‘The Sims 4’.Photo:Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
The Simshas a lot to celebrate on its 25th birthday.
WhenThe Sims 1was first released in 2000, not even some of the game’s most senior developers knew it would be as long-lasting of a favorite as it has been. But as the franchise has progressed, releasing three subsequent iterations, it’s put identity at the forefront of its messaging.
“It’s always been part of the DNA ofThe Simsbecause our goal is that every person on the planet should be able to represent themselves the way they want in this game,” Dave Miotke, who has been a production director forThe Simssince 2007, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Obviously we’re not there, but it’s always on our mind as a very important goal that everybody should be able to see themselves in this game.”
David Miotke and Lyndsay Pearson.Electronic Arts (2)
Electronic Arts (2)
Miotke and his colleague, VP Franchise Creative Lyndsay Pearson (who has been with Electronic Arts since 2002), are reflecting on the game’s continued resonance with players ahead of its 25th anniversary. Pearson, who was initially a quality assurance tester forThe Sims 1, notes that the game’s focus on representation became prominent as EA developed the second game.
“[In]The Sims 1it was really difficult to keep those Sims alive, so there wasn’t as much focus at the time necessarily on self-expression, but that’s where players started to push it,” Pearson recounts. “And they started to mod it. They started to useSims 1tools to put in their own skins and outfits, and you really got the sense that like, oh, people are projecting into this, this layer of storytelling and expression that we didn’t foresee.”
‘The Sims 2’.Electronic Arts
She says that development from the first game’s players made them “more cognizant” of players’ desires to see themselves in the game, so the developers became “more intentional” in inclusion.
“We’re seeking different points of view, different backgrounds, different experiences, and trying to reflect them,” she shares. “It’s not a one-for-one, but it’s like, how do we take commonalities across experiences and find what is the same that can give you a starting point to let you infer and map out your personal experience?”
The games have also created a safe space for players to experiment with some of life’s common threads, adding a bit of “zaniness” to even more morbid or taboo topics. Death, for example, has been part of the game’s DNA since its beginning. Even as the goal evolved from keeping the Sims alive to creating a sandbox for the players to experiment in, many who have playedThe Simshave a murderous anecdote.
“Every time I meet different teams or we have meetings with other companies, people are always like, ‘I have to tell you that I definitely drowned a Sim at some point,’ “ Pearson recounts. “I was like, ‘Don’t worry, everybody does.’ “
“I think it allows you to touch on important serious real-world topics, but in a way that’s super approachable,” Miotke says. “So whether you’re talking about death or sexuality or self-discovery or expression,The Simsis like a playground to experiment with those things. It can be really serious topics, but you’re able to do it in a way that feels playful and takes some of that seriousness away from it.”
‘The Sims 1’.Electronic Arts
“I’ll start crying if I talk about some of the stories of people that have helped get through concepts of death withThe Simsand their loved ones,” Miotke adds.
The Simshas remained an evergreen staple in the gaming space, and despite being a title that leaves much of the story up the player, Margot Robbie has already declared that she’sproducing a movie based onThe Simsfranchise. Both Pearson and Miotke comment on the “magic” of its continued relevance to players of all ages, who each approach it in different ways depending on their stage of life.
“There is a constant stream of people coming intoThe Simswhere it is new to them. At one point we talked about the fact that every day is day one for a lot of players,” Pearson says.
“Even withThe Simsbeing what it is, you can tell a story [where] if you’ve never opened the game or ever played the game, you understand the story,” Pearson says. “That on-ramp is so easy to say, ‘Oh yeah, I get what it means when people have a relationship fall apart,’ or ‘I get what it means to have a crazy kitchen fire,’ or whatever. They get those moments even if they’ve never seen them in the game.”
‘The Sims 4’.Electronic Arts
The most recent installment,The Sims 4, was released in September 2014 – making the game almost 11 years old. Though it’s not the only video game to have a lifespan that long, EA has maintained that instead of focusing its efforts on creating a new iteration for the franchise, its focus is on optimizing the game it already has, adding more packs and expansions to cater to players’ ever-evolving wants and needs.
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The Sims 4was made free-to-play in October 2022, making the base title accessible for all players to dive into, regardless of their age, experience, or gaming platform of preference. The dozens of expansion and stuff packs that allow the game to be customized can then be purchased individually, allowing the players to individually craft their respective gaming experiences.
“The Simsis a game I think supersedes gaming, ‘cause it is about life and it allows you to experiment and try things out in a super safe environment while still being zany and fun and silly,” Miotke says. “It’s very safe and approachable, but the way people connect with the game is pretty meaningful and not something that you typically see with video games. So it’s really surprising and special to see what it means to people.”
“I think something that’s easy to forget aboutThe Simsis just how many things we did first.The Simsreally changed what life simulation games were, and there’s lots of different flavors of that nowadays,” Pearson says. “I think that we have been at the forefront of representing a world that does have less judgment and more opportunity and more inclusivity in games.”
source: people.com
