I lived with John for four years, which makes me an expert on sexy. So when I say that there’s something damn sexy about SimCity‘s data layers, then you have to believe me. Maxis’s reworking of their city simulation is getting a lot of attention for the way they’re attempting to display the graphs and percentages of the working of a city as part of the living, breathing world. You want to see if there’s a traffic problem? Follow a car and see where it gets stuck, then build bypass routes to clear the clog. It’s an idea that creates a startling looking game, but it can’t do everything. At a recent EA event I was demonstrated that to really peek at the population or divine the water, you’ll need to switch on the data.(more…)