u/Brittl_e

Hi everyone! Many of you have probably seen plenty of before-and-after photos of American cities, showing how their streets have changed in the past century. I’ve always been fascinated by the historic streetscapes, especially those from the pre-automobile era, when American cities were compact, pedestrian oriented, with active and continuous street facades. Interestingly, these are also the qualities that today's urban designers are trying to achieve.

In an effort to recreate this urban form in a city-building game set in the Gilded Age, one challenge I'm having is how did the developers decide the location, program and density of their development in an era before zoning regulations were available? I'm currently using simulated traffic level, distance to key features like park or harbor, and nearby land uses to make the prediction. But I know this could be a much more complicated system. Curious to hear what you think were the major forces shaping the form of 19th-century American cities.

I’ve attached a short preview of the game to show the current progress. It's called The Gilded City, and you can find its Steam page here. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Spent a few hours today to make these animated banners for my game's Steam description. What do you think of these?

If you are interested in this game, check out its Steam page. It's called The Gilded City, and is still actively in development, I will post more updates here and on Steam from time to time.

Looking forward to meet you in the Gilded Age!

Hello, I've been working on a city builder set in America's Gilded Age, roughly 1820–1920. My main inspiration was Boston's beautiful historic neighborhoods and this book American Urban Form, which has great illustrations about how american cities evolved in the centuries.

The main idea is to use procedural generation so buildings can fit into various shapes of parcels that player draw. Building functions won't be determined by player, as zoning tool didn't exist until 1920s. The functions are evaluated and determined automatically based on the parcel's location and surrounding conditions.

I'm also experimenting with a lightweight economic simulation, buildings have operating rates, profitability, etc. They will produce and consume commodities, import and export, and employ citizens.

It's still an early prototype (about 500 hrs of development), but I wanted to share it and get some feedback before going much further (probably 500 hrs more).

I'd really interesed in hearing whether this concept appeal to you? If so, what would you want to have or experience in this game?