Often the gaming world is closer to the urban modelling and transport flow research world than many would think. One such case is Cities in Motion (CIM) a city-based mass transportation simulator for the PC. Players operate their own transportation company, building a public network with a variety of vehicle types, including buses, trams, and subway trains. By meeting the needs of city residents, the player tries to make as much profit as possible. Observing the changing and growing city, as well as the different types of people in it, is key to building a successful and efficient network. The trailer below provides a good overview:
New cities are being added, creating an interesting possibility of using the engine behind the game with actually transport networks and flow based data. The next movie details the new German cities within the system:
The link between the gaming world and urban visualisation groups is gradually becoming clear to some in the sector, the next step is to move it into urban modelling….
