Schlagwort: the sims

  • The Sims at 25: How an Iconic Series Kept Up with the Game of Life

    The Sims at 25: How an Iconic Series Kept Up with the Game of Life

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    25 years ago, The Sims made history with the first instalment of a legendary series that would go on to be one of the best-selling of all time. Few simulation games have enjoyed the success and longevity of The Sims – and the freedom and creativity to play with life however you want has afforded the series near-unrivalled appeal in the years since.

    This week, Electronic Arts is celebrating this milestone and the history of the series in a big way, which includes a huge The Sims 4 Free Content Update containing new Create a Sim options, clothing, Build/Buy Items and much more. The festivities will also include the limited-time Blast From The Past Event, which lets players earn revamped versions of iconic items from the original The Sims game via in-game goals.

    We had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Gibson, Production Director for The Sims at EA. Gibson has been working in production roles across the franchise since 2003, and has first-hand experience of how the series has evolved in that time. The studio is abuzz with excitement about the franchise’s birthday, and Gibson shares that digging deep into the series’ past to rediscover nostalgic highlights has been extremely rewarding.

    “Our incredible players have shown us that no one does life like The Sims, and we wanted to celebrate this journey we have been on together,” Gibson says. “25 years ago there was a game with an idea that made big a splash at E3, and look where we are today! We’ve been part of multiple generations and touched millions of lives.

    “We wouldn’t be here today without that, and we wanted to take a moment to pause and recognize all of our players – from those who were there at the E3 launch in 1999, to those that are brand new Simmers today enjoying The Sims 4 for the first time. All of the Simmers from all of the years and all of the different ways to play The Sims, are part of this 25-year journey, and this is our way of saying thank you.”

    Blast From The Past

    The Blast From The Past event is a particularly nostalgic look back at the early 2000s, bringing memorable clothing, furniture and decor from the early Sims games into The Sims 4. Among the items are some of my personal favourites, including two bold neon inflatable chairs, a three-tiered cake, and the fabulous light-up dancefloor where my young self also ordered many a Sim to boogie on down.

    A lot has happened in the world in 25 years too – in the year 2000, The Sims created a simulation in the image of real life. Now, that original game serves as a time capsule to a past life. For example, in the first game, putting a wired phone inside your home was a necessity. In The Sims 4, Sims carry their own mobile phones, brimming with services that can be accessed anywhere, just like us.

    “We’ve taken time to really explore the history of The Sims, going back to the roots and playing the original game, as well as exploring many of the previous game launches to remind ourselves of all the different ways people play with life,” Gibson tells us. “Everyone at the studio has had a different part of the franchise they cherish as meaningful to them, and the opportunity to share those moments with our players as part of the 25th birthday celebration has been a lot of fun.”

    Preserving the Spirit of The Sims

    The original The Sims was great fun, but often irreverent, difficult and downright wacky in the scenarios it presented. Your Sims could perish in freak accidents, their shrill screams piercing through your cheap PC speakers, all while another Sim is receiving a mysterious prank call about canoes. While The Sims has evolved to welcome a wider audience across two decades, its spirit remains largely unchanged, and this is something that the team has always wanted to preserve.

     “The Sims was hard. Your Sims died, a lot. However, a core concept of The Sims was that it was your story and the game provided the push back in a humorous way,” Gibson says, “The tradition of letting the player tell their story, while the game pokes at the edges with humor and challenge has been a key pillar of how we make decisions for the game.”

    The Sims 4 continues in that original spirit of serving the needs of the player and the story they are telling, while using comedy to enhance the story in new and different ways – your Sims can die, they can be ghosts, they can romance the Grim Reaper… or even become a Reaper themselves.

    Even at over a decade old, The Sims 4 continues to feel fresh, with a consistent roadmap of content packs and updates. The Sims as a franchise has always evolved over time, marking huge economical, societal and technological advancements inside its progression systems, and that is reflected in the recent Free Content Update.

    The Sims 4 team wanted to give our players something that felt more in line with today’s fashions and trends for clothing and decor,” Gibson adds. “We spent time doing a full review of our assets in the game, finding where there was room to draw inspiration from modern expectations of aesthetics and style that our players expect as part of the new content we wanted to add.”

    The Sims can draw from reality, fantasy and science fiction, romance, home decor, world culture, travel and so much more,” Gibson adds. “We’re always building onto this ever-growing toybox of options and experiences within The Sims. In addition, we have a large group of people who are all eager to share moments from their lived experiences and help bring authentic nuances to the game to help tell stories players are interested in telling.”

    The Sims team has also kept a close eye on community requests and discussions over the years, and lots of additions that have been made to The Sims 4 directly reflect what the players are asking for, a demonstrable commitment to building a game for everyone.

    “Our evolution has been fuelled constantly through listening to our players,” Gibson adds. “The Sims is about the player, the story they are trying to tell, the creative space they are trying to build within, and the expression they want to have within the game. We have evolved the most in the need to change and grow to meet our players expectations of this franchise and to reflect the world we all live in.

    “From the beginning, we’ve always sought to immerse our player community in this different version of the world we know, where they can experiment and explore, and express themselves. Across all our games and spin-offs, this core commitment to creativity and imagination has always remained true, and underlying it all is an enthusiastic, endlessly inspiring community.”

    The new The Sims 4 Free Content Update and Blast From The Past Event are available to play in The Sims 4 now. There are lots more Sims celebrations going on this week – be sure to visit the official website for more information. The Sims 4 base game is also free-to-play on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.

    The Sims™ 4

    Electronic Arts

    718

    Xbox One X Enhanced

    Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you! Download for free and customize every detail from Sims to homes, and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life! Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless. Play with life! Download for Free – The base game of The Sims™ 4 is free to download. Get a plethora of options for building homes, styling Sims, and customizing their personalities. Craft their life stories while exploring vibrant worlds and discovering more ways of being you all at no cost. Create Unique Sims – A variety of Sims are yours to personalize, each with distinct appearances, dynamic personalities, and inspiring aspirations. Use powerful customization features to bring your imagination to life. Create yourself, your favorite celebrities, your fantasy, or your friends! Change your Sims’ clothing to reflect your mood, develop stories that deepen your world, and give their lives purpose with traits and aspirations. Build the Perfect Home – Effortlessly build and design homes for your Sims in Build Mode. Construct the home of your – and their – dreams by planning its layout, choosing furnishings, and altering the landscape and terrain. You can even add a pool, basement, and garden, or rebuild with new ideas and designs! Play with Life – Control every moment of your Sims’ lives from their relationships to their careers. Your choices shape every aspect of their lives from birth into adulthood. Along the way, develop your Sims’ skills, pursue original hobbies, take them on adventures, start new families, and much more. Add New Experiences – Use the Gallery to find inspiration from a community of players just like you. Download and comment on your favorite Sims, homes, and designed rooms. Get More with EA Play – EA Play* members can expand their career possibilities with The Sims™ 4 Get to Work Expansion Pack *Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See tos.ea.com/legalapp/eaplay/US/en/PC/ for details. Conditions & restrictions apply. See ea.com/legal for details.

    Website: LINK

  • Live out your Star Wars dreams in The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

    Live out your Star Wars dreams in The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Grab your lightsaber — it’s time to visit Batuu, the planet inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, in The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu Game Pack*, which launches tomorrow on PlayStation 4.

    The Sims is about playing with life, and what’s more fun to play with than Star Wars? The team behind the new game pack are huge fans of the expansive universe. From lightsabers to droids to the alien species of the Outer Rim, the folks at Maxis have created a way for everyone to live out their Star Wars dreams through their Sims.

    Whether players dream of flying starships or winning games of sabaac, there’s something for everyone in The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu. It gives players and their Sims the opportunity to explore their own path and become part of the story. Sims can choose to sign on with the Resistance, pledge themselves to the First Order, use the conflict to profit as a scoundrel—or they can just soak in the atmosphere.

    “When we decided we were going to make a Star Wars pack,” says producer Antonio Romeo, “We were inspired by the storytelling of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and we were excited by the narrative possibilities of Batuu. We liked the idea that it was a new world that we have not yet fully explored in films and other digital media. There is so much rich lore and history about Black Spire Outpost that it felt like the perfect backdrop for The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu.”

    As Sims explore Batuu, players might recognize a few familiar places (and faces). Pump up the music and order a few Bespin Fizzes at Oga’s Cantina, and make sure to talk to DJ R-3X while you’re there. The famous pilot-droid-turned-DJ stands in as a guide for Sims who are new to Batuu. He’s got all the details about the factions and points of interest, as well as some special  secrets for players to discover.

    “In order to bring DJ R3-X to life, we brought in Paul Reubens (the original voice actor behind the droid) to record all of his lines in Simlish,” says Romeo. “He also threw in a couple of lines our Sims fans will appreciate.”

    DJ R-3X isn’t the only iconic character to show up. Sims who progress down the Resistance storyline get to meet Vi Moradi and may practice lightsaber sparring with Rey, while First Order Sims report to Lt. Agnon and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Those who dedicate themselves to the scoundrel path are headed for the heist of a lifetime with “reformed pirate” Hondo Ohnaka himself.

    Bringing Batuu to life for the game pack involved lots of research into the lore of the Star Wars universe, and close collaboration with the team at Lucasfilm. The developers built out a bevy of alien species—like Abednedos, Mirialians, Twi’leks, Niktos, Rodians, and Weequays—as well as droids players can customize for themselves. Personalize your own BB- or R-series astromech at the Droid Depot with various color, body, and head options, then give them a name and watch them come to life. You can even switch up their personalities with a selection of programming cards.

    Of course, the most important Star Wars artifact is the lightsaber, and Sims on Batuu get to build their own! Simply find a kyber crystal and a hilt, and voila. Change it up when you find new parts, practice your skill with a Marksman-H training droid, and spar with other Sims. Even after Sims leave Batuu, they take their lightsabers and droids home with them.

    The world of Star Wars doesn’t seem so far, far away now, does it? Download The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu from PlayStation Store tomorrow to start creating your Sim’s Star Wars story.

    *Requires The Sims 4 (sold separately) and all game updates.

    Website: LINK

  • Lebt eure Star Wars-Träume in Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu

    Lebt eure Star Wars-Träume in Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Schnappt euch eure Lichtschwerter! Es wird Zeit, Batuu einen Besuch abzustatten – einen Planeten in dem Gameplay-Pack Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu, der dem Themenbereich Star Wars: Galaxy‘s Edge im Disneyland Resort und Walt Disney World Resort nachempfunden wurde. Das Pack erscheint morgen auf PlayStation 4.

    In Die Sims dreht sich alles um das Spiel mit dem Leben, und womit könnte das mehr Spaß machen als zusammen mit Star Wars? Das Team hinter dem neuen Gameplay-Pack zählt sich selbst zu den großen Fans des riesigen Universums. Von Lichtschwertern über Droiden bis zu den Alien-Spezies im Outer Rim – die Truppe bei Maxis hat einen Weg für alle Spieler gefunden, den eigenen Star Wars-Traum über ihre Sims auszuleben.

    Ob Spieler davon träumen, Raumschiffe zu fliegen oder Sabacc-Spiele zu gewinnen, in Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu ist für jeden etwas dabei. Spieler und ihre Sims erhalten die Möglichkeit, ihren eigenen Weg zu erkunden und ein Teil der Geschichte zu werden. Sims können auswählen, ob sie dem Widerstand beitreten, sich der Ersten Ordnung verschreiben, den Konflikt ausnutzen, um als Schurke Profit zu machen, oder einfach nur die Atmosphäre auf sich wirken lassen wollen.

    „Als wir uns entschieden haben, ein Star Wars-Pack zu machen, haben wir uns von der Geschichte von Star Wars: Galaxy‘s Edge inspirieren lassen“, erzählt Producer Antonio Romeo. „Wir waren von den erzählerischen Möglichkeiten von Batuu unheimlich angetan. Uns hat die Idee gefallen, dass es sich um eine neue Welt handelt, die wir in Filmen und anderen digitalen Medien noch nicht vollkommen erkundet haben. Es gibt so viel Wissen und Geschichte über den Black Spire-Außenposten, dass er sich wie die perfekte Kulisse für Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu angefühlt hat.“

    Wenn die Sims Batuu erkunden, erkennen die Spieler vielleicht ein paar bekannte Orte (und Gesichter). Dreht die Musik auf und bestellt ein paar Bespin Fizzes in Oga‘s Cantina, und wenn ihr schon mal da seid, sprecht mit DJ R-3X. Der bekannte Piloten-Droide, der zum DJ geworden ist, fungiert als Ansprechpartner für alle Sims, die neu auf Batuu sind. Er hat alle Details zu den Fraktionen und Sehenswürdigkeiten sowie zu ein paar besonderen Geheimnissen, die die Spieler entdecken können.

    „Um DJ R3-X Leben einzuhauchen, haben wir Paul Reubens (den ursprünglichen Synchronsprecher des Droiden) mit an Bord geholt, um alle seine Sätze auf Simlisch aufzunehmen“, erzählt Romeo. „Er hat auch ein paar Sätze in den Pott geworfen, über die sich unsere Sims-Fans freuen werden.“

    DJ R-3X ist nicht die einzige Kultfigur, die einen Auftritt hat. Sims, die die Widerstands-Story spielen, werden auf Vi Moradi treffen und trainieren vielleicht sogar das Kämpfen mit Lichtschwertern zusammen mit Rey, während Sims, die sich der Ersten Ordnung angeschlossen habe, Lieutenant Agnon und dem Obersten Anführer Kylo Ren Bericht erstatten müssen. Diejenigen, die den Schurkenpfad für sich entdeckt haben, nehmen zusammen mit dem „reformierten Piraten“ Hondo Ohnaka Kurs auf den Coup ihres Lebens.

    Um Batuu für dieses Gameplay-Pack zum Leben zu erwecken, musste eine Menge Recherche über die Geschichte des Star Wars-Universums betrieben und eng mit dem Team bei Lucasfilm zusammengearbeitet werden. Die Entwickler haben eine Fülle von Alien-Spezies entworfen, darunter Abednedos, Mirialaner, Twi‘leks, die Nikto, Rodianer und die Weequay sowie Droiden, die Spieler für sich anpassen können. Personalisiert euren eigenen Astromechdroiden der R- oder BB-Serie beim Droid Depot mit verschiedenen Farben, Körper- und Kopfoptionen. Gebt ihm danach einen Namen und schaut, wie er zum Leben erwacht. Ihr könnt mit einer Auswahl an Programmierungskarten sogar seine Persönlichkeiten wechseln.

    Aber natürlich ist das wichtigste Star Wars-Artefakt das Lichtschwert, und Sims auf Batuu können sogar ihr eigenes bauen! Findet einfach nur einen Kyberkristall und einen Schwertgriff und schon geht‘s los. Verändert es, wenn ihr neue Teile findet, trainiert eure Fähigkeiten mit einer Marksman-H-Trainingsdrohne und fordert andere Sims heraus. Auch nachdem die Sims Batuu verlassen haben, nehmen sie ihre Lichtschwerter und Droiden mit nach Hause.

    Die Welt von Star Wars scheint gar nicht mehr so weit weg zu sein, oder? Ladet Die Sims 4 Star Wars: Reise nach Batuu morgen im PlayStation Store herunter, um eure Sims Star Wars-Geschichte zu erzählen.

    * Erfordert Die Sims 4 (separat erhältlich) und sämtliche Spielaktualisierungen.

    Website: LINK