Koufuku Sousakan (2004)

Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Genres: Simulator

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How it feels

A breezy, slightly quirky management sim where you nudge virtual townsfolk toward happiness while juggling comedic drama in their daily lives.

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About

Set in a modern town created in a virtual space in Japan in the near future, this is a simulation game that aims to liberate 100 people who have become immobile and to give happiness to all. The player acts as an officer in charge of managing the virtual space, and aims to normalize the people he or she contacts while observing the life of any "avatar" living there, to protect the avatar from frequent attacks by obstructionists, and to collect and redistribute the feelings of happiness and unhappiness that they emit, in order to achieve a certain level of happiness for all people. Avatar behavior changes in response to happiness and can be influenced by other avatars involved in life. That is, even with the same avatar, life can change depending on the degree of happiness of the other avatars that are actively acting or negatively distressed by the sense of well-being during observation, or are involved with or in contact with other avatars that were previously offline. The interaction between people is called "human scramble" on the package and official website. Each avatar lasts about 20 minutes, and you can watch the same avatar over and over again. The whole story is represented by 3DCG, but the avatar is represented by flat shading (a projection method that looks like an angular figure with fine planes). Avatar conversations and thoughts are expressed as text, and their voices are expressed as indistinct voices.

Screenshots

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