We've been doing this for years, picking out the best components, studying compatibility conflicts, and modifying cases for ourselves, family, or people willing to pay for our services. Building a PC can be traumatic or pleasant depending on the situation, but someone out there decided to turn it into a video game. It's called PC Building Simulator, and it's in a pre-alpha full of rough edges, but its potential is enormous.
Practice Before You Spend
Today, building a computer is very simple. The components are smaller, modular power supplies reduce the amount of cables inside the case, optical drives are no longer so relevant, and the compatibility pains with memory and graphics cards have decreased... in other words, there are many advantages that didn't exist several years ago. But if you've never done anything like that, I understand that the whole process is intimidating. Our experience comes mainly through trial and error, and even then there are times we have to learn the hard way, because a graphics card might be too long for a case, or we lack an auxiliary connector on the power supply. That said... what if you could practice before spending money?
Inside the Pre-Alpha
That's where the project called PC Building Simulator appears. All we have at our disposal is an empty case, and a list of components that we must install in the correct order. Its first pre-alpha includes a tutorial that guides us step by step, and also teaches us to control the camera. The parts inventory reveals a Thermaltake power supply, Seagate Barracuda hard drives, an Asus P8P67 motherboard, Kingston HyperX memory, and much more. The $2,000 balance isn't spent in the tutorial, and it's likely intended for the career mode that will arrive later.
A Promising Future
I must admit that PC Building Simulator amuses me a bit, because this was my job for years, and seeing it turned into a video game is very strange. Anyway, I think the key to its success will be going beyond a simple simulator. Even the most demanding enthusiasts have trouble checking if a liquid cooling system or a new graphics card will fit into a special case model. If in the future the game allows us to anticipate that before buying, it will be something formidable. PC Building Simulator is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac.
