The Sims

''This article is on "The Sims" video game. For games beginning with "Sim", see List of Sim games.

The Sims is a strategic life simulation computer game created by game designer Will Wright, published by Maxis, and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game is a simulation of the day-to-day activities of one or more virtual people (dubbed "Sims") in a suburban household.

First released on February 4, 2000, the base game has sold more than 6.3 million copies, making it the best-selling PC game in history ^*. The franchise has sold over 58 million units. Since its initial release, seven expansion packs and a sequel, The Sims 2, have been released.

Overview

As with many Maxis games, The Sims is a departure from most other computer games, which tend to have a definite goal or objective. Instead, the game focuses entirely on the "lives" of virtual people called "Sims," placing the player in control of their virtual "world", and their daily activities such as sleeping, eating, cooking and bathing, to name a few. Will Wright, the game's designer, likes to refer to it as a "digital dollhouse." Though players are encouraged to make their own characters, many of the pre-made characters have become popular in their own right.

Description

Instead of objectives, the player is encouraged to make choices and engage fully in an interactive environment. As such, the game has successfully attracted casual gamers. The only real objective of the game is to organize the Sims' time to help them reach personal goals.

Sims have a certain amount of free will (if it is enabled in-game), and although the player can instruct them to do something, they may decide that something else needs to be done first, or even outright ignore the player's commands. The player must make decisions about time spent in personal development, such as exercise, reading, creativity, and logic, by adding activities to the daily agenda of the Sims. Daily maintenance requirements must also be scheduled, such as personal hygiene, eating, and sleeping. If the simulated humans do not perform the proper amount of maintenance, they will sicken and die. Furthermore, Sims need to have fun; if they don't, the fun level bar eventually lowers and they become depressed, but however depressed they become, they are unable to commit suicide (they are not programmed to do so). They are, however, able to be nasty to other Sim characters by insulting them, slapping them and even attacking them. Financial health is simulated by the need to send the Sims to find jobs, go to work, pay bills, and take advantage of personal development and social contacts to advance in their jobs.

In addition, the game includes a very advanced architecture system. In fact, the game was originally designed as an architecture simulation alone, with the Sims there only to evaluate the houses. During development it was decided that the Sims were more interesting than the houses, and a legacy was born. (This is a common trait in Maxis games. SimCity was originally designed as a method for developers to create cities to include in a bomber game that Wright was creating and SimTower was originally designed to reverse-engineer real world elevator algorithms.)

The inner structure of the game is actually an agent based artificial life program. The presentation of the game's artificial intelligence is very advanced, and the Sims will respond to outside conditions by themselves, although often the player/controller's intervention is necessary to keep them on the right track. The Sims technically has unlimited replay value, in that there is no way to win the game, and the player can play on indefinitely. It has been described as more like a toy than a game.

There are some limitations to the first game of The Sims, most notably that children in the first series never grow up to become adults, though babies do eventually become children. Also, adult Sims never age (or die of old age), and there is no concept of a weekend. For example, adults go to work every day, and children go to school every day. However, taking one day off from work or school is okay, but taking off two consecutive days has consequences, such as getting fired. Children can also be "homeschooled", by having them study during the day to keep their school grades up.

It should also be noted that, unlike the simulated environments in games such as SimCity, SimEarth, or SimLife, the Sims are not fully autonomous. They are unable to take certain actions without specific commands from the player, such as paying their bills. Thus, if left alone, without any player supervision, the Sims will eventually develop overdue bills and their property will be repossessed.

Sims are directed totally on the basis of instructing them to interact with objects, such as a television set, a radio, or another Sim. Sims may receive house guests, which are actually based on the Sims of other game files. The player cannot control 'visiting' Sims, although it is important for Sims to interact with one another in order to develop a healthy social life.

While there is no eventual objective to the game, a state of failure does exist in that Sims may die. The types of death include starvation, drowning, perishing in a fire, electrocution and by virus (contracted from a pet guinea pig, which can happen when its cage is left dirty). In addition, child Sims can be sent to military school if their school grades remain at F for several consecutive days. When sent to military school, children never return to the family. Although considered a state of failure, many players occasionally deliberately mistreat their Sims to observe the reactions. This can be done with no consequences if the game state isn't saved.

The Sims uses a combination of 3D and 2D graphics techniques. The Sims themselves are rendered as high-poly-count 3D objects, but the house, and all its objects, are pre-rendered, and displayed diametrically.

In 2002, The Sims became the top-selling PC game in history, displacing the game Myst. It has been a success in many ways—attracting casual gamers and female gamers (which account for 50% of sales)—unusual in a market traditionally dominated by young males. However, due to the game's immense success, questions have been raised about the game's values; notably, concerns about the game's seemingly blatant consumerism—the most reliable way to become happy is to buy things. The game does take some account of this; a larger house may in fact make lives for the Sims more difficult as they take a longer time to walk around to do things. Additionally, a Sim's need for social interaction, if not fulfilled, takes a large toll on the Sim's overall happiness.

That The Sims reflect aspects of reality makes the game itself of note, especially as virtually every prior entertainment program used one or more aspects of fantasy to entertain (from Disney characters to alien ships). Simple, real-life situations, such as adopting children or forming relationships replace merely earning points and advancing to the "final boss level."

Open-ended gameplay has been done before in games, such as the farming-based simulation series Harvest Moon (originally released for the Super Nintendo), but The Sims has certainly gained popularity for this particular style of gameplay. Games such as Nintendo's Animal Crossing (for GameCube), have capitalized upon its success.

Some commentators feel that the wide-spread success of The Sims has interesting sociological implications, and find The Sims itself to be a bizarre and ironic form of entertainment; for example, "a girl sitting in a chair, playing a computer game in which she controls a virtual girl, sitting in a virtual chair, playing a virtual computer game". This preference for experiencing a virtual simulation of daily life, vicariously through a virtual identity, is a continuing subject of contemplation.

The 2002 release of The Sims Online is a source of further disconcertment to some, who see the potential formation of an obsessed "Sims Online Cult"; a group of people who sacrifice academic and professional achievement, personal hygiene, bodily health, social interaction, personal relationships, and other accomplishments or practices which are associated with living (and generally thought of as having value), in favor of living a rich "virtual life" via the Internet. This phenomenon is rumored to occur among fans of fantasy-oriented MMORPGs (especially EverQuest and World of Warcraft), who neglect their "real lives" to become fully immersed in a life of fantasy.

Simlish language

Sims speak a fictional language called Simlish (sometimes "Simish"). The language is non-sensical, and owes much to the improv comedians (Gerri Lawlor, Marc Gimbel and Stephen Kearin, among others) who provided impromtu utterances while recording voice-overs for the game.

While there is no direct translation for Simlish, many fans have attempted to record and create dictionaries of often-used words. Many have speculated that the Simlish language has a close resemblance to the Italian or Latin language, while others suggest that it resembles Japanese.

If one installs the Makin' Magic expansion pack before they install any other expansion packs, the language spoken by Sims would be slightly different. The Sims Bustin' Out also featured a slightly different Simlish lexicon, most notably using "babyar", instead of "nooboo", to represent the term "baby".

Expansion packs

The Sims is one of the most heavily expanded computer game franchises ever. Here is a complete list of expansion packs available for The Sims (in chronological order):

Livin' Large or The Sims: Livin' It Up in Europe (released August 2000): Adds more objects, events and Sims and the ability to have multiple neighborhoods.
House Party (released March 2001): Adds party-related content, such as lighted dance floors.
Hot Date (released November 2001): Allows Sims to pick up other Sims for romantic encounters in a new city environment.
Vacation or The Sims: On Holiday in Europe (released March 2002): Allows the player to take Sims to various vacation destinations, such as beaches and the woods for camping.
Unleashed (released September 2002): Gives Sims the ability to adopt and train a wide variety of pets and expands the neighborhood.
Superstar (released May 2003): Allows Sims to visit a Hollywood-like town and become celebrities.
Makin' Magic (released October 2003): Allows Sims to use magic and cast spells and introduces a new Magic Town area.

Compilations

Compilations with the original The Sims game

The Sims has now been repackaged in numerous editions. These editions are not expansions to the game, but rather a compilation of the game along with pre-existing expansion packs and additional game content. These editions include:

The Sims Deluxe Edition: This is a compilation of the game along with the The Sims: Livin' Large expansion, an editor, named The Sims Creator, to create sim skins, 25+ exclusive objects, and 50+ clothing choices. Much to the dislike of some fans, the exclusive content can only be obtained by purchasing this edition of the game. It was released in 2002 and many people would consider it as an expansion pack.
The Sims Double Deluxe: This repackaging came out in 2003. It includesThe Sims Deluxe Edition, The Sims: House Party, and exclusive Double Deluxe content. Unlike the exclusive content included in The Sims Deluxe Edition, the exclusive Double Deluxe content can be downloaded from the official website free of charge.
The Sims Mega Deluxe: Released on May 25, 2004, this is a compilation of The Sims, The Sims: Livin' Large, The Sims: House Party, and The Sims: Hot Date.
Complete compilations of the game and its seven expansion packs:
- The Sims Complete Collection (North America): The Sims Complete Collection was released in November 2005 and costs around $40.00. This pack contains the original game, all seven expansion packs, the Deluxe Edition bonus content, the Double Deluxe bonus content (which is the same as the Mega Deluxe bonus content), and The Sims Creator Tool. This package comes in four CDs.
- The Complete Collection of The Sims (United Kingdom): The most recent repackaging of the Sims, albeit only to the successful retail release of The Sims 2 and its expansion packs, is The Complete Collection of The Sims, a pack containing the original Sims game, and including all expansion packs, for around £25 (each expansion pack originally retailed for £20 upon first release).
- The Sims: Full House (Australia): The Australian release, called The Sims: Full House, contains the original The Sims and all seven expansion packs. It cost around AU$100 on its initial release, but the price has since dropped to around AU$36. And unlike the American version, which the entire collection is compressed throughout four CDs, the Australian edition features all seven expansions and a The Sims 2 preview disc which was originally released with the US edition of The Sims: Makin' Magic for a total of twelve discs; thus, each expansion pack can each be installed separately.

Compilations of expansion packs

An expansion collection series was released in 2005:

The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume One consists of The Sims: Unleashed and The Sims: House Party.
The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume Two consists of The Sims: Hot Date and The Sims: Makin' Magic.
The Sims: Expansion Collection Volume Three consists of The Sims: Vacation and The Sims: Superstar.

Another expansion collection series was also released in 2005:

The Sims: Expansion Three-Pack Volume 1 consists of The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims: Superstar, and The Sims: House Party.
The Sims: Expansion Three-Pack Volume 2 consists of The Sims: Hot Date, The Sims: Vacation, and The Sims: Makin' Magic.

Sequels

The Sims Online

In December 2002, Maxis shipped The Sims Online, which recreates The Sims as an MMORPG, where actual human players can interact with each other. This sequel did not achieve the same level of success as the original The Sims game that producers and developers thought it would.

Although not entirely a flop, reviews for The Sims Online have been lackluster. Many reviewers have likened The Sims Online experience to an enormous chat room where few participants, if any, have anything worthwhile to say.

Of particular interest are reports that the community has degenerated heavily, verging on the anarchistic. Prostitution and other questionable activities are now commonplace. Naturally, this raises into question the ability for games such as this to be properly moderated. ^*

The Sims 2

Maxis released The Sims 2 on September 14, 2004. The sequel takes place in a full 3D environment, as opposed to the combination 2D/3D ("2.5-D" or Isometric) environment of the original game. Other additions to the original gameplay include Sims that grow from infancy to adulthood, then age and eventually die. This game features clear "days of the week" with obvious weekends for children to stay home from school, as well as "vacation days" to take time off work, an "Aspiration Meter" that increases and decreases as a Sim fulfills specific desires and experiences its worst fears, and "Aspiration Rewards" which are given to families when certain goals, like having a baby, are completed.

Each individual Sim has one of several aspirations, which affect their individual wants and fears. During the toddler and child life stages, all Sims have the aspiration to grow up, which is fulfilled by learning the essential life skills appropriate to those ages (including learning to walk and talk and being potty trained for toddlers and learning to study for children).

The Sims 2 is set some 25 years later after the original game, and also integrates a storyline into the game. For instance, the Pleasant family (available in the family bin in ‘‘Sims 1’’) has set up root in a suburban neighborhood and their family tree panels reveals relationships with the original Pleasant family from the Sims 1. Additionally, the Goth family has significantly aged, while Bella Goth has mysteriously vanished.

Because faces and neighborhoods are handled in very different ways, objects had to move from 2-D sprites to 3-D models, and some objects (particularly from expansion packs) were not copied at all, The Sims 2 was not made backward compatible with any Sims 1 content.

At present, three expansion packs have been released for The Sims 2:

Three "Stuff Packs", which serve as add-on discs that only provide additional standard furnishing and clothing, have also been released for The Sims 2:

For more information on each of these expansion and stuff packs, see their respective articles.

Inside jokes and Easter eggs

Malcolm Landgraab and Shiny Things Inc.

Malcolm Landgraab (also known simply as "Landgraab") is the head of Shiny Things Inc., a kitchen appliance manufacturer in the game. (For example, the Shiny Things Inc. Fuzzy Logic Dishwasher.) As an inside joke, Malcolm is referenced in the console port of The Sims as the father of the player's worthless roommates Dudley and Mimi Landgraab.

In SimCity 3000, "Shiny Things Inc." is also the name of an industrial building, and "Malcolm Landgraab Industries" exists in game as a petitioner. In Hot Date expansion pack, one of the malls in Downtown was named after Landgraab.

Certain Sims 2 NPC neighbors (dubbed "Townies") would also bear "Landgraab" as their last name. In Open for Business expansion pack, Malcolm Landgraab VI (a descendant of the original Landgraab from the SimCity 3000 timeline, perhaps) is the owner of an electronics store and a nightclub.

The Goths

The family the Goths (a premade family in the game) is a bit of dark comedy in the game as it obscurely references death and despair multiple times. First, the word Goth relates to a style of fiction that emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate. Goth also represents a subculture of teens or young adults who generally wear heavy black clothing and write dark poetry or literature. This is a long standing subculture from the early 1980s. The Goths were also a group of Teutonic Europeans who raided medieval Europe and were often seen as barbarians.

The husband's name Mortimer, is constructed from the Latin root and French word, mort, meaning death. The wife's name Bella is constructed from the Latin root word belli- or bellum, meaning war and fighting (though also the Italian word for "beautiful".) Her name may also simply be a pun on the name of Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi, who played the vampire Count Dracula. Vampires are a frequent topic of discussion among goths, and some goths practice vampirism. To add to that, the Goth's house is constructed in the likeness of a haunted mansion, and even comes with a graveyard and ghosts that haunt the house at night. The family will mourn or cry at the graves, as will their visitors.

100 days completion

Once a Sim family has lived in a house for 100 (saved) days, the player will be greeted with a message regarding the family's 100th day of residence, followed by daily trivia about the game, its production and the Sims themselves. This continues until there is no more trivia to share.

Celebrity appearance

Throughout the Sims series, there are a number of celebrities who have made appearances in the game, such as Drew Carey in House Party, and Christina Aguilera, Avril Lavigne, and Marilyn Monroe in Superstar.

The Sims was featured in The Drew Carey Show for a mock in-game scene at the Winfred-Louder personnel offices, as part of its "What's Wrong with this Episode?" April Fool episode (March 28, 2001, season 6). In it, various major characters of the show were featured in Sim form (Drew included), with voiceovers provided by the main cast themselves. English was used for the entire scene, but Drew has been quoted on saying "Dag Dag", a Simlish term thought to mean "goodbye".

Ports

The Sims has been ported from Microsoft Windows to some video game consoles. Though sales have been respectable, the series is not nearly as big a hit as it has been on the PC.

The Sims (released in January 2003), first console version of The Sims on the PlayStation 2. Later released for GameCube and Xbox.
The Sims Bustin' Out (released in December 2003): the second console-based version of The Sims as a RPG where the player guides Sims to move into Malcolm's Mansion. It can be played with two players and provides the added ability to visit external locales ('Community' lots).
Sims in the City (released in November 2004): This version renames the "Sims" to "Urbz" and gives them fresh, new attitudes that were previously either scarce or nonexistent in previous incarnations of the simulated beings. The Urbz is set in various districts throughout SimCity, with each having its own unique Urbz and elements.
The Sims 2 has been ported to various game consoles. These consoles are the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, as well as certain mobile/cell phones.
The Sims and all its expansion packs were ported to the Macintosh by Aspyr Media, Inc. The Sims 2 for Macintosh was also ported by the same company. It was released on June 13, 2005.
The Sims moreover works on a GNU/Linux platform using Transgaming's WineX (now known as Cedega) technology and is bundled with Mandrake Linux Gaming Edition

External links

Official sites

Fan and resource sites

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