Theme park simulators have long made their home on PC. From the now legendary Theme Park, created by Peter Molyneux back in 1994, to Frontier Developments' 2016 hit Planet Coaster, this genre taps into much of what makes PC gaming so great, letting gamers flex their creative and, yes, management skills in one of the most fun environments possible.
But making a good theme park simulator, as with any building sim, is not easy and, as history has shown us, there have been plenty of failures along the way. Only last year, for example, did Park Beyond, a new theme park sim published by Bandai Namco fail to launch, with PC Gamer's review stating it offered "a limp campaign and serious lack of depth". For a simulator, these failings felt like a grievous mistake as, to me at least, they're critical to what makes the best sims shine.
It's now late August 2024 and I'm travelling to Cambridge, England, to go hands-on with Frontier Developments' brand new theme park simulator, Planet Coaster 2, as well as speak with its lead developer, Rich Newbold. The first game was well received by PC Gamer, with Planet Coaster very much acting as the spiritual successor to the RollerCoaster Tycoon series (Frontier Developments made RollerCoaster Tycoon 3). It also rapidly created a lively community of fans online, becoming the theme park sim of note. However, PC Gamer's review score of 75 percent pointed to a game that could offer even more.
So, keen to learn how this sequel was building on the great original experience, I ask Newbold what the vision was with Planet Coaster 2.
この記事は PC Gamer の November 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は PC Gamer の November 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A New Dawn - The rise, fall and rise again of PC Gaming in Japan
The so-called 'Paso Kon' market (ie katakana's transliteration of 'Pasonaru Computa') in Japan was originally spearheaded in the 1980s by NEC's PC-8800 and, later, its PC-9800.
MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
Enter the multiverse of modness.
SLIDES RULE
Redeeming a hated puzzle mechanic with SLIDER
GODS AND MONSTERS
AGE OF MYTHOLOGY: RETOLD modernises a classic RTS with care
PHANTOM BLADE ZERO
Less Sekiro, more Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
STARR-MAKING ROLE
Final Fantasy XVI's BEN STARR talks becoming a meme and dating summons
THIEF GOLD
Learning to forgive myself for knocking out every single guard.
HANDHELD GAMING PCs
In lieu of more powerful processors, handhelds are getting weirder
FAR FAR AWAY
STAR WARS OUTLAWS succeeds at the little things, but not much else shines
FINDING IMMORTALITY
Twenty-five years on, PLANESCAPE: TORMENT is still one of the most talked-about RPGs of all time. This is the story of how it was created as a ‘stay-busy’ project by a small team at Black Isle Studios
