For a few, it was a creative spark that would change their lives. For others it was a gateway to an archipelago of online communities filled with theme park fanatics, physicists moonlighting as roller-coaster designers, and artists excited to work with an interactive canvas. It was many players’ introduction to the simulation genre, which now touches games as varied as Red Dead Redemption 2 and the interior decorating mobile app Design Home. RCT was more tethered to the real world than most games-managing marketing budgets and cleaning up vomit were billed as entertainment-but that only helped it create a more orderly, governable version of reality where it was easy to lose yourself for hours.ĭespite its nostalgic leanings, RCT also portended the future. The colorful 2D sprites were a step behind the graphically advanced titles of the era, but they’ve aged better than almost anything else released in 1999. Its merry-go-rounds and swinging ships evoked the humble county fairs that had dotted the American landscape for decades, while its most epic attractions were based on modern designs by the elite roller-coaster manufacturers of Europe. Like any truly great park, the game seemed to exist outside the normal boundaries of time. RollerCoaster Tycoon, released 20 years ago this past Sunday, became the greatest theme park of all for a generation of kids who found it easier to visit the Scholastic Book Fair than Walt Disney World. Eventually he decided to build his own fantasy world-not with wood or with steel, but with computer code. As Sawyer got older, he gained an increased appreciation of roller coasters, and came to enjoy them more as he understood their complexities. For adults, they’re a fleeting reminder of that carefree mind-set. For kids, theme parks are proof that life can be as thrilling as their wildest fantasies. Sawyer has long been fascinated by coasters and the precisely constructed worlds in which they reside. They learn not only to conquer their fear, but to take control of the machines that once terrified them.
This is a common trait among people who ultimately become obsessed with theme parks. As a child growing up in Scotland, he rode them with a mix of curiosity and dread, screaming to get off every time he barreled through another stomach-flipping plunge. At first, Chris Sawyer hated roller coasters.
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