Core Concepts

To understand SynCity, it is essential to distinguish it from traditional city-building simulators. The core philosophy of this project relies on three pillars: Autonomy, Emergent Behavior, and Indirect Control.

1. Autonomous AI Agents

In most city simulators, citizens are visual representations of data. In SynCity, citizens are active agents. They do not just appear to go to work; they make a calculation based on their current funds, distance to the workplace, and happiness levels to decide if they want to go to work.

Each agent possesses:

• Internal State: Hunger, energy, happiness, and financial balance.

• Memory: Short-term history of recent events.

• Goal-Oriented Logic: A desire to improve their living standards or achieve specific milestones.

2. Emergent Behavior

Emergent behavior refers to complex patterns that arise from simple interactions. We do not script the history of the city. Instead, the history is written by the agents.

Example: If the player builds a high-tech industrial zone but offers no affordable housing nearby, the system does not simply flash a warning. Instead, you will observe agents voluntarily moving to cheaper districts, causing traffic congestion as they commute, or choosing to remain unemployed, which subsequently lowers the city's GDP. The problem and the solution are organic.

3. The Player as an Observer and Architect

Players in SynCity act less like a "God" and more like a "Mayor" or "City Planner." You cannot force an agent to take a specific job. You can only create the conditions that make that job attractive.

• Traditional Game: You click a button to "Fix Unemployment."

• SynCity: You lower taxes and build infrastructure to attract companies, hoping the agents apply for the new open positions.

This distinction creates a dynamic feedback loop where the player proposes a structure, and the AI agents dispose of it through their usage.