The early game in The Sims is kind of like a poverty simulator, but eventually it gets a lot easier.
I assume that some mods and things of that nature can make the game more difficult.
Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
81–90 of 142 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#82I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. There is a popular misconception that poverty amounts to having your bank balance reset to zero. “Damn, guess I’ll have to earn it all back”. But what you can’t reset or simulate is the human capital embodied within you that got you to this point. Your lifetime of education, your exper…
The interesting part of simulation genres is finding out what you need to change to make it fun.
What makes a simulation game fun varies per game. Stardew Valley could be described as a boring loop. EVE Online just yesterday made fans happy by getting official Microsoft Excel support.
The key seems to be to have a particular hook and perspective.
So, for a poverty simulator, you could embrace hustle culture and have people race to exploit loopholes in systems to maximize return.
Alternatively, you could take a radical approach at start with the crush of poverty and embrace it something like a rogue-like where you will probably always lose, but this time maybe you get a little further. Whether you want to embrace it ridiculously like Binding of Isaac embraced evangelical childhood abuse or be something else works.
Also worth remembering Papers, Please as a good example of a simulation making something "not fun" fun.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#83I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. There is a popular misconception that poverty amounts to having your bank balance reset to zero. “Damn, guess I’ll have to earn it all back”. But what you can’t reset or simulate is the human capital embodied within you that got you to this point. Your lifetime of education, your exper…
> I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. I don't think you're someone that plays many videogame simulations, as the whole point is making something fun that's inherently boring in real life. There are so many popular simulators for famously mind-numbing jobs: farming, janitorial services (and further niches within this incl…
Uh, powerwashing, (sand,dry ice, etc)-blasting, is actually fun in real life. If I could get a job doing only that, I would totally do it. Janitorial work is actually pretty engaging and fun, it's the having to do it EVERY DAY for almost nothing and being disrespected and socially maligned for it that sucks! Driving is also fun!
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#84Economics Simulation of Norvig: https://nbviewer.org/url/norvig.com/ipython/Economics.ipynb Not really a game either, but it's my favorite.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#85Jones in the Fast Lane: https://jonesinthefastlane.com
You start in poverty and can work your way out, but you can also get trapped. It certainly gives you the feeling of the grind: eating only the cheapest food, earning barely enough, having no time after work.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#86I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. There is a popular misconception that poverty amounts to having your bank balance reset to zero. “Damn, guess I’ll have to earn it all back”. But what you can’t reset or simulate is the human capital embodied within you that got you to this point. Your lifetime of education, your exper…
The interesting part of simulation genres is finding out what you need to change to make it fun. What makes a simulation game fun varies per game. Stardew Valley could be described as a boring loop. EVE Online just yesterday made fans happy by getting official Microsoft Excel support. The key seems to be to have a particular hook and perspective. So, for a poverty simulator, you could embrace hustle culture and have…
> EVE Online just yesterday made fans happy by getting official Microsoft Excel support.
That's the funniest single phrase I've read all day. Thank you for sharing that, it brought me great joy :)
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#87>The Affordable Care Act requires you get health insurance. The good news? Your child is covered by the state. The bad? You aren’t. According to benefits.gov you would qualify for medicaid on $1,441/month gross (the wage of the job I selected)
It’s also just not required
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#88Most important to keep in mind the caution from Pulp's "Common People", which isn't even about the sort of poverty you're describing but just the ordinary lives of people who wouldn't consider themselves "poor" at all. But still you'll never get it right / 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night / Watching roaches climb the wall / If you called your dad he could stop it all The thing we can't simulate about poverty i…
Video games involve a lot of storytelling. Stories can be super powerful, and I think the world definitely has room for more games that depict and explore the experience of poverty. But that absolutely HAS to come from a place of direct experience. If you read a couple books, interview a couple people at a shelter, and then make a game - it won't be a poverty simulator. It might simulate the theoretical economics of poverty, or a birds eye view of the day to day mechanics of it, but that's not the same as the actual thing. SimCity is a city simulator, but it doesn't simulate what it's like to live in any city, or what it's like to be a city mayor or even a city planner.
Video games can help people understand things, just like that pulp song has helped people understand, but just like the pulp song it has to come from direct first hand experience.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#89[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Are there any good poverty simulator games?
#90I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. There is a popular misconception that poverty amounts to having your bank balance reset to zero. “Damn, guess I’ll have to earn it all back”. But what you can’t reset or simulate is the human capital embodied within you that got you to this point. Your lifetime of education, your exper…
> I think if you succeeded in making a game that successfully simulated the experience of poverty, it would be extremely unfun to play. I don't think you're someone that plays many videogame simulations, as the whole point is making something fun that's inherently boring in real life. There are so many popular simulators for famously mind-numbing jobs: farming, janitorial services (and further niches within this incl…
While I have never understood the existence of games like Long Haul Trucker, they do exist.