More details about the upcoming SimCity unveiled at GDC

Yesterday EA announced the return of the SimCity series. Maxis is developing the new game at its Emeryville, California studio and is planning to release it for PCs in 2013. Now more details about the nature and content of the game have hit the web.

Senior VP of Maxis Lucy Bradshaw said the goal was to "introduce [SimCity] to a new generation of gamers."

Bradshaw hinted at integration with smartphones, although she did not confirm connectivity with the platform. "We have so much to take advantage of in terms of how PCs have advanced," she said. "Little phones that have the technology of the computers we shipped SimCity 4 on."

The fully realized 3D graphics, a first for the series, will take the SimCity from "something that was very painterly in the past to something that is tactile and physical." However, Bradshaw denies that the company is trying to design an overly complex game. Rather, Maxis hopes to develop "the most playful and responsive SimCity" instead.

"What you see is what we sim" is the new motto for the game. Bradshaw explained the matra means that the company is "tying everything that we're running in the simulation to the visuals."

Through gameplay, the upcoming SimCity will show how finite global resources and decisions can change the entire world.