NEW SIMS

Ecologically friendly pinball wizards

By: Konrad Hak

THE Japanese company Fujitsu has created a sim where environmental education is mixed with some wonderful wackiness.

The photography firm’s sim comes with an interesting game which allows residents to win prizes by playing a giant pinball game – with the avs as the ball!

Competitors climb into a giant sphere and fire themselves onto the course, with obstacles and spinning paddles trying to bat them away from the goal. Though it is called ‘Bingo’, it is more a giant version of the classic game. There is also a small shop nearby, where residents can get some free, though rather tacky, horn-rimmed glasses, to help them get a better view of the world.

Manure

The company has also created a conservation zone designed to educate about the importance of the environment.

Recordings of birdcalls are filtered through the leafy forests, with signs giving information about the different kinds of birds that live in different trees. If you climb to the top of the hill in the forest, there is a free plant pet on offer in the clearing.

This area also comes with a slightly strange airborne patch of land designed to promote the benefits of natural energy sources. It seems to be showing how methane can be used to power everyday appliances, as it is kept floating by a steaming pile of manure, which exudes clouds of apparently useful energy.