# GDC 2012: Breaking down SimCity's Glassbox engine

*Source* · `src-cifaldi-2012-glassbox-engine` · status: **n/a**

| field | value |
|---|---|
| kind | News |
| authors | Frank Cifaldi |
| venue | Game Developer |
| date | 2012-03-07 |
| url | https://gamedeveloper.com/design/gdc-2012-breaking-down-em-simcity-em-s-glassbox-engine |
| accessed | 2026-10-24 |

## Notes

Reports Andrew Willmott's GDC 2012 talk: units hold resource bins with capacities (a house with 20/30 food, 4/10 people); rules move or combine resources; agents carry resources, including units of water in pipes; maps hold depletable resources.

## Backlinks (computed)

**cited by:** [Production chains](../mechanic/production-chain.md), [SimCity (2013)](../game/simcity-2013.md), [Storage and buffers](../mechanic/storage-capacity.md)

## Citation

Frank Cifaldi (2012-03-07). *GDC 2012: Breaking down SimCity's Glassbox engine*. Game Developer https://gamedeveloper.com/design/gdc-2012-breaking-down-em-simcity-em-s-glassbox-engine

---
Provenance: created in run `2026-10-24-taxonomy-m1`.