"The Sims" started off just like
any other computer game, but grew into an instant hit. With expansion packs, deluxe
editions, online versions, console versions, and a sequel, "The Sims" has grown
from a computer game to a way of life. The Sims skyrocketed to the top of the
charts when it began shipping to stores in February 2000 and has quickly become
a universal gaming and cultural phenomenon. "The Sims" was the best selling PC
game of both 2000 and 2001 and is now the best selling PC game of all time. Translated
into 16 different languages, "The Sims" has inspired many expansion packs; "Livin'
Large", "House Party", "Hot Date", "Vacation", "Unleashed", "Superstar", and "Makin'
Magic". Its combined sales for the franchise have topped 15 million units life-to-date.
Plus a huge sequel version, "The Sims 2", released 5 years after the original's
release. But where did this idea come from? Who came up with it? Why?
Will Wright grew up in Atlanta, Georgia where his childhood hobbies were similar
to his future work. He started out being "obsessed" with building models, which
led to an interest in robotics and computers. Though he never finished college,
at age 22 Wright began designing computer games and quickly broke away from the
pack. When Will was only 22, he moved to the West Coast and created his first
game: "Raid on Bungling Bay". It was a Commodore 64 title that allowed players
to fly a helicopter around an island. The game wasn't particularly memorable,
but it was a stepping-stone to the game that would really put Wright on the map:
that game was "SimCity". Will Wright said "I found very quickly that I was having
more fun creating the islands for the program than I was bombing them in the game,
and that was what evolved into the idea of 'SimCity'".
"SimCity" was
Wright's first taste of success. In "SimCity"' you play a combination between
mayor, city planer, and God. They've sold millions and millions of copies worldwide
that have been translated into a number of different languages, but success wasn't
so assured when Wright pitched the concept for "SimCity". There were no takers.
"City planning just doesn't sound that interesting, but when you're actually the
one making all the decisions and deciding where to put the freeways, all of a
sudden it gets extremely interesting," Wright said. To get the game published,
Wright and a friend started their own company, which they called Maxis, and released
it themselves. Unlike many video games, whose sales peak for the first six months,
"SimCity" continued to sell for years. With "SimCity" being such a big hit Maxis
started a whole series of "SIM" games.
One of the first SIM games Maxis
made was "Sim Ant". It was a game where players controlled ants in an ant colony;
they gathered food, dug tunnels, matted, and battled with other ants. Wright was
pleased with it because the game worked with recreating the behavioral models
of the ants. He wondered whether it was possible to assign similar behaviors to
humans in a video game, but at the time technology would not be able to handle
such a complicated artificial intelligence. Maxis moved on to other projects in
the SIM series after "Sim Ant"; like Sim Farm, Sim Earth, Sim Tower, Sim Town,
and many more.
Maxis than made an inevitable follow-up to "SimCity"
when they produced "SimCity 2000" in 1994. Just like the original, "SimCity 2000"
was a hit. The game was a better looking, more in-depth version of "Sim City".
The game had the same concept but gave the player more to control, and play with.
Maxis also made "Sim Town". Which was basically called "a juvenile version
of Sim City 2000". One feature that the game had was the ability to create and
manage specific Sims that wander around town. These Sims have their personalities
created by the player (including their clothes, favorite food, and even their
favorite saying). Unlike in "SimCity", buildings do not grow from zones, but each
building, garden, road, path, and everything else is placed individually by the
player. There are disasters, and other problem that may face the player, but for
the most part it was a children's version of SimCity. This idea of watching the
people in the city stuck with Will Wright.
After "SimCity 2000" was
released Maxis had finally decided on their next project: "SimCopter", an innovative
game that would let players a pilot helicopter through the cities they had created
in "SimCity 2000" while working on completing missions. This game allowed players
to travel through a 3D version of their cities as a "sim" pilot, and help other
"Sims" in the city. "SimCopter" did well mainly because of the big fan base of
"SimCity 2000" were keen on seeing their cities in full 3D.
"After Maxis
made 'SimCopter', I think everyone thought SimCity 3000 would be in 3D," explained
Wright. The problem was that the existing 3D technology simply wasn't capable
of handling SimCity's microscopic level of detail. Although Maxis did start work
on "SimCity 3000" as a full 3D game. But all the tests failed, so "SimCity 3000"
became a little simpler; it was an updated, better looking, and more detailed
version of "SimCity 2000". The "SimCity" series was keeping Maxis alive, but Will
Wright always thought it would be nice to play a game where you build a house
rather than a city. Around that time Will Wright was reading a lot of architectural
books that helped him work on the idea of customizing and building houses.
Will Wright thought he could combine his ideas from "Sim Ant", and his architectural
knowledge, and make a game where you control people in homes that you build, and
design. While Wright could never get his idea for a dollhouse game off the ground,
which he had originally dubbed "Home Tactics: The Experimental Domestic Simulator."
By 1993, a prototype of "Home Tactics" was ready, and Will Wright pitched the
project to the Maxis executives during a focus group. That day, four different
game ideas were on the table. Wright's dollhouse game was the only one that was
met with universal rejection. Almost overnight, "Home Tactics" was shifted to
the back burner, with only Wright working on it in his spare time.
Maxis
picked up Wright's "Home Tactics" idea and started putting them to work by 1999.
The game evolved from many different ideas and stages. One of the many working
titles for the game was "Sim Doll House". It wasn't until later that it would
get the name "The Sims", which was the name of the citizens and people from SimCity
and other SIM games were called. Project designers tried to find a balance between
the focuses of building, sim's moods, reactions, and interactions. The game ranged
from wanting to be cartoon-like, to trying to very life-like. After many tests,
and hard work, Maxis finally felt they found the right mix with the looks, movement,
objects, and feel of "The Sims". Maxis tried to keep comedy and fun in the game,
while keeping a somewhat realistic feel to it as well.
Maxis wanted
this game to be another success, so they started building up a fan basis before
the game was even released. They had weekly web-cam events, and chats at TheSims.com.
They released customization tools, like "The Sims HomeCrafter" and "Facelift",
before the game's release to excite fans and give them a taste of the game's features.
After showing the game as several computer game trade shows, Maxis had got some
great reviews on this new game. But still some reviewers felt that a game about
everyday life; a game with no guns, cars, objectives, levels, or even a way of
winning, would not be a success. Maxis had no real idea of what to except from
the public with the game, but with an already growing fan following Maxis released
"The Sims" in February 2000.
In "The Sims" you build the home of your
dreams with powerful architectural design tools and decorate walls and floors
in any style. Create your own private paradise with landscaping tools Then buy
hot tubs, swimming pools, topiaries, pool tables, giant-screen TV's and over 150
other different objects to furnish your homes and keep your Sims happy. And then
live it. Create an endless variety of characters and families. Follow a wide range
of career paths. Make friends, have conversations, insult neighbors, fall in love,
have children, build skills to advance in your job and life, and also you have
a lot of fun. "The Sims" was a hit, and after it went to #1 on game sales charts
for several consecutive weeks, Maxis got another great idea; expansion packs.
Maxis went to work creating "The Sims Livin' Large". Instead of making
a new game they made an expansion pack, a product that would add new features
to the game, but would require the original game to play. "Livin' Large" would
add new objects, skins, characters, and other features to owners of the original
Sims. "Livin' Large" was released in September 2001, and was a hit. Owners of
"The Sims" jumped for joy when they learned they could get new objects, skins,
characters, interactions, neighborhoods, careers, and more. Maxis saw an opening
to franchise the series and grow the game. So they didn't stop with one expansion,
they when on to make another one.
After "The Sims Livin' Large" created
big sales in late 2001, Will Wright and Maxis got right to work with creating
"The Sims: House Party". "House Party" was in production for just a few months,
and in April 2001 (7 months after "Livin' Large") "House Party" hit the store
shelves. Players again were excited about more objects, skins, interactions, neighborhoods,
and characters for their game.
Than Maxis started on a new project called
"SimsVille". It would be a game that sat halfway between "SimCity" and "The Sims"
(Similar to "SimTown"). Like "SimCity", you would run a growing urban development,
adding shops and civil amenities on a fixed budget, except it's a lot closer and
more personal. In fact, you could actually look at every citizen in your town,
what their interests and needs are, and how well they're doing right now. However
you wouldn't be able to control these people directly the way you do in "The Sims".
Rather you have to respond to their wants and needs, growing the town's commerce
and character, or arranging to buy things for individual families. The game was
about 60% complete when Maxis pulled the plug on the game, and canceled it. The
whole reason Maxis had come up with the idea for "SimsVille" was due to feedback
from "The Sims" players, who were asking to see the lives of their Sims outside
the house. They were sick of being stuck indoors, and while that aspect of "The
Sims" was still fun, players wanted to know what goes on in their Sims' lives
outside their homes. The gameplay of "SimsVille" had too much micro-management;
you had too many details to pay attention to. Maxis felt the game would be a flop.
So they came up with "The Sims: Hot Date", another expansion pack for "The Sims".
"Hot Date" let players do everything they've been asking for, like hang out at
a bar, have a picnic downtown, go shopping, and so on. Maxis found that "Hot Date"
had more fun in it than what Maxis had in "SimsVille".
"The Sims Hot
Date" allowed your Sims to go to a new downtown area to date, eat, buy stuff,
hang out, and have fun! "The Sims Hot Date" was released in November 2001, and
was one fans favorite expansion packs. Maxis had given them what the wanted, locations
out of the house. The new downtown area was a success, players loved building
and visiting shops, stores, bars, restaurants, parks, and more. Around the same
time, Maxis put out some other games in the SIM series, like SimCoaster, and SimGolf,
they did fine in the market, but "The Sims" was still the #1 seller.
After an expansion like "Hot Date", Maxis needed to keep up with the fan's demands,
and released a new game. That game would be "The Sims Vacation". "Vacation" would
add an all-new Vacation Island area. Vacation Island was similar to the downtown
area added in "Hot Date", except the whole family could visit, and you could stay
overnight in the new locations. The game added a ton of new objects, interactions,
skins, characters, terrains, and options to "The Sims".
In early September
2002 Maxis stopped producing "The Sims" and "Livin' Large", and made "The Sims
Deluxe Edition". "Deluxe Edition" included both "The Sims" and "The Sims: Livin'
Large" in one package. Plus owners of the new "Deluxe Edition" got a new program
that allowed for easy skin making, "The Sims Creator". The game also included
a small collection of new objects, wallpapers, floors, and skins. It was Maxis'
way of getting new players into the all ready huge world of "The Sims".
The series was doing great, but Maxis always felt there was something missing
from "The Sims" since it was created. Fans also agreed, so in their next expansion
pack Maxis added the highly anticipated pets. "The Sims Unleashed" was one of
the biggest expansions Maxis made. It brought furry friend to the family. Cats
and dogs were added to the world of "The Sims". The pack had all kinds of pet
oriented objects and of course tons of pets. Along with pets "Unleashed" added
the all-new Old Town expanded neighborhood. In Old Town players could rezone lots
to build houses on residential lots, or build shops, stores, parks, and more on
community lots.
Within the first year, "The Sims" became Maxis' biggest
hit. The game spawned an entire online community of players who created unique
objects and skins. "It was very inspirational to me to see all the creativity
online," says Wright. So when he was considering what to do next, the success
of the online fan community gave him an idea: Why not take The Sims online? Maxis
came up with the idea of "The Sims Online", a game where you could interact with
other sims that were controlled by other real people around the world. Wright
and his team came up with a simple idea for "The Sims Online" that could be executed
in a matter of months; they planned release an expansion pack for "The Sims" that
would let you place your house online. In the original idea you would build your
house off-line and then open it up for online players to come and visit. To visit
someone else's house you'd actually connect directly to that player's computer.
The idea seemed like a good compromise: It would be quick to develop, and would
give the game online functionality. But Will Wright started to realize that the
online expansion pack idea wasn't going to fully capture his vision for an online
Sims game. "If we were just letting people set up houses as servers, there would
be no macro level--no real economy in the world or the concept of neighbors. I
realized that my vision for the game was about half Sims Online and half SimCity
Online, this game would only bring the Sims part."
Wright and his team
decided to merge the already started project "SimCity Online" (which they also
started to think twice about) and "The Sims Online" into one full-fledged massively
multiplayer game. In "The Sims Online", Wright wanted to reward the creativity
of players. "People should be successful because they are making the game interesting
to each other," Wright explained, "So if a player created an interesting house
that attracted hundreds of visitors a day, they should earn money for this popularity,
which in turn would allow them to be even more creative." In addition, Wright
was intrigued by the social angle of online games: He wanted to encourage players
to interact and chat with each other. This led to the concept of players being
able to co-own a home with up to seven roommates. "In many ways, I wanted to make
some parts of the game slow and boring so you'd be encouraged to talk with others"
Wright said.
By the summer of 2002, the team behind The Sims Online
had worked on the game for more than two years. Now the game entered its most
critical phase: the play test. Unlike single-player games, which are rarely tested
on consumers before their release, a massively multiplayer game has to go through
lots of consumer testing. The decision to do a play test is for both technical
and creative reasons. The development team has to test the game's servers to see
if they can handle thousands of users on it at one time. On the creative end,
the team needs to see if the design will meet with acceptance from consumers.
That last point is especially important for an online game, since consumers are
expected to pay a $10 monthly subscription fee to keep playing. "The Sims Online"
is not just a game; it is also a service. "The Sims Online" is constantly being
an updated with new patches, features, objects, and more added to the service.
"The Sims Online" was released in late 2002. People everywhere were
able to play a game where a real person plays every Sim. Sims meet, chat, explore,
and live together in a large cities, and the players design every location. Players
can build a house, a club, a business, a park, or whatever you can imagine, while
chatting and playing with other real players.
Along with taking "The
Sims" to the online community, Maxis took "The Sims" to another audience and another
platform in early 2003. Maxis created a version of "The Sims" for PlayStation
2, X-Box, and GameCube consoles! The new game had many features that the original
computer version had. The biggest change was it was entirely 3D. Plus the game
came with level based gameplay, and two-player modes. Players now worked on "missions"
to make money, unlock objects, and travel to other homes.
After years
of relying on the success of "The Sims", Maxis returned to the series that put
the company on the map. 13 years after the original release of "SimCity", Will
Wright and Maxis started work on "SimCity 4". "'SimCity 2000' and 'SimCity 3000'
were basically elaborate revisions of the first game," said Maxis game producer.
"We're doing more than just giving "SimCity 4" an updated look and some new features."
The game had a whole new game engine, and made creating a city much more realistic.
SimCity 4 is being developed using a brand-new 3D engine that gives the game a
living, breathing look. With the huge popularity of "The Sims" and the cancellation
of "SimsVille" Maxis got a great idea for a new feature to the game. "SimCity
4" enclosed a new "My Sim" feature. This allows players to import Sims from "The
Sims" and move them into their city. The game allows you to easily track, follow,
and find your Sims in the game. The Sims you add to the game will act like spies
to the mayor, they will tell how they feel, what they want, and what they need.
It allows players to put a face and name with problems, of what to work on and
make the game a whole lot more fun. A sim who lives in a neighborhood with no
schools nearby will complain about lack of education, and will also result in
they getting a bad job. The feature help bring Maxis' top two games together in
a fun and useful way. "SimCity 4" was released in January of 2003, and was, like
all the SimCities before, a huge hit.
With the big return of a game
in the "SimCity" series, Maxis turned back to "The Sims" for their next release.
In February 2003 Maxis announced its plan for the 6th expansion pack for "The
Sims", " The Sims Superstar". Players had been asking for years for the ability
to follow their Sims to work; yet Maxis could never figure out how to make most
careers interesting. "Players don't want to watch their Sims do paper work, and
other careers that require constant change of setting, like firefighter or police,
would not work with the current game engine", a Maxis employee recalled. With
"Superstar" Maxis found a path that would allow players to take their Sims to
work. Your Sims can become celebrities and live life like one. "The Sims Superstar"
was released in May 2003. Players could take their Sims to Studio Town where they
could head down a career path of fashion, acting, or music. Plus, like all the
other expansion packs, "Superstar" added new characters, objects, skins, and more
for the players.
In September 2003 Maxis replaced "The Sims Deluxe",
which included "The Sims" and "Livin' Large", with "The Sims Double Deluxe". "Double
Deluxe" included "The Sims", "Livin' Large", and "House Party" in one package.
Plus "The Sims Creator", and some other new objects, wallpapers, floors, and skins
(which were also made available to download from TheSims.com for existing owners
of "The Sims"). Again Maxis was trying to get people who haven't experienced "The
Sims" into the "The Sims" universe.
Maxis also returned to "SimCity"
again, but this time not to make another sequel, but instead to grow on their
already successful "SimCity 4". Maxis announced that they were working on "SimCity
4: Rush Hour", and expansion pack for "SimCity 4". The expansion pack focused
mainly on transportation features. New roads, rail options, plus much more was
added, along with new buildings, themes, and more. Maxis also brought part of
"SimCopter" back with new mission you can solve in the game. Players can control
all kinds of vehicles in their cities to earn rewards for completing tasks. Players
can take direct control of the fire trucks and pursue the quickest route a fire
where the help put it out. Players can also solve missions such as catching car-jackers
and thwarting bank robbers to earn reward buildings and other vehicles. The new
"U-Drive-it" missions brought new control to players. Plus in "Rush Hour" the
"My Sim" mode isn't just about Sims posting messages about his needs, wants, and
life anymore. It was expanded to include every pedestrian walking down the sidewalk,
and the cars driving by. Maxis added the ability to interview Sims and read their
thoughts about your city, drive Sims' cars, choose their jobs and houses, and
much more. Along with "SimCity 4: Rush Hour", Maxis also released "SimCity 4:
Deluxe Edition". "SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition" included both "SimCity 4" and "Rush
Hour". "SimCity 4: Rush Hour" and "SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition" were released in
September 2003.
The final and seventh expansion pack, for "The Sims"
was released in October 2003. Maxis created "The Sims Makin' Magic". The expansion
was unlike many of the ones before, because it added an unrealistic characteristic
to "The Sims". "Makin' Magic" gave Sims fairy tale-like magic ability and objects.
You could turn your neighbor into a frog, or send your clone to school. A new
cast of crazy characters were added, and tons of new objects. "Makin' Magic" included
over 175 new objects, the largest amount ever included in one expansion pack.
In December 2003, Maxis created another console version of "The Sim"
with "The Sims: Bustin' Out", The game was similar to the original console game.
It had all new level based gameplay, two-player mode, open ended play, objects,
skins and characters. Plus it allowed players to buy cars, scooters, and bikes
to travel out of the house. There were all kinds of new locations to explore.
"Bustin' Out" also took real advantage of the consoles' abilities. Players on
the PlayStation 2 platform could connect to the Internet and play with gamers
all over the globe, exchange objects, Sims, and more. The game was released on
GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 (just like the original console game), and also
on Nintendo's GameBoy Advance. The GameBoy Advance version of "The Sims" was a
whole new frontier. Players could now take their Sims everywhere they went. The
graphics were a bit lower, but the fun of the game was still there. Plus if you
own the GameCube version of "The Sims: Bustin' Out" players are able to use a
link cable, to exchange Sims from one version to another. In the GameBoy Advanced
version, players are able to control a sim, meet and talk with other Sims, solve
missions, and become successful, while trying to keep the Sim's mood and skills
up.
Maxis announced in early 2003 that they were beginning work on "The
Sims 2", a huge sequel to "The Sims". Just like the success of "SimCity 2000"
Maxis knew that "The Sims 2" would be a big hit. "The Sims 2" brought all kinds
of new features, options, and looks to "The Sims". The biggest change was the
graphics. The Sims in "The Sims 2" were now 3-D and had much more realistic features.
In "The Sims 2" Sims age through 6 different stages of life, and their physical
characteristics change depending their life style. New facial expressions and
body gestures were added to the Sims. The game gives players an indication of
how well they're doing with a new life score feature, which score Sims' lives
as they go through important events in their lives such as a first crush, marriage,
and even their first steps as a baby. The Sims in this version of "The Sims" also
have DNA, and pass their looks onto their children. "The Sims 2" was a big leap
forward in technology and gameplay. Maxis worked hard on "The Sims 2", with tons
of online promotions, pre-release programs, and promoting, finally in early 2004
"The Sims 2" hit shelves.
So what is next for "The Sims"? It's hard
to tell now. You could probably count on a couple expansions for "The Sims 2",
a few more console releases. Will Maxis make a "The Sims 3" and "SimCity 5"? Who
knows? It's hard to say what the future will bring. But with over 30 million players,
it does not look like "The Sims" is going to disappear anytime soon.
|
