By Kim Eastham
Here's the ultimate simulated-life computer challenge: raising a well-behaved teenager. She's 10 when she first shows up on your doorstep as a homeless, nameless waif. But with care and nurturing, she grows up to be a sweet, well-adjusted 18-year-old.
Or a bratty punk. It's in your hands.
Princess Maker 2 is a DOS-based game set in 13th-century Europe. At first your adopted child needs only a name, birthday, sun sign, and the like, but her needs soon multiply. Don't spoil her with rich foods, mind you. Her cholesterol level will skyrocket. Educate her, by all means, but don't work her too hard. She's just a kid.
"If you don't give her enough attention, she'll become a hood and might even be arrested," says producer Akai Takami. She can, however, be killed by overwork.
But most users are gentle with her. "There are so many shoot-out games. You kill the bad guys and score points. It's been done, and people expect something totally different. This is a long-term game where you make a commitment and create your own world," says Takami.
Your virtual girl can take fifteen different part-time jobs, from babysitter to bar hostess. You make the choices and pay the consequences. If she gets too stressed out between work and school, you can send her to a sanitarium for a nice rest.
One 17-year-old boy called Takami in obvious distress: "My little girl ran away from home. What can I do to bring her back?" Another user who has a daughter of her own commented that her 2-D daughter doesn't talk back as much as the real thing. "And if I get tired of her I can just turn her off," she added. "That's something you can't do with a real kid."
The simulation makes no pretenses to virtual reality. It's a game, pure and simple. But like raising real kids, it's complex and time-consuming – it takes five or six hours at a shot, or weeks if you play a few minutes a day. So why not just make a kid of your own and skip the game? You could, but think of all the cool stuff you'll be able to buy with money otherwise wasted on a real kid's college education.
Princess Maker 2: Yen14,800 (approximately US$150). Gainax: +81 (4) 2222 1850, fax +81 (4) 2222 1280.
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