there were no garbage collection in your area? How might the lack of sanitation service affect your mood? Your health? The attractiveness and value of the area?

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay

Have students perform the following actions:

1. Start SimCity Creator and load “Suburbia” (a starter town that comes with the program.)

2. select the “Preferences” option from the “Change Settings” menu and disable “Disasters”, then close the “Preferences” window.

3. Use the “Road” tool to extend the road at the south-east end of the city all the way to the south-east end of the map. When the dialogue box pops up asking if you want to connect to the neighboring city, record the price of the connection, then click on “Yes”.

4. Click on “Run Simulation” to start the simulation. Keep an eye on the “News Ticker” in the Information Bar. When you see a news item regarding a possible landfill or garbage deal with your neighbor, pause the simulation.

5. Open the “Meet” window. You should see the deal the neighbor is offering in the window. Double-click on the deal to get more information.

6. Record the follow information.

• Does the deal involve export or import?

• How much of the item will be imported or exported each month?

• How much will you pay or be paid each month?

• What is the penalty if you terminate the deal early?

• What are the possible advantages or disadvantages of accepting the deal? Declining the deal?

7. Close the window without accepting or rejecting the deal and save the city as New Deal City.

8. Restart the simulation and open the “Meet” window, then click on “Reject” to reject the deal.

9. Run the simulation for a year, then pause. Select the “Budget” option and record the following information:

• If the deal was for import: The total year end income and the amount of income from neighbors.

• If the deal was for export: The total year end expenditures and the amount of expenditures to neighbors.

10. Open the “View Data” window and click on “Charts”. Then click on “Garbage” and record the amount of garbage produced annually. DO NOT SAVE THIS CITY!

11. Reload New Deal City. Open the “Meet” window and click on “Accept” to accept the deal.

12. Run the simulation for a year, then pause the simulation. Select “Budget” and record the following information:

• If the deal was for import: The total year end income and the amount of income from neighbors.

• If the deal was for export: The total year end expenditures and the amount of expenditures to neighbors.

13. Open the “View Data” and click on “Charts”, then click on “Garbage”. Record the total amount of garbage produced annually. If the deal was for import, how much of the garbage comes from the neighboring city? If the deal was for export, how much of the garbage goes to the neighboring city?

Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing

Have the students use the information they recorded to answer the following questions:

1. Were your predictions accurate? Why or why not?

2. What might happen once a landfill is filled to capacity? How could you test this?

3. In addition to pollution levels and land values, what other elements of a city might be affected by a lack of sanitation service. Explain your answer.

Lesson Two Extensions

• Research garbage facilities in your area. How is the garbage collected disposed of? What percentage of the garbage is recyclable?

• Take a trip to a local retail store (like Wal-Mart or Target) and note the number and type of items you find that are made of recycled materials. How does the cost of these items compare to other items?

Teacher Resources

In addition to this Teacher's Guide and your own ingenuity and classroom experience, there are a number of other resources to help you use SimCity Creator.

• The Reference Guide that comes with the game. This guide also contains a step-by-step tutorial.

• The SimCity Creator web site () contains a wealth of information about SimCity Creator, including articles on maximizing different features of the program. In addition, you will find new real-world terrain maps as well as established cities available for download at this site.

• A number of very helpful demonstration videos at:

You may also contact the following directly:

Maxis



2121 N. California Blvd., Suite 600

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Tel: 925-933-3630

Fax: 925-927-3736

EA Technical & Customer Support



PO Box 9025

Redwood City, CA 94063-9025

Tel: 650-628-4311

Fax: 650-628-5999

Hint Line: 900-288-HINT (4468)

References

Aldrich, C. (2004). Simulations and the Future of Learning: An Innovative (and Perhaps

Revolutionary) Approach to e-Learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Gee, J.P. (2003, May). High Score Education: Games, not School, are Teaching Kids to

Think. Wired Magazine, (11.05). Retrieved October 9, 2006, from



Prensky, Marc (2006) Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning!: How Computer and Video Games

Are Preparing Your Kids For 21st Century Success – and How You Can Help! Minnesota, USA: Paragon House

Prensky, M. (2002). The Motivation of Gameplay or, the REAL 21st Century Learning

Revolution. On The Horizon, 10(1).

Appendices

All referenced teaching materials such as work sheets, assessments and tables should be included in separate appendices.

How to Play SimCity Creator

1. To begin freeplay mode, you need to scroll until you find freeplay on the start screen.

2. Select the "New Game" button.

3. Outline the perimeter of your city. Take into account water access and start with a basic square or rectangular shape.

4. Build a power plant. Use the tools to zone an industrial area, then use construction tools to build the plant.

5. Build power lines to the center of the map. Use construction tools to run power lines from plant to the center of your city.

6. Provide water to the city. A water tower will suffice.

7. Build roads around the city! Keep access to all areas in mind.

8. Zone some houses. Low Density Residential is what you need to start out with.

9. Build a school close to the houses. A school will increase the sims' desire to live in the city and decrease crime a bit.

10. Build parks around the houses. Not only will they cut down on pollution, but they will attract higher wealth buildings.

11. Build a hospital close to the houses. A hospital will also increase the sims' desire to live in the city. It also decreases crime.

12. Build police and fire stations. They will almost completely stop the trouble of fires and riots. MAKE SURE to have adequate road access to stations and housing!

13. Create commercial zones. These will give your sims places to buy the goods they need to survive.

14. Zone industrial zones and farms. Farms are industrial zones, just not as nasty. Pollution will wreak havoc on your city if you build industrial zones too close to the city. Industrial zones will develop almost anytime.

15. As the city gets bigger, repeat these steps.

16. When your population reaches 75,000, begin replacing your Low Density zones with Moderate Density. Bigger buildings will appear if you have enough parks. Be sure to save MD areas from pollution.

17. When your population reaches 250,000, which is possible, start replacing MD with HD. This will boost your population real high. At this time, replace your farms with industry.

Congrats on your first city!

• Land - The computer will generate a landscape that should provide you with plenty of good locations to build your city. If you do not like the landscape that the computer generates, start a new city from the file menu.

• Residential zone - You need to create an area on the landscape for the Sims to live.

• Industrial zone - You need to create an area on the landscape where the Sims can work.

• Commercial zone - You need to create and area on the landscape where the Sims can shop and conduct business.

• Power plant - You need to build a power plant that will provide the city with electricity.

• Power lines - You need to connect each zone to the power plant so that the Sims will have electricity when they move in.

• Roads - You need to connect the different zones together with roads so that the Sims can travel between work, shopping or home.

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Care and Feeding of Your Fledgling City.....

Now that your city has started to grow, you need to give it some special attention. Your newly arrived Sims are going to need and demand many of the following items:

• More residential, industrial and commercial zones - Be sure to provide a mix of light and dense zones to meet the needs of all your Sims.

• Mixed transportation - Not only do your Sims need roads, they will need bus stations, trains, subways, and airports. Be sure to build stations for your subways and railways or they will be useless to the Sims.

• Schools - The future of your city lies in the young Sims. In order for them to get a good education, the city must have a strong school system.

• Police Stations - The Sims are very concerned with crime. A nearby police station will go a long way towards preventing crime in a neighborhood or shopping center.

• Fire Stations - Fire is an ever present danger in the city. Adequate fire coverage will keep your Sims safe and secure. Fires that do break out can be swiftly contained.

• Recreational Facilities- Sims love parks, trees, water and fun. Give them places where they can play and relax after a hard day at work. Nearby recreation facilities will also lead to higher property values.

• Water System - Everyone needs water! Beneath the streets of your city is a complex underground water system that must be maintained and expanded as your city grows.

• Airports and Seaports - As your city grows you will need to trade the goods that you produce with other Sims outside of your city. Seaports should be built first. Later on the Sims will demand an airport.

• Make connections - Be sure to run roads or rails to nearby towns and cities. This will make it easier to trade and make it easier for other Sims to move into your city.

Some Additional Advice ....

• Watch your spending - It is very easy to run out of money early in the simulation because your new city has so many needs and it generates so little tax money. Save some money for the future.

• Read the paper - Subscribe to at least one newspaper and pay special attention to the opinion polls. The polls will tell you what is on the minds of the Sims and you can then take steps to keep them happy.

• Plan ahead - Try to develop a general plan for your city. Leave plenty of spaces available for roads and rails so that you do not have to bulldoze zoned areas that you have already paid for early in the simulation.

Tips for Expanding your SimCity

New Buildings

|Unlockable |How to Unlock |

|Art museum |Raise education to level 90 |

|Basketball court |Build 2 of : Tennis courts, baseball fields and playgrounds|

|Bus stop |Reach 1920 |

|High school |Raise education level to 75 |

|House of worship |Population of 4,000 |

|Large Garden |Build 4 small gardens and have a population of 50,000 |

|Large Park |Build 4 small parks and have a pop. of 50,000 |

|Museum |Raise education level to 100 |

|Nuclear Power Station |Raise education level to 115 |

|Recycling Plant |Build one landfill zone |

|Opera House |Build 3 museums and 3 art museums |

|Solar Power Plant |Reach year 2000 |

|Stadium |Have a pop. of 350,000 |

|TV station |Have a pop. of 350,000 |

|University |Raise education level to 90 |

|Wind Power Plant |Reach 1985 |

|Marina |Have a pop. of 100,000 |

|Mayor's Statue |Have a pop. of 5,000 |

|Mayor's House |Have a pop. of 22,000 |

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