The Sims (video game)
The Sims | |
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Developer(s) |
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Publisher(s) |
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Marc Russo | |
Series | The Sims |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, Linux, GameCube, Xbox[b] |
Release | Microsoft Windows Mac OS PlayStation 2 LinuxGameCube, Xbox |
Genre(s) | Social simulation |
Mode(s) | Single-player
Multi-player |
The Sims is a
The game's development was led by
Upon release, The Sims garnered widespread critical acclaim and was described by Wright as being successful in attracting casual and female gamers. It also won several awards and placed 31st on
Gameplay
The structure of the game is an artificial life program that is agent-based. The presentation of the game's artificial intelligence is advanced, and the Sims will respond to outside conditions independently, although often the player's intervention is necessary to keep the Sims on the right track. The Sims technically has unlimited replay value, in that there is no way to truly win the game, and the player can play indefinitely. It has been described as more like a toy than a game.[10]
Sims are influenced by the player to interact with objects or other Sims. Sims may receive guests at their home lot, invited or not, from other playable lots, or from unhoused
The player can make decisions about time spent in skill development, such as exercise, reading, creativity, and logic by adding activities to Sims' daily agenda. Daily needs such as hygiene and eating can and must also be scheduled. Although Sims can autonomously perform these actions, they may not prioritize them effectively and can suffer consequences for neglecting their own needs. In addition, Sims must maintain balanced budgets and usually supplement an income by obtaining a job. Sims may earn promotions by fulfilling skills and maintaining friendships with others for each level, which lead to new job titles, increased wages, and different work hours. Alternatively, Sims may create and sell various artwork and items at home.[10]
While there is no eventual objective to the game, states of failure do exist in The Sims. One is that Sims may die, either by starvation, drowning, fire, or electrocution (or from natural causes/age in certain versions). When a Sim dies, a tombstone or an urn will appear (in later expansion packs, the
Building tools
When the "Live" mode occurs in the game, the player may enter "Build" mode or "Buy" mode to pause time and renovate the house or lot. When the game begins, each family starts off with 20,000
In addition, the game includes an architecture system. The game was originally designed solely as an architecture simulator, with the Sims there only to evaluate the houses, but during development, it was decided that the Sims were more interesting than originally anticipated, and their once-limited role in the game was developed further.[13] Players have a broad choice of objects that their respective Sims may purchase. Objects fall into one of eight broad categories: seating, surfaces, decorations, electronics, appliances, plumbing, lighting, and miscellaneous.[14]
Development
The original inspiration for The Sims was Christopher Alexander's 1977 book on architecture and urban design, A Pattern Language. Game designer Will Wright was inspired by the book's focus on functionality in architecture, as Alexander based his design principles on structural usability rather than aesthetic values. Wright wanted to create a simulation game about enabling human behavior and interaction through design. Scott McCloud's 1993 book Understanding Comics became a big influence on the design of The Sims later on, as it advocates a certain type of "collaboration" between designer and consumer and outlines the value of abstraction for getting readers or players involved with a story.[15]
Will Wright started working on The Sims after releasing SimAnt in 1991.[15] It was during that same year that he lost his home during the Oakland firestorm of 1991, and he incorporated his experience of rebuilding his life into the game;[16][17] however, the game's concept was very poorly received by a focus group, so Wright had difficulty getting the project off the ground. He managed to convince his company to let him work on the project (codenamed "Project X" at the time) in the background while developing SimCity 2000 and SimCopter. He was lent one programmer for the project, Jamie Doornbos, who went on to become the lead programmer for The Sims. During the first few years of the project, Wright and Doornbos were primarily developing an open-ended system of character behavior. As the project continued, Wright found that the social aspect of the game turned out to be highly engaging, and the team started to focus more on the characters of the game, such as by letting Sims visit one another's houses and by implementing long-term relationships.[15]
Wright has mentioned playing
Music
The game music was composed by
Modding scene
The Sims is credited with opening up modding to a new demographic, making it easy enough for "casual modders" to modify the game.
Expansion packs
The Sims had a total of seven expansion packs released in its lifecycle. Each expansion generally adds new items, neighborhoods, characters, skins, and features.
Name | Release date | Description |
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Livin' Large (known as Livin' It Up in Europe) |
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Adds new unconventional characters, careers, items, and features for the home.[29] |
House Party |
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Gives players the ability and facilities to hold parties and gatherings in their Sims' homes. Drew Carey makes a cameo appearance in the game if the player's Sims hold a good enough party.[30] |
Hot Date |
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Adds new items, characters, and the ability for Sims to leave their homes and travel to new destinations. Adds new destination, "Downtown", composed of ten new lots. Introduces a revamped relationship system involving short- and long-term relationships. Adds ability to carry inventory and give gifts to other Sims.[31] |
Vacation (known as On Holiday in the UK, Ireland, China, Portugal, and Scandinavia) |
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Introduces a new destination called "Vacation Island" where Sims can take vacations with family members or with other Sims and marks the first time Sims can stay on lots away from home. Adds the ability to save the game while a Sim is on Vacation Island. Allows Sims to purchase or find souvenirs, stay at a hotel, or rent a tent/igloo.[32] |
Unleashed |
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Introduces pets into the game. Allows dogs and cats to be treated as Sims rather than objects. Introduces gardening and expands original ten-lot neighborhood to over forty lots, with the added ability to rezone these lots for residential or community use. Allows community lots to be modified to shops, cafes, and other commercial establishments.[33] |
Superstar |
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Allows Sims to become entertainment figures and includes representations of several famous personalities. Celebrities can make cameo appearances but cannot be controlled by the player. Adds new work and leisure items, and a new destination called "Studio Town", which functions as a workplace for celebrity Sims. Allows non-celebrity Sims to visit Studio Town for leisure.[34] |
Makin' Magic |
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Introduces magic to the game and allows Sims to cast spells, forge charms, and buy alchemical ingredients. Introduces the Magic Town lots, which house vendors of magical ingredients and items and a number of magic-related mini-games. Introduces baking and nectar-making. Adds additional residential lots in Magic Town.[35] |
Expansion compilations
Collection Name | Windows release date |
Volumes |
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The Sims Expansion Collection | March 15, 2005 | Volume One – The Sims: House Party and The Sims: Unleashed Volume Two – The Sims: Hot Date and The Sims: Makin' Magic Volume Three – The Sims: Vacation and The Sims: Superstar |
The Sims Expansion Three-Pack | November 1, 2005 | Volume One – The Sims: House Party, The Sims: Unleashed, and The Sims: Superstar Volume Two – The Sims: Hot Date, The Sims: Vacation, and The Sims: Makin' Magic |
Reception
Critical reception
Aggregator | Score |
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ActionTrip | 9.0/10[47] |
Publication | Award |
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Interactive Achievement Awards | Game of the Year[48] Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering[49] |
GameSpot | Game of the Year[50] |
Game Developers Choice Awards | Game of the Year[51] |
IGN | Best Simulation[52] |
The Sims received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic, which assigned the game a score of 92%.[36] The game received praise for its open-ended gameplay allowing players can choose their own goals and objectives, as well as its sound design, "crisp" graphics, and humor. Reviewers positively compared The Sims to Maxis' 1999 title SimCity 3000. GameSpot assigned a review of 9.1/10, describing it as "highly detailed".[44] IGN gave the game a score of 9.4/10, and praised its easy-to-use user interface.[45] Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five and saying: "Do not miss. Run do not walk. And set aside lots of time."[46]
Will Wright, the game's designer, said the game has been a success in many ways—attracting casual gamers and female gamers (the latter making up almost 60% of players).[53] In 2012, the game was one of 14 video games selected by the Museum of Modern Art as the basis for an intended collection of 40 games.[54] The PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube ports received scores ranging from 81.05% to 85.80% on GameRankings.[38][39][40]
Awards
The Sims has won numerous awards, including GameSpot's "Game of the Year Award" for 2000. During the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (since 2013 known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), The Sims won "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design", and "Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering" (along with nominations for "Computer Family Entertainment Title of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction").[48][49][55] Game Informer ranked it the 80th best game ever made in its 100th issue in 2001.[56] In 2005, The Sims was inducted into GameSpot's list of the greatest games of all time.[57] In 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted The Sims to its World Video Game Hall of Fame.[58] In August 2016, The Sims placed 31st on Time's "50 Best Video Games of All Time" list.[59] In 2019, it was ranked 17th on The Guardian's "50 Best Video Games of the 21st Century" list.[60]
Sales
The Sims was released on February 4, 2000,[61] and became a best-seller shortly after launch.[56] In the United States, it was the best-selling computer game of 2000, with domestic sales of 1.77 million units and revenues of $72.9 million.[62] It remained the country's No. 1 computer title in 2001,[63] when it sold an additional 1.48 million units and earned another $60.4 million in revenue.[64] In 2002, The Sims became the top-selling PC game in history at the time, displacing Myst by selling more than 6.3 million copies worldwide.[65]
By February 2005, the game had shipped 16 million copies worldwide.[66] By July 2006, the console versions of The Sims series had sold a combined 3.5 million units in the United States.[67] Next Generation ranked The Sims as the 45th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in the United States.[67] As of March 2015, The Sims had sold more than 11.24 million copies for PC, making it one of the best-selling PC games of all time.[68]
Sequels and legacy
The Sims was followed by the sequels
See also
Notes
References
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Further reading
- Barry, Atkins (2003). More than a Game: The Computer Game as Fictional Form (paperback ed.). Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-07-1906-365-7. Retrieved February 27, 2024 – via Google Books.
- Nakamura, Rika; Wirman, Hanna (October 2005). "Girlish Counter-Playing Tactics". Game Studies. 5 (1). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- Paulk, Charles (December 2006). "Signifying Play: The Sims and the Sociology of Interior Design". Game Studies. 6 (1). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- Pearce, Celia (July 2002). "Sims, BattleBots, Cellular Automata God and Go". Game Studies. 2 (1). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- Sihvonen, Tanja (2011). Players Unleashed!: Modding The Sims and the Culture of Gaming (paperback ed.). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. JSTOR j.ctt46mt37.5. Retrieved February 27, 2024 – via Google Books.