Stuck on a broken-down train deep inside the New York City subway system, Colin Miller had an epiphany. Waiting for the Sixth Avenue line to finally move, he thought: "Could I design a better system?" The answer is now a highly anticipated video game called Subway Builder, a simulation that uses real U.S. census data to model passenger flow and city planning.
More Than Just a Game
Subway Builder is not your typical Transport Tycoon or city builder with randomized parameters. Miller, who is also the founder of the mapping service Redistricter which visualizes U.S. demographic data, brought his expertise to the project.
To create the simulator, Miller leveraged vast amounts of census data detailing where people live and work. He integrated this with real-world geographical limitations and financial constraints to create a highly accurate simulation of how residents would actually use a transit system.
Miller explains that the game simulates passenger behavior: riders choose between taking the subway or driving based on the convenience of the system you've designed. Because it relies on real-world commuting data straight from the U.S. Census Bureau, the game is currently only available for American cities.
Realism Meets Sandbox
The game offers two distinct modes:
- Realistic Mode: Here, players must contend with authentic limitations, including a tight budget, challenging geology, and existing urban development.
- Sandbox Mode: This is where players can unleash their wildest transit dreams, allowing for a no-limits approach—like building a direct line from your house to your favorite coffee shop.
Regardless of the mode, Miller notes that players quickly gain a profound understanding of urban planning challenges.
"When you play Subway Builder, you begin to understand why the lines are routed exactly where they are. Why a train makes a strange detour or why two branches merge at a particular spot," says Miller.
One of the most valuable lessons the game teaches is just how difficult it is to change a large-scale network once it has already been built.
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SimCity for Urban Planners
Subway Builder belongs to a rare category of games that genuinely educate. It moves beyond abstract strategies and fictitious resources to tackle real-world urban planning problems using real data.
It's often described as a SimCity for adults, where the antagonists aren't fictional monsters but disgruntled commuters and a crippling budget deficit.
The game is set to launch on October 9th, priced at $30 (or $40 on Steam). While the NYC subway authorities haven't publicly commented on the project, Miller is hopeful they will take notice. Imagine the potential if an enthusiastic gamer-turned-transit-expert offered a genuinely viable solution for the notoriously delayed Second Avenue Subway, a project that has been under construction for over a century.
