Why LEGO Skylines Skipped Brick-by-Brick Building
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
LEGO Skylines developers considered full brick-by-brick building, but opted for customizable prefabs to keep the city-builder smooth and manageable.
Iceflake Studios and Paradox Interactive are bringing a fresh spin to the simulation genre with LEGO Skylines, blending traditional city-building mechanics with the universally recognized aesthetic of plastic bricks. Early previews show a charming experience where players zone areas, hook up utilities, and manage citizen happiness, but the initial reception highlights a familiar creative tension. Many players naturally want full brick-by-brick building control to construct elaborate, chaotic designs, but the developers deliberately chose a different path.
Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun at Gamescom, producer Joanna Ronkanen explained that true piece-by-piece construction proved to be too tedious for a full city-builder. When considering a simple object like a park bench made of fifty individual pieces, the team realized that managing that level of micro-assembly with a mouse and keyboard would quickly become a chore rather than fun. Instead, the studio opted for a system of customizable prefabs, allowing players to deck out buildings with modular elements like hot tubs and flowerbeds without getting bogged down in minute structural placement.
Even so, the developers promise there is more depth to uncover as players progress deeper into the game, keeping customizability as a core pillar of the experience. Game director Lasse Liljedahl hinted that additional brick-related features are still waiting in the wings, and official mod support could eventually open the door for more intricate construction. Whether modders or future updates will eventually satisfy the architects who want to build chaotic load-bearing towers out of random parts remains to be seen, but the current compromise focuses on keeping the simulation smooth and accessible.
Tags: LEGO Skylines, Strategy & Simulation, PC Gaming, Paradox Interactive
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun