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Interview with The Sims Creator

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the getting-to-know dept.

An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet has just posted an interview with Will Wright, the creator of The Sims, in conjunction with the launch of The Sims 2. In it, Wright explains that users will be able to bond better and get more emotionally attached thanks to a new 3D engine. He also makes special mention of the 7 Deadly Sims as one of his favorite user-created sites."

8 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. If this isn't a dupe... by Kris_J · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... it should be. Maybe if we had more paid advertising like this story has to be, we wouldn't need the ad banners.

    1. Re:If this isn't a dupe... by moonbender · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Huh? That's a totally different story, and it was posted more than a week - ages in Slashdot time - ago. I think there were a lot more stories about Doom 3, and The Sims 2 is just (subjectively) a much better game than that, with (objectively) way more complex gameplay. It's also the successor to the best selling PC game, which alone makes it significant. The notion that this comes close to advertising is ridiculous.

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  2. Why the Sims is not elite ... by 2TecTom · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ok, so the game has sold a bizillion copies, yes it's big game. However, it's not considered seriously by the "leet". Why? IMHO, I think it's simply that there's no mad skillz involved. It's simply too shallow. In fact, in some ways, when compared to SimCity, The Sims is even less challenging.

    It's a shame really because it could be so much more. I'd be interested more if The Sims was more of a character engine than just a single game. It would be cool if we had a way to develop characters that was as evolved as the way we display them in 3D. If Will was as far advanced as John Carmack is in 3D, the inner and interpersonal depth and authenticity would rival a real experience. Think bots as good at interacting socially as they do with a shoddy!

    Then Will and the mod community could extend this and enable the engine to plug into other games in order to suport complex characterizations. But why stop with games Will, plug into everything, IM's, desktops, forums, web communities, etc. Let a Sims engine, or some other more Open Standard project, become the Avatar standard. It would be most excellent to create bots which could respond based on certain 'dispositions'. I'd like to have a semi-intelligent reception bot screen my calls for instance. Couldn't a Sim handle that?

    Not only that, but let's say you made this psycologically accurate. Could you model a relationship in order to find real solutions? For instance, could you use it to model the arguments you have with your spouse, in order to experiment with how far you could go before they leave you?

    Anyways, I digess ...

    By the way, Will, when I can I put my Sims in my SimCity, on my SimPlanet with my SimFarms and SimTowns and then connect them to SimWorld? Oh, and when can I wander around it all in 3D?

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    1. Re:Why the Sims is not elite ... by moonbender · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Why? IMHO, I think it's simply that there's no mad skillz involved.

      Whatever. Maybe they're not "mad skillz", but try telling a friend of mine whose (virtual) wife just died and who can't get his toddler to learn to walk that this is an easy game. I found raising two toddlers and one infant at the same time quite strenuous myself. The Sims can be a quite challenging game if you're willing (or careless enough) to create challenging situations.

      The Sims is not considered leet because it did sell a lot of copies, because it appeals to the masses and the masses are per definition non-leet. The Sims is not considered leet because it doesn't try to hide the fact that it's essentially a virtual doll house - although it's really quite similar to most CRPGs (minus the fighting) who do try to hide that fact. Think of it as doll house versus action figures. (Key notion I just got.) Or perhabs rather Lego versus action figures, because like Legos The Sims is just an extremely open and creative game.

      [W]hen I can I put my Sims in my SimCity

      In a very halk-baked way, you already can. I assume SC4 doesn't support importing The Sims 2 characters, though. What I found very interesting that The Sims 2 actually supports importing SimCity 4 areas. Not the city itself, just the terrain with some streets and bridges, but still. Allows people to make use of SC4's great terraforming engine to create The Sims 2 neighbourhoods.
      And as for SimPlanet, man I would love to see a Sim Earth remake. I think it was the first Sim * game I played (in English, without knowing a word) and it was awesome. It's really a shame they never made a sequel. I always dreamed of that SimCity in SimNation on SimEarth design you mentioned when I was playing the original SimCity and SimEarth.

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  3. Great post by superultra · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Perhaps inadvertently, "The Sims" seemed to me as indictment of materialism.

    Quite an intriguing statement, and you're probably right. But I think that Wright's design is open enough that, theoritically, your goal could be to have a happy sim in a small house with a limited number of objects. It could very well be done. Perhaps the game is designed not so much as an indictment but as a reflection. We think that happiness comes from material, so we obviously think that that's the way the Sims works. Maybe Sims 2 doesn't have to be that way. In Sims, you didn't have to either. It was certainly more difficult, but you could depend on other Sims for happiness instead of objects. Not at unlike a modern American society.

    Besides, we're back to the whole sand house/doll house things. What kid do you know of spends their time building a shovel instead of a massive dump truck, or how many Barbies buy a reasonably priced used Ford escort instead of a corvette?

    1. Re:Great post by klmth · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, as it turns out, the game heavily emphasizes physical needs in the beginning of you character's career, but as the game progresses, the shift turns towards social needs. So in effect, it forces you to turn towards other Sims for happiness.

  4. genre cliches by mausmalone · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Instead of genre staples such as lobbing grenades or casting spells, the game asked players to get excited about tasks such as personal hygiene and interior design.
    Okay, it's got no grenades or spells, but it's not in a war or fantasy genre. Sims is a micromanagement game, and it has all the cliches of a micromanagement game. In fact, it all comes down to maximizing profit and minimizing losses. In this case, maximizing your character's happiness.
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  5. Maybe I just don't get it by DeDmeTe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Really.. c'mon, what makes this game so much fun? I tried to play Sims 1 when it came out.. I just couldn't get into it. To much micro-managment and not enough "fun". However. my wife LOVED it. She spent countless hours playing that game... she'd play while talking to her girlfriend on the phone (while her girlfreind was playing) and they'd talk about what was happening with their sims. Jesus... it's pretend life. I finally had to uninstall it so she could get back to her chores :-) (that was a joke) Anyway... I just don't see the entertainment value in this game.

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