User blog:LostInRiverview/My Dream Sims Game

I've played The Sims in one form or another since the very beginning. I can remember how excited I was to pick up my first copy of The Sims 1 way back in February of 2000. Since then, I've gotten to experience the evolution of the series, from a rudimentary people simulator and architectural tool, to a highly detailed life sim. What strikes me, though, is how much of the core game has remained the same all these years.

Certainly, consistency between main titles in the series is a positive thing. The fact that I can load up The Sims 4, enter build mode, and plop down a house using virtually the same tools (and even using the same hotkeys) as were present in the 18-year-old original game, speaks to the long-term stability of the series. The fact is, The Sims series has never deviated away from what it is at its core; all new additions and changes have been to the periphery, or else have been used to broaden and flesh out those same core aspects of the game. Consider that The Sims didn't allow you to modify a building's roof, only allowed you to build up to a maximum of two stories, didn't allow you to place objects (including doors and windows) on diagonal walls, didn't include foundations, etc. All these features would be added in to later games in the series, and those additions don't distract from the core focus of build mode, but rather simply enhance it.

That being said, there are many things that haven't really expanded meaningfully since the original game. Think, for instance, of a Sim's career. In The Sims 1, a Sim could get a job and, through the accumulation of requisite skills and family friends, could progress up a predefined career ladder; with enough hard work, the Sim would eventually reach the top of the career track, bringing home a fat paycheck in the process. Has all this really changed all that much since then? For a game series that has excelled in broadening the different facets of a Sim's day-to-day life, the lack of significant improvements to how careers works seems like a glaring omission. Other omissions I see are things like the reliance on static life stages as opposed to a Sim's age increasing gradually, a rather simplistic take on Sim relationships, and a lack of exploration into non-Western cultures, entertainment, architecture, aesthetic, etc. The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4 could all be closely compared in these areas and, aside from minor differences or improvements between titles, I think these things are relatively static throughout the series; ultimately, I feel that this is to the series' detriment.

The biggest thing I think is missing from the series is change. I don't simply mean changing how some of the features of the games work; I'm talking about the absence of change within the game world itself.

Think about the idea of legacy challenges for a moment. The idea of the legacy challenge is that you create a Sim, and play with that Sim and the Sim's descendants for a set number of generations (typically ten generations). Aside from the Sim you're playing with, what really changes? The Sim still lives in the same unchanging neighborhood, uses the same kinds of objects, wears the same kinds of clothes, and lives in the same kind of house. Ten generations ago in real-life, my ancestors were probably plowing a farm field by hand or hopping a wooden sailing ship to try their fortunes in the new world of America. Even comparing my childhood to the childhood of my parents shows striking changes. I grew up in a world that had desktop computers, dial-up internet (I'm old, okay?), compact discs and MP3s, supersonic jets, and shoes that had flashing lights built into them. My parents, both born in the early 1960s, got to experience the widespread adoption of color TV, which is pretty nice, I guess.

I think The Sims has come a long way from its early days, when literally every day was the same as the day that came before it, when Sims would never age past adulthood (and child Sims would never grow up), and when there was no concept of a "weekend" or even a scheduled day off. Now, Sims experience weekdays and weekends, age (albeit using the aforementioned static 'life stage' system) and eventually die of old age, and even (with the right expansion pack) experience the passage of seasons. But there's so much more in regards to the passage of time that is ripe for exploration. In The Sims, 100 summers and 100 winters can pass and still the Sims will be driving the same kinds of cars (or not, if you're playing The Sims 4), using the same kinds of computers, watching the same kinds of TVs, and working the same kinds of jobs as their far-off ancestors. The Sims is a game trapped in time.

This is where the core of my dream Sims game comes from. The idea that Sims, and their environment, could experience the full passage of time.

Imagine creating a legacy Sim way back in the 1800s. That Sim might work as a worker on a railroad, or as a farmer, as a stagecoach driver or a steamboat captain. Maybe that Sim is a teacher in a one-room school, or an inventor working on devices that harness the wondrous magic of electricity in exciting new ways. Then that Sim's child gets to grow up in a world with the first horseless carriages, with self-powered farm tractors and homes lit by electric light. That Sim's child gets to experience airplanes, and the birth of wireless radio, records, airplanes, and cinemas. The next generation experiences the revolutions of modern medicine, television, and powered washing machines. Their kids grow up in a world that is on the cusp of the modern digital revolution, and their kids get to experience the widespread adoption of the internet in all its forms. Throughout these generations, the way that the Sims interact with the world would change, as would their experiences, needs and expectations.

I also imagine a world that changes around the Sims themselves. The legacy founder might live in a gritty 19th century city with brownstone tenements, farmhouses on the edge of town, horse-drawn streetcars and horse-drawn carriages. That Sim's grandchildren or great-grandchildren would be able to move out of the dense city into the wide expanses of the suburbs; that old farmhouse on the edge of town would now be surrounded by new homes for the exploding population to inhabit. The grandkids of these Sims might find a new place to live in a revitalized and vibrant downtown neighborhood, surrounded by highrises and modern glass skyscrapers.

The static "career track" simply wouldn't exist in such a game. Rather, a Sim would have to make their own path, carve out a career for themselves in the world they inhabit, and work to adapt to the changing world around them. Each new era of the game would bring new careers, while older careers would become obsolete.

I also imagine a game where the Sim's dwelling experiences the passage of time. Sims could gain a particular benefit from keeping their homes updated and modern with new features and furniture, updating the floors and walls, refurbishing old furniture to give it new life, and replacing obsolete technology with new models. I think that this could be done in such a way where the monetary value of a Sim's home could depend on how well it was maintained and modernized; Sims that hadn't changed their carpeting in 40 years wouldn't be able to sell their house for as much as their neighbors who just installed hardwood floors. Sims might experience a plumbing failure if they rely on 100-year-old plumbing and fixtures in their bathrooms, or else will have to adapt to the considerable time and expertise (or money) necessary to keep those old things working like new. A Sim might not have as much fun watching a tiny black-and-white television once big-screen color TVs become common.

Something I'd look at specifically is the introduction, adoption, and ultimately the replacement, of new technologies. Maybe in a particular time period, televisions are a brand-new form of entertainment; the purchase of a TV is a major expense, but Sims who buy them are rewarded with a stronger and faster boost to their Fun motive. Wait a couple "years" and TVs become much less expensive, and you start to see improvements as well; TVs get bigger and more channels become available. A couple "years" later and color television comes around, as well as better picture quality and bigger screens. Where the original black-and-white TV was once groundbreaking, it is now outdated and old. The same could be said about so many other things; radios, records, cars, kitchen appliances, furniture, games, and more. As new technologies are introduced, they start off being very expensive. As time goes on, they become less and less expensive as new models are introduced.

There are so many more facets of this idea that I'd love to see explored, and what I've written is just the tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, however, what I'd love to see out of this is a chance for Sims to not only experience their environment, but impact it as well. I think it'd be great to have an inventor Sim; someone who takes the technology of their time and makes something brand new (to them, at least), only to see that technology spread like wildfire and be adopted by the rest of the game world, making that inventor a boatload of Simoleons in the process. It'd be great to have a Sim become a doctor or medical researcher who develops the cure to a debilitating Sim illness. It'd be awesome to have a Sim work as a designer or architect, building new buildings and developing brand-new styles of architecture not seen in the Sim world before. Your gameplay could, by design, have an impact on the world that a Sim's descendants live in. Your Sims could truly form a legacy for themselves, not merely by having tons of children, but by pioneering a new field or a new technology.

I know this sounds like a radical departure from the Sims games we know and love, but I don't think that this kind of game actually is far from what we already have. I think the core of what The Sims is would remain just as it is now. Sims would still have relationships with each other, would still have needs to be met, would still have their own unique personalities and appearances, and would still work to improve themselves and benefit their families. Players would still be able to build and shape the world around them through build mode tools. I'd also want to see what I've described as purely optional; if a player wanted to play in the "modern" era, with all modern technology available, and with no changes to what becomes available during the lifetime of a Sim, they should be able to do that. But for those of us who would love to see the world of our Sims grow along with our Sims and their families, embracing the passage of time seems like a great place to take the series.