I’ve been stuck on this thought lately. I grew up obsessed with Black & White and Populous, but the more I look at the genre, the more I wonder where the line is.
There’s always been this argument that God Sims are basically just "City Builder Lite"—where the gameplay is mostly just throwing lightning bolts and terraforming, while the actual "sim" part is pretty shallow compared to something like Anno or SimCity.
I’m actually building a spiritual successor to those old games right now and I’m hitting a wall with the mechanics. Does a God Sim need deep city-building to stay fun? Or is the "God" power stuff enough to carry the game on its own?
I’m trying to figure out how hardcore I should make the resource management and village growth. Is the charm of these games the simplicity, or do you think the genre needs to "grow up" and add more layers? I'm worried about making something that feels too shallow, but I also don't want it to become a tedious spreadsheet.
What’s the sweet spot for you guys?
(If anyone is curious or wants to take a look at my game. The game is called Goblin God and I'm putting a demo out for Next Fest soon and could really use some perspective on the complexity level.)