The Sims

The Sims
Developer(s)	Maxis
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Will Wright
Engine	Custom
Latest version	{{{version}}}
Release date(s)	January 2000
Genre	Simulation/Strategy game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 7+ ELSPA: 11+
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Media	1 CD
System requirements	Windows 98 and up, 233MHz Pentium II or faster, 64 MB RAM, 4x or faster CD-ROM drive, DirectX 6.0-compatible sound card and graphics card (card must have 2 MB onboard memory and able to display at 800x600 with 16-bit color)
Input	Keyboard & mouse

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

The Sims is a strategy/simulation computer game, created by game designer Will Wright, published by Maxis. First released in February 2000, with over 6 million copies sold worldwide, it is heralded as one of the best-selling PC game in history[1]. Since its release, a sequel, The Sims 2, along with several expansion packs, has been released. Like other Maxis games, such as the earlier SimCity (also designed by Wright), The Sims is sometimes described as a "god game": a game that lets the player create and control the lives of virtual people.

Overview

As with previous Maxis games, The Sims is a departure from most previous computer games, which tend to have a definite goal or objective. Instead, the game focuses entirely on virtual people called "Sims," placing the player in control of a "virtual dollhouse," controlling 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 toy." Though players are encouraged to make their own characters, many of the 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.

Title screen from a short promotional video for The Sims released on the SimCity 3000 installation CD.

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.

This screenshot of The Sims shows a large family inhabiting one house. The focus is currently on the sunglass-clad character, who can be identified by the green diamond over his head his portrait highlighted in the control bar. By the color of the diamond and his statistics, the user can see he is currently very content.

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. (Incidentally, SimCity was originally designed as a method for developers to create cities to include in a bomber game that Wright was creating.)

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.

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.

Sims have no concept of racism, sexism, wealth or social classes. Every Sim regardless of gender, skin color, financial status or family has the same opportunities to find a job, get married and have children, and become successful. Excluding reproduction, Sims also have no apparent concept of gender, meaning that Sims can fall in love with and marry any other sim, be they female or male. There is also no religion in the game (however christmas trees and menorahs can be bought for the Sims).

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 or taken away by a social worker 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 dimetrically.

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.

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 (either opposite or same-sex) 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.

Simlish language

Main article: Simlish

The characters in this series of video games speak a fictional language called Simlish or sometimes "Simish". The language was co-created by improv comedians Gerri Lawlor and Stephen Kearin. While there is no direct translation for Simlish, many fans have attempted to record and create dictionaries of often-used words, such as "nooboo" (which Sims say when they're just given birth to a baby)

Expansion Packs

The Sims is one of the most heavily exploited computer game franchises ever. It has more expansion packs than any other game. Here is a complete list of expansion packs available for The Sims (in chronological order):

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

• The Sims Double Deluxe: This is a more recent repackaging. 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.

• The Complete Collection of The Sims: The most recent repackaging in the UK, 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). In North America, The Sims Complete Collection was released in November 2005. It costs around $40.00. Like The Complete Collection of The Sims released in the UK, this pack contains the original game along with all seven expansion packs. The Australian release, called The Sims: Full House, contains the original 'The Sims' and contains all 7 expansion packs. It cost around AU$100 on its initial release, but the price has since dropped to around AU$50.

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

Main article: The Sims Online

In December 2002, Maxis shipped The Sims Online, which recreates The Sims as a 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.

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.

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 ('Comunity' lots).
• The Urbz: 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 is currently being ported to consoles. These consoles are the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and some Mobile/cell phones.

A number of hand-held console versions of the game and a version for cell phones are also planned.

• 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.

External links

Wikibooks has more about this subject:

The Sims

Official sites

• The Sims official web site
• The Sims 2 official web site

Fan and resource sites

• The Sims at MobyGames

• Sims Extremos
• BigSim Resources, popular Australian website
• WorldSims Forums
• CLsims
• The Sims Downloads and addons
• The Sims programmer Don Hopkins' web site
• Sims2.co.uk
• SimSational
• SimStuff.com
• Sims Showcase features the latest updates of fan sites
• Planet The Sims
• The Sims Resource, a site catering for Sims 1 and 2
• A Wiki user site about the Sims 1 and 2
• The Sims Zone
• WorldSims
• Snooty Sims
• Around the Sims
• Sims Express
• LiSIMS.it
• The Sims at Wikicities
• Sims 2 and Madam Doofie's Simulation Games forum. Open to all.