Former SimCity dev launches Patreon for Cities: Skylines content
Former Maxis artist Bryan Shannon, who worked on SimCity as well as its expansion, has taken to playing and creating buildings for the recently released Cities: Skylines. Bryan launched a Patreon campaign, so that he can justify spending time away from job searching to create content for the hit game.Explaining the reasoning behind the Patreon campaign, Bryan wrote, “I'd love to generate content for a community that loves to mod their games, but the process takes a bit of time that takes away from my job search. So while I'm on the lookout for full-time work, or contracts as they come up, this is something I feel like we can all enjoy!”He outlined that developing a building takes between 15 and 30 hours depending on its size and complexity. Patreon allows fans to donate to Bryan for each building that he completes. He has released two so far on Steam Workshop: "Coal Power Plant 01" and "In-and-Out Burger."EA shut down Maxis Emeryville earlier this month; Bryan was laid off in its final months and is currently between jobs. However, there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel. Bryan posted his first art mod on Reddit and a Paradox employee encouraged him to apply for a position. It’s far from a concrete job offer, but hopefully it leads to something.Cities: Skylines appears to be scratching the itch of city-building fans and its modding community. The title sold more than 500,000 in its first 24 hours of release, making it the most successful Paradox launch, and is being extensively modded. Already, users have recreated Grand Theft Auto V’s Los Santos.Former Maxis artist Bryan Shannon has launched a Patreon campaign for his Cities: Skylines content to help tide him over as he job hunts.
