Simulator is a genre of the gaming industry that appeared at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Many developer studios turned their eyes to this direction and started releasing projects. As a result, he is firmly considered one of the most popular, because many fans play only in this genre.
general information
The category gained its popularity only after the onset of 2010, when games on a wider topic began to be released. Prior to this, everyone believed that the simulator is only sports games and a few more projects devoted to different types of transport. After that, the developers began to develop ideas, and interesting topics appeared. What does one “God Simulator” cost, where you have to create a landscape, land, oceans and control nature!
People showed more and more interest, because the genre was rapidly rising. The first online projects appeared with a bias towards this direction, and they were waiting for unprecedented success. The millions of armies of World of Tanks and War Thunder fans confirm this fact.
Technical aspect
Thanks to the technical component, the genre gained popularity. The simulator is, first of all, the realism of everything that happens in the virtual world. On the screen, any actions should be as close as possible to what people see in everyday life. Driving a car involves constantly shifting gears, depressing pedals, tracking fuel and other parameters. At the same time, at high speed, you will never enter a turn, because you will simply be carried to the sidelines. Car repair can be done in parts, take time and will cost a round sum. In this example, all simulators are made, regardless of the chosen topic. Often the authors of such projects focus on a particular profession and allow the player to experience all its difficulties on themselves. It can be a fireman, forester, policeman and the like. Such games are already on the market, and anyone can download or buy them.
Visual component
The concept of 3D simulator in the gaming industry began to be applied at the time of raising the graphic aspect to new heights. This process lasted for all fifteen years and even now continues. The definition itself arose in the middle of this path and meant a game with great graphics at that time.
Now the concept of 3D simulator has become much less common, because the graphics have already gone far ahead. Game engines such as Unreal Engine 4, CryEngine, Frostbite 3 provide the level of detail and realism that all users like. Natural landscapes look as natural as possible, and if you use virtual reality glasses, the view will amaze a person to the core.
Each simulator is also a unique design style. If the plot unfolds in the city, then the developers are trying to recreate the hustle and bustle of people and home in their standard form. If the events take place in the wild, then the authors allow themselves to take a small step towards decorating locations.
Games about transport
This subcategory in the genre is considered one of the most numerous. This includes games about truckers and movements in the wild (Spin Tires, Euro Truck Simulator 2), thematic games ("High beam"), a driving simulator (Grid 2). This is only about the land mode of transport, and there are many projects about airplanes, ships and even trains. In such games, before you get behind the wheel or the helm, you need to study the control mechanisms. For example, in an airplane, a large number of panels with buttons will open in front of the player. To successfully take off and land, you need to know the purpose of each of them. On the ship you will have to follow the pressure sensors, fuel, cargo and have time to give orders to the team. This is exactly what the captain of a large ship on the high seas does. Recently, developers have begun to simplify these processes a bit, because such games (simulation aircraft) as HAWX 2 allowed to take off from only the tenth attempt. This discouraged fans from continuing to train, so steps were taken to simplify management processes.
Race
The category of racing computer games is divided into two types - arcade and simulators. Both are equally popular with fans, but they differ in mechanics. Arcade games are made in the style of ordinary competitions without complications, and with simulators everything is harder. Management of a racing car is carried out on specially equipped tracks. Getting in the corner is worth a lot of effort. You will have to spend many hours learning and only then rely on the first victories.
The most famous racing games in this direction are the WRC, Grid series and the separate Need for Speed: Shift 2 project. The best way to learn how to drive a car in them is with the help of steering wheel devices and pedals. If desired, in a few attempts the user will learn how to behave in difficult sections of the track. For example, the MotoGP driving simulator teaches you how to use a motorcycle in real conditions. For a high-quality race, you will have to learn how to lean correctly at high speed. It is for these difficulties that the subcategory of racing simulations is loved around the world.
The best simulators
The title of the best is determined by different assessment criteria. In the process of determining the total score, the average is taken from all reviews of authoritative gaming publications. Gamers have their own vision and thoughts, but they often differ from each other, and no one dares to single out an average rating from thousands of reviews. Currently, the top simulators include projects such as Il-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Silent Hunter 3, The Sims, Freespace 2. They are not similar to each other and differ in theme, but give players unforgettable emotions.
Recently, the release of games of this category has declined, but on the Kickstarter site independent studios have already launched campaigns to raise funds for their original ideas. Therefore, next year we can expect several works at once that will be able to climb to the top and occupy the first lines of the "simulator" genre. Among them, a project was announced about the career of a policeman and a grandiose development of a game where everyone can live a second life. One has only to wait for their release, then to put their own ratings and leave proper feedback on the forums.