Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network – Game Studies
Host: Rudolf Inderst
Guest: Chaim Gingold
Episode: Chaim Gingold, "Building SimCity: How to Put the World in a Machine" (MIT Press, 2024)
Date: December 15, 2025

This episode delves into the history, design, and cultural significance of SimCity, guided by Chaim Gingold’s new book. The conversation traces the game's development from Will Wright's inspirations and creative methodologies, through the computational and social currents that shaped its reception, to the business challenges that accompanied Maxis' explosive rise. The dialogue brings to the fore how SimCity acts as a "microcosm" illuminating broader questions about simulation, technology, and society.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Gingold's Journey: From Prototyping with Will Wright to Exploring SimCity’s Legacy

• Origins of the Project (02:38–06:06)
  • Gingold describes his path: an MA at Georgia Tech led to an internship with Will Wright at Maxis while Spore was in early development.
  • During his time at Maxis, he explored old prototypes, code, and Maxis experiments: "He got, at one point he went to his closet and he got out this old Macintosh...and on there was all these old Maxis games from the 90s and also all the source code..." (03:35)
  • He emphasizes Wright’s process-oriented, experimental practice and reflects on his own motivations: "I was also sort of processing my own experience" (05:55).

SimCity as a Crossroads of Simulation Culture

• SimCity’s Hybrid Origins (06:06–08:54)
  • The game is situated between rigorous scientific models and pop culture engagement.
  • "He's like a bricalure, you know, he's like mixing a lot of different materials very creatively to recombine them." (06:36)
  • SimCity couples cellular automata (like Conway's Game of Life) with Jay Forrester’s systems dynamics models: "He found a very creative way to couple those together...that's part of what gives SimCity its flavor" (07:22).
  • Early reviewers (such as Steven Levy) grappled with deep ontological questions: "Are boids a representation of flocking or are they actually flocking? There's like an ontological question for him that he's wrestling with." (08:43)

Reception, Legacy, and Cultural Moment

• SimCity’s Immediate Impact and Cultural Reception (08:54–11:39)
  • Gingold traces how, upon release, SimCity quickly attracted attention from Nintendo, the Santa Fe Institute, and venture capitalists.
  • These stakeholders, each from different backgrounds, saw in SimCity what aligned with their own interests.
  • "All these different communities see in SimCity in a sense what they want..." (10:52)
  • Gingold details how Maxis and SimCity sat "at a crossroads" of technological innovation and cultural need.

Maxis: Business Pressures and Creative Tension

• Maxis’ IPO and Identity Crisis (11:39–14:56)
  • The most dramatic moment: Maxis’ IPO at the height of the dot-com bubble and how differing ambitions clashed between founders, creatives, and investors.
  • "Jeff Braun, he wants to have a software publishing business...Will Wright wants to keep making his creative games. And once they take on the initial investment in 1992, there's less space for Will Wright to experiment and they...can't build the support for The Sims." (12:46)
  • The business side of games becomes central: "It's distribution, it's technology, it's, everything goes, has to go together." (12:58)
  • Maxis both benefited and struggled in times of rapid technological and industry upheaval.

Visual Richness and Archival Surprises

• Crafting the Book’s Visual Narrative (16:21–19:17)
  • Inderst praises the book's visual design: "It's such a great book...on every page, there's something new to be found." (15:06)
  • Gingold discusses the painstaking process of licensing and organizing a multitude of diagrams, photos, and rare archival artifacts, particularly those not found online.
  • Most surprising finds: Unpublished photographs from the Eames Office documenting Dorian Gary Nelson’s classroom city simulations.
  • “My jaw just dropped. Like I knew some of what was in there, but I just could not believe it. And there's thousands and thousands and thousands of these photos...” (17:40)
  • The comparison between pre-digital simulations and digital ones frames deeper philosophical questions about how we understand modeling and simulation.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Will Wright’s Design Ethos
  • “He's like a bricalure...mixing a lot of different materials very creatively to recombine them.”
    — Chaim Gingold (06:36)
• On the Significance of SimCity
  • “It makes these esoteric simulation practices legible to a broad audience.”
    — Chaim Gingold (07:55)
• On Reception Across Communities
  • “All these different communities see in SimCity in a sense what they want or so you see something exciting to them.”
    — Chaim Gingold (10:52)
• On Industry Forces Shaping Creativity
  • “It's distribution, it's technology, it's, everything goes, has to go together...I came at this originally from a designer perspective. Like the design is what drives success, and it's like, no.”
    — Chaim Gingold (12:58)
• On the Book’s Visual Treasure Trove
  • "My jaw just dropped. Like I knew some of what was in there, but I just could not believe it. And there's thousands and thousands and thousands of these photos..."
    — Chaim Gingold (17:40)
• On the Contrast Between Digital and Physical Simulations
  • “It’s like we just live in a digital, such a digital world. I just thought that this just really, that contrast just really helped highlight the philosophical assumptions behind the commonalities, the differences behind computer and non-computer simulation.”
    — Chaim Gingold (19:04)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:36] Guest intro and origin story of the project
• [06:06] SimCity as crossroads of simulation cultures—mixes scientific, popular, and playful elements
• [08:54] Broader cultural reception; intersections with Nintendo, Santa Fe Institute, venture capital, and the educational world
• [11:39] Maxis’ business history, IPO struggles, creative vs. commercial tension, evolution of the game industry
• [15:06] Book’s visual design and rare archival materials
• [17:40] The Eames Office photographs and deep archival surprises
• [19:17] Wrapping up; reflection on replay and ongoing inquiry

Episode Tone and Style

• Insightful, conversational, and detailed.
• Both host and guest maintain an enthusiastic, curious, and respectful tone, with Gingold offering careful reflections and Inderst showing genuine admiration for the book’s depth and design.

Conclusion

This episode offers a rich and layered exploration of how SimCity emerged at the intersection of creative experimentation, computational modeling, business imperatives, and play. Chaim Gingold, drawing on both personal experience and deep historical research, provides illuminating insights into the game's development and enduring influence. The episode is particularly notable for its discussion of archival discoveries and the importance of both visual and conceptual storytelling in game history.

Whether you’re a game designer, scholar, or curious player, this conversation contextualizes SimCity not just as a game, but as a window into the way computers allow us to simulate, imagine, and even remake the world.