"There cannot be good specialists in building civilizations"

“There may be good specialists in carving nails, there cannot be good specialists in building civilizations.”, wrote Álvaro de Campos, a heteronym of Fernando Pessoa, on the usefulness of specialists.

Referring to civilizations, one might also refer to cities. It will be a matter of scale, and of something more, for these small worlds, or large centers, where entire lives unfold, transient as all lives are.

Let us take the challenge of attempting to build cities, from this comfortable room, now more isolated from the outside world, in these strange times. Without any vain attempt, as the engineer wrote, to become an expert in the matter. On top of that, these are really the first steps at the trade, with still no competition with other builders, no interaction with other cities, on my own, alone. Well, not entirely! Dale, the Bot, will be around, developing his own city.

The city memories are being put into writing one day after, another day, a gray one, the rain pattering against the roof, the same room, the same isolation, now without Dale, who has retreated into his own bot world, with the band James playing in the background, the music, a constant across time.

The initial outline of the city encompassed the suburbs, a community park and a heavy factory.

The future residential growth of the cities was anticipated from the start, and is visible during the first development phase, welcoming the Homeowner’s Association, the first offices, duly supported by a business supply store, two lakes, introducing a separation from the industrial zone, and a landfill next to the factory.

The generated activity allowed for an overall average income, there were no problems whatsoever with cash flow, and there was a small population growth.

"And then came the schools", as in the Telegraph Road, sung by Dire Straits, a museum next to them, and another residential area, bringing more people into the city, expanding to the east, where the water surface was also increased.

The school and residential area continued to expand, now with a middle school, a hostel, a bed & breakfast, and a retirement village.

People continued to flock to the city, its population increasing substantially, but the growth rate was decelerating, and costs overcame revenues. Would this be a sustainable city for times to come?

We won't know that, as the history of this town has come to an end.

Some goals were achieved, in competition with Dale’s nearby town, picking up the prizes for the most successful builder, spendthrift, and miser in what relates to income. Money has all been invested to attract the largest population possible, the measure of success for these (and other...) city builders. In the end, reaching 120 points, the title of Architectural Engineer.

Dale’s city is quite a different one, with their vast areas for offices, commercial activities and industries. The almost simultaneous construction of two casinos, something that seemed to appeal to the bot, marked a point of decline for times to follow: although the obtained income was fairly high, turning it into an even wealthier city, the corresponding decline in reputation led to a sharp decrease in population figures, that were not fully recovered.

Now, waiting for the opportunity to test more city concepts, along with other human builders of cities, living up to the motto: Live in the city of tomorrow ... Today!

This is Suburbia, a 2012 game by Ted Alspach, with graphic art by Klemens Franz and Ollin Timm, the bot rules of Dale Yu, and edited by Bézier Games, San José, California, United States of America.