Game Prototyping - Tetricity

Combining Tetris and SimCity

Tetris and Simcity are two classic games of very different genres. Tetris is a puzzle game which we described in a previous post, while SimCity is a city-building and management game created by Will Wright. The idea for this prototype is essentially whether these two games could be combined to create something entirely new. This post is about a game prototype by GamePyong codenamed "Tetricity".


Tetricity

In this game, similar to Tetris, you mainly interact with tetrominoes. Instead of manipulating the blocks as they fall from the sky, however, in Tetricity you are able to drag the blocks and place them anywhere on the grid. The blocks are of three types: (R)esidential, (C)ommercial and (I)ndustrial. These correspond to the different types of building zones that can be built in games like SimCity.



As can be seen from above, the blocks are arranged in the usual Tetris configurations and each block has its building type shown. Blocks can be rotated using the arrows at the left and right of the screen and can be dropped into position using the middle button.



When a block is dropped, certain things can happen. The block can either remain undeveloped as shown above with the (I)ndustrial and (R)esidential zones, or it can become developed as with the (C)ommercial zone which has transformed into a building. Blocks will only become developed if certain conditions are met. These are outlined below:

  • (R)esidential blocks need to be placed close to other residential blocks in order for people to move in. Residents want to be near neighbours and they also want to be near stores, so (C)ommercial blocks placed close to (R)esidential ones will enable both to prosper. Residents hate (I)ndustrial zones however, because those types of buildings usually cause pollution. This means that residential zones will be negatively impacted if you place industrial zones nearby.
  • (C)ommercial blocks should be placed near to (R)esidential blocks in order to get a steady stream of customers, and also near to (I)ndustrial blocks in order to get supplies. (C)ommercial blocks will do poorly when placed close to other (C)ommercial blocks because it creates added competition.
  • (I)ndustrial blocks need to be near other (I)ndustrial blocks and also near to (C)ommercial blocks.
Blocks have three stages of development and will only reach their final stage if the right conditions are met.


The final part of this game involves scoring. A coloured vertical bar continuously moves across the screen from left to right. Whenever this bar touches a block that has been fully developed, it is removed from the grid and the player's score is increased.

You can try this prototype here: Play Tetricity

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