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Constructor

aka: Constructor Classic 1997, Constructor: The Classic 1997 Release, Constructor: The Simulation with Street Smarts

Description official descriptions

Constructor gives the player the chance to run a construction company in a place where real estate is up for those who want to develop it first and where everything is allowed to get rid of the competition.

Starting in a single plot of land with the headquarters, a construction team (composed by a foreman and one to five workers) and a repairman, the player must start by building a wood mill and provide housing to the bottom of the social ladder: slobs. From there, taking advantage of their fast reproduction rate, the player can train new workers, and as soon as three different wooden huts are available, the council will allow the construction of a cement yard, which in turn allows the construction of better buildings. However, slobs wouldn't appreciate living in such luxury, and so a gadget factory can be built so that computers are distributed to their houses, allowing for a new generation of better educated citizens. While the workers pack a nasty punch when in a large group, violence should be left to the professionals. After building a Pizza Parlor, the player is allowed to use the services of gangsters. These are able to take on that pesky foreman or that building the Council asked to get rid off.

But there's more to the game than just building from ghetto houses to luxury apartments, and as they say, all is fair in war, and construction IS war. The player can send their foremen to capture other teams' buildings, or do even worse: provide housing for the scum of society. From hippies to ghosts, these can do a number on the other teams' properties. Want to stress out a tenant? Send the thugs to do a wild party in their house. Need some cash or materials? Send the thief to relieve a team from them. All this while preventing the others from doing the same to you by assigning police patrols to key areas. As time passes, it pays out to build other, more friendly, buildings. For example, a school allows everyone to breed more civilized members of the society, the hospital allows recovery of wounds much faster, and everyone can go to the park to relax a little. Improving the rooms and giving them garden furniture is also a good way of keeping tenants happy, but jealousy can grow among neighbors. Failing to comply to tenants requests and demands will quickly turn the Council against the player.

The player will have to balance the output of their tenants to achieve success: overdeveloping one aspect might make a dent in the bank account (leading to bankruptcy), cut the arrival of new workers (putting a strain on existing teams), prevent deceased tenants from being replaced (leaving houses vacant, eventually having them turn into a flaming pile of rubble not before giant cockroaches settle in), or decrease police and mob favors (necessary to patrol areas against undesirables and gangster actions).

The difficulty level affects what maps can be selected, but also which actions the undesirables can perform. To choose higher difficulty settings, more computer players (up to three) must be activated.

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Credits (DOS version)

57 People (55 developers, 2 thanks) · View all

Writing / Dialogue / Story
Original Concept / Main Graphics
Design Consultant
Executive Producer
Lead Graphics Artists
Storyboard Artist
Music / SFX
Graphics
Map Design
System 3 QA
System 3 Admin
Manual
Special Thanks To
[ full credits ]

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Development

The original game idea started life on the Amiga in the early 90s, but that interpretation was never anywhere near completed.

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 3876

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kirschsaft.

PlayStation 3 added by Charly2.0. Linux added by Cavalary. PS Vita added by GTramp. PlayStation, Windows added by chirinea. Macintosh added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Alaka, Martin Smith, Patrick Bregger, Plok, firefang9212.

Game added May 29th, 2001. Last modified February 22nd, 2023.