TIL that Chevron commissioned the makers of SimCity to create an oil refinery simulation, SimRefinery, in 1993. It was never released to the public.
If there are any former Chevron employees out there sitting on an old copy, I would absolutely love to see that shit.
If there are any former Chevron employees out there sitting on an old copy, I would absolutely love to see that shit.
Here’s like, the only article that ever mentions it—an interview with Will Wright from 1994. He describes SimRefinery as “for the accountants and managers who walked through this refinery every day and didn't know what these pipes were carrying” wired.com/1994/01/wright/
And here’s a talk he gave at Stanford elaborating that Chevron commissioned the game “because they thought that it would give their employees useful experience in toxic waste disaster management.”
h/t @lazygamereviews for dropping this knowledge bomb art.net/~hopkins/Don/s…
h/t @lazygamereviews for dropping this knowledge bomb art.net/~hopkins/Don/s…
OK, I hopped on the internet archive and found a few more articles and references — including a NASA technical report describing the existence not only of SimRefinery, but "SimSite," a toxic waste cleanup simulator, and "SimPower," a power grid simulator. THE MORE YOU KNOW. 
