Simon Parkin's article, In Search of the Keys to the Virtual City, he wishes to explain to the reader why the game in the article, Cites: Skylines, was so successful, using examples from the dedicated fan base, showing similarities to other games, and sharing his own experiences in the game. Parkin is an experienced journalist, writing for The New Yorker, BBC, ESPN, and more. This text was very likely written for those who might be considering purchasing Cities: Skylines, especially as a major expansion for the game was being created, which might increase the amount of people looking to buy the game.
Parkin opens up with his own experiences with the game, written in a humorous fashion that still introduces the readers to the way that Cities: Skylines plays. He also mentions the active community, 'who regularly share their urban-planning woes on online forums.' After describing his attempt at city planning gone wrong, Parkin starts to draw connection to other games of the city building genre, and gives reasons as to why Cities: Skylines as well as the genre itself tends to be so successful, such as using a quote from Bryan Shannon, an ex-member of the SimCity game, who explains, "We all have a rule book inside of ou head for how a city should be made...if you solve a complex problem that you accidentally created yourself, you feel like a genius for a brief moment." Simply put, it's for the satisfaction of solving issues that draws people into city builders, and keeps them there for years to come.
While Parkins does a fantastic job of the success of the genre, he fails at explaining the success of Cities: Skylines itself. However, it isn't a large issue, because the game is part of the genre, and was one that redefined the genre of city-builder. Thus, by describing reasons why city building in general is so popular, Parkins explains the appeals of Cities: Skylines as well, making him successful in the end of explaining the popularity of Cities: Skylines.
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