RollerCoaster Tycoon retrospective: How to be a ruthless capitalist

Sixth grade library time, one fateful day. The monotony of Mavis Beacon Teaches TypingA life-changing announcement interrupted their plans: The unit will be used exclusively for playing RollerCoaster Tycoon. We were taught concepts like price, profit and loans. In pairs of two, the first team to beat the assigned objective — paying off the loan and becoming consistently profitable — would get extra credit.

It was amazing. I’d loved all of the other games we’d played at the school library, with two or three kids per computer screen. Zoombinis Logical Journey This was an amazing experience. A handful of computers were equipped with Adobe Flash. I used it to create animated Kirbys eating other Kirbys. I’d never played a simulation game before, but as soon as I slapped my first pathing tile onto RollerCoaster Tycoon’s virtual grid, I was completely hooked. This was the first time I discovered management simulation games. It has been a constant in my daily life. Much of that is due to my fondness for this game and the library computers on which I first played it.

We got about half an hour each semester. RollerCoaster TycoonTime can be taken several times a week. The class would go by quickly. While the boys designed whimsical coasters doomed to failure — a thing my best friend and I also did, but on a separate save file during after-school hours — we were hellbent on getting that sweet extra credit. After becoming ruthless capitalists, we realized that we could charge higher for thrill rides without sacrificing intensity. RollerCoaster Tycoon’s excitement formula is quite complex. However, as children, we saw a pattern. Make the rides longer and add scenery. Have the tracks cross each other, be above or below water. Avoiding intensity meant avoiding “G forces,” whatever those were. Intensity meant that attendees would throw up. This required more handymen to be hired. We decided the solution was not making any “scary-looking” coasters.

Our park was looking like spaghetti by the end of the month. You could find many rides that were simple, eight-figure shapes, but they were layered together very closely, with lots of trees, pyramids, Roman columns and huge mushrooms. We would add water where possible, usually adding small squares. It was always orange, because we liked the color. So sick. Then we’d stick a paddleboat ride in there, which was marginally more exciting because it was underneath another ride. The upcharge was amazing. Then we picked a handful of rides to cycle through promoting within the game’s marketing menu. Drank on power, the team also raised the price for umbrellas when raining and eliminated paths in order to make sprites pay bathrooms immediately or wait to get into rides after having left one.

Image: Texel Raptor

Our teacher was frightened when we met our financial goals in class. However, he did have to give us a reward for being so diligent. That extra credit was ours. And then we went on to beat the game’s actual scenario. The save file was saved and we ended up laughing about the kids who were in worse financial predicaments than us.

Games like RollerCoaster TycoonThis made it feel as if I could focus on one thing, then sit down and concentrate, and make something amazing. I spent a lot of time in school wondering why my body felt filled with gears that wouldn’t stop grinding. Teachers would often check my desk and my notes to make sure I wasn’t fidgeting or doodling. These silly parks were a great way to feel that I was able to help my Zoombinis with their puzzles. I was allowed to play these games because they were “learning.” They made school more tolerable.

In that year and many others, I begged my parents for the RollerCoaster Tycoon game. These games were a joy to me. They slowed down the speed of my brain’s turning. All three of the CD-ROMs are still available. Also, I have an IBM early 2000s laptop with Windows XP that I use to play the originals. I own all of the titles in the series, including some that can be found on Steam. Planet Coaster Parkitect. Because it is so familiar, the latter is our favorite. RollerCoaster Tycoon II but multiplayer — and I’ve made up for lost years by creating numerous creative coasters and visual abominations in multiplayer save files.

These management simulations, as well as others, have been an integral part of my adult life and are something that I turn to when I feel like I am in need of a break. These games are incredibly fun, particularly those that have high-stakes failure states. It makes you feel confident and competent, even if it’s not. I’ve been known to stay up until the wee morning hours playing Frostpunk and shouting “Eat your sawdust gruel!” at my unfortunate 18-hour-shift workers trying not to die in the ice. In a separate notebook, I charted the electrical and pipeline lines. Other than Oxygen runs. When things click, I love how they look.

Playing more games leads to me trying new genres that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself. I discovered my love of deck-builders and visual novels. When these new games suck me in, I’m often reminded of that type of childhood excitement of playing RollerCoaster TycoonIn the library. It’s a simple pleasure, being able to trace a personal interest back to its first inklings. It’s a great feeling to be able to tap into my past every time I open a management sim.

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