@SimGuruDrake other than The Sims and Pokemon, do you play any other games? I was wondering if you play the Lego games or stuff like Assassins Creed?
Also I'm interested to know how you ended up working with EA was it something you always wanted to do or did it just sort of happen?
I think it looks like it would be really fun working at EA with people like @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruSteve
Matthew.
I play lots of games I own all of the Lego games that are tied to franchises ( Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, etc) and I've also played LOTS of Assassin's Creed. Currently I'm obsessed with Stardew Valley, it is a nice homage to Harvest Moon -which is another favorite of mine- and I just really love pixel / 8-bit art style games.
As for working at EA / Maxis: I've always worked in the video game industry doing community management / live stream content / event work. When I saw the job listing for CM of The Sims I just had to apply and I was lucky enough to get it (who wouldn't jump at the chance to work on one of their favorite franchises?!). It is really fun to work with all of the SimGurus, they are a witty bunch lol.
Wow it sounds like you have such a fun time working with EA @SimGuruDrake It's also really cool that you have worked in the video game industry for all your life! And yes you're so right, I wouldn't miss a chance to try and work with my favourite company's. Who would?
That's super that you own all the Lego games I don't own all of them yet, but I am getting there. Do you have a favourite one?
I haven't played Stardew Valley yet, but I have checked it out and it looks super fun!! So I'll have to buy it later this month.
It's great that you love your job and that you LOVE playing lots of video games as well
Matthew.
Not all my life, but definitely the majority of my adult life (I started out in the "work force" at Blockbuster Video --anyone remember those?!). Oh man...my favorite Lego game...that's really hard ...I'd have to say Lego Harry Potter Yrs 1-4!
@SimGuruDrake My sister has that game for her DS. She's trying to track down the sequel to it now.
And I even had a membership to a Blockbuster once in university. Not bad. Should have bought the games it had on sale when going out. XP
So funny story, when I finally left Blockbuster (I was there for almost 8 yrs!--fun fact my work anniversary was Valentines Day and I worked it every year) about two weeks later my store found out they were being closed and my boss hadn't removed me from the system because he wanted me to be able to have a "fall back" just in case. So I ended up getting a lot of the games they were selling at a crazy discount (employees would get 20% off pre-owned games and if you waited till they marked them down to about $5 a game you basically lucked out on the amount of things you could get) needless to say I still have games in my "backlog" that I purchased several years ago and just haven't gotten to play.
But boy do I miss the times when you could walk into a video game / movie rental place and actually find some hidden gems. You just don't get that feeling with digital streaming now a days.
The SimGurus talk to the community?
I wish to know who they are talking to so I can ask them to stop asking for "moar" parties. Let's try something else.
EDIT: Missing words.
Nothing to see. I don't even care about the forums.
@SimGuruDrake My sister has that game for her DS. She's trying to track down the sequel to it now.
And I even had a membership to a Blockbuster once in university. Not bad. Should have bought the games it had on sale when going out. XP
So funny story, when I finally left Blockbuster (I was there for almost 8 yrs!--fun fact my work anniversary was Valentines Day and I worked it every year) about two weeks later my store found out they were being closed and my boss hadn't removed me from the system because he wanted me to be able to have a "fall back" just in case. So I ended up getting a lot of the games they were selling at a crazy discount (employees would get 20% off pre-owned games and if you waited till they marked them down to about $5 a game you basically lucked out on the amount of things you could get) needless to say I still have games in my "backlog" that I purchased several years ago and just haven't gotten to play.
But boy do I miss the times when you could walk into a video game / movie rental place and actually find some hidden gems. You just don't get that feeling with digital streaming now a days.
Or when you plunk down 15$ for extra 3 nights from your local convinience store so you could play their copy of Final Fantasy IV (VI? That one with Terra and the crazy clown guy). Do still get a minor feeling when scouring games on steam though. Find an obscure title, check the reviews and get it for 90% off because sales and turns out really good. I do agree though not the same as going into a store to rent.
Also, lucky duck! Closest I got to something lucky like that was when I found a DSi, 4 games, adapter and case at a church sale for $3. Eventually sent it up to my sis as we couldn't find her DS Lite and she really wanted to beat her boyfriend's behind in Pokemon 4th Gen.
I have no memory of this place. Time to start anew I guess
@SimGuruDrake other than The Sims and Pokemon, do you play any other games? I was wondering if you play the Lego games or stuff like Assassins Creed?
Also I'm interested to know how you ended up working with EA was it something you always wanted to do or did it just sort of happen?
I think it looks like it would be really fun working at EA with people like @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruSteve
Matthew.
I play lots of games I own all of the Lego games that are tied to franchises ( Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, etc) and I've also played LOTS of Assassin's Creed. Currently I'm obsessed with Stardew Valley, it is a nice homage to Harvest Moon -which is another favorite of mine- and I just really love pixel / 8-bit art style games.
As for working at EA / Maxis: I've always worked in the video game industry doing community management / live stream content / event work. When I saw the job listing for CM of The Sims I just had to apply and I was lucky enough to get it (who wouldn't jump at the chance to work on one of their favorite franchises?!). It is really fun to work with all of the SimGurus, they are a witty bunch lol.
Oo I just started Stardew Valley a few days ago! I never played Harvest Moon, but I played Animal Crossing, and SV reminds me a lot of that. It's a fun little game and the graphics remind me a lot of The Legend of Zelda on Nintendo 64.
@SimGuruDrake other than The Sims and Pokemon, do you play any other games? I was wondering if you play the Lego games or stuff like Assassins Creed?
Also I'm interested to know how you ended up working with EA was it something you always wanted to do or did it just sort of happen?
I think it looks like it would be really fun working at EA with people like @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruSteve
Matthew.
I play lots of games I own all of the Lego games that are tied to franchises ( Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, etc) and I've also played LOTS of Assassin's Creed. Currently I'm obsessed with Stardew Valley, it is a nice homage to Harvest Moon -which is another favorite of mine- and I just really love pixel / 8-bit art style games.
As for working at EA / Maxis: I've always worked in the video game industry doing community management / live stream content / event work. When I saw the job listing for CM of The Sims I just had to apply and I was lucky enough to get it (who wouldn't jump at the chance to work on one of their favorite franchises?!). It is really fun to work with all of the SimGurus, they are a witty bunch lol.
Wow it sounds like you have such a fun time working with EA @SimGuruDrake It's also really cool that you have worked in the video game industry for all your life! And yes you're so right, I wouldn't miss a chance to try and work with my favourite company's. Who would?
That's super that you own all the Lego games I don't own all of them yet, but I am getting there. Do you have a favourite one?
I haven't played Stardew Valley yet, but I have checked it out and it looks super fun!! So I'll have to buy it later this month.
It's great that you love your job and that you LOVE playing lots of video games as well
Matthew.
Not all my life, but definitely the majority of my adult life (I started out in the "work force" at Blockbuster Video --anyone remember those?!). Oh man...my favorite Lego game...that's really hard ...I'd have to say Lego Harry Potter Yrs 1-4!
That sounds so exciting @SimGuruDrake I've never heard of Blockbuster Video before, maybe I'm too young? The jobs you have had all sound really awesome though I like Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 as well. My favourite part of the games are the funny cut scenes!
@SimGuruDrake other than The Sims and Pokemon, do you play any other games? I was wondering if you play the Lego games or stuff like Assassins Creed?
Also I'm interested to know how you ended up working with EA was it something you always wanted to do or did it just sort of happen?
I think it looks like it would be really fun working at EA with people like @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruSteve
Matthew.
I play lots of games I own all of the Lego games that are tied to franchises ( Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, etc) and I've also played LOTS of Assassin's Creed. Currently I'm obsessed with Stardew Valley, it is a nice homage to Harvest Moon -which is another favorite of mine- and I just really love pixel / 8-bit art style games.
As for working at EA / Maxis: I've always worked in the video game industry doing community management / live stream content / event work. When I saw the job listing for CM of The Sims I just had to apply and I was lucky enough to get it (who wouldn't jump at the chance to work on one of their favorite franchises?!). It is really fun to work with all of the SimGurus, they are a witty bunch lol.
Wow it sounds like you have such a fun time working with EA @SimGuruDrake It's also really cool that you have worked in the video game industry for all your life! And yes you're so right, I wouldn't miss a chance to try and work with my favourite company's. Who would?
That's super that you own all the Lego games I don't own all of them yet, but I am getting there. Do you have a favourite one?
I haven't played Stardew Valley yet, but I have checked it out and it looks super fun!! So I'll have to buy it later this month.
It's great that you love your job and that you LOVE playing lots of video games as well
Matthew.
Not all my life, but definitely the majority of my adult life (I started out in the "work force" at Blockbuster Video --anyone remember those?!). Oh man...my favorite Lego game...that's really hard ...I'd have to say Lego Harry Potter Yrs 1-4!
That sounds so exciting @SimGuruDrake I've never heard of Blockbuster Video before, maybe I'm too young? The jobs you have had all sound really awesome though I like Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 as well. My favourite part of the games are the funny cut scenes!
Matthew.
You are way too young!!!
Wow! I feel so old now.
The other day, my boss said something about Bob Hope, and one of my younger colleagues said: "That's the guy who plays golf, right" And everyone just froze (there's a lot of older people at my job since everyone except the dev team are PhD scholars)
Are you allowed to tell us if there is anything big or exciting coming up for the Sims 4 in the near future? I mean obviously you can't go in to detail but could you please at least tell us if there's exciting news or packs coming up soon
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Have a pleasant evening, well actually where you are I'm sure it's the morning. In the UK it's 8:24pm
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?" rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?"rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
Are you allowed to tell us if there is anything big or exciting coming up for the Sims 4 in the near future? I mean obviously you can't go in to detail but could you please at least tell us if there's exciting news or packs coming up soon
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Have a pleasant evening, well actually where you are I'm sure it's the morning. In the UK it's 8:24pm
Matthew.
Sadly I cannot.
As for my hobbies: I love cross-stitching and embroidery, perler bead art, and drawing (you can also consider me constantly dyeing my hair different colors as a hobby lol ---which reminds me that I need to change my Sim Avatars hair color because I'm not longer green!) I'm a very creative person (which is another reason I've always loved The Sims) so I love to try different ways to express that creativity.
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?"rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
I don't mind not having Open World.I hated the open world in the sims 3 because the game was laggy.But one of the futures I miss the most is CASt and CAW!!!
I want Seasons and Island Paradise for The Sims 4!
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?"rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
@SimGuruDrake I know this question wasn't directed at me, and I hope you don't mind me dropping in here, but I did want to answer. For me, family play is building bonds between family members. When I play Sims 3, I love how it feels like parents are guiding and supporting their kids through encouraging skills, and through consequences for negative behaviour. I loved animations like reading your child to sleep while they lay in their bed. I loved how kids could play games with each other, like tag. Teens also had their own special animations, like prom and acne (Sims 2 if I'm not mistaken). I just felt like in previous iterations family members had what felt like unique bonds and interactions that weren't available to the general sim population.
Anyways. Back to the topic on hand: I love this blog series and I can't wait to read more about the people responsible for my beloved sims
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?"rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
@SimGuruDrake I know this question wasn't directed at me, and I hope you don't mind me dropping in here, but I did want to answer. For me, family play is building bonds between family members. When I play Sims 3, I love how it feels like parents are guiding and supporting their kids through encouraging skills, and through consequences for negative behaviour. I loved animations like reading your child to sleep while they lay in their bed. I loved how kids could play games with each other, like tag. Teens also had their own special animations, like prom and acne (Sims 2 if I'm not mistaken). I just felt like in previous iterations family members had what felt like unique bonds and interactions that weren't available to the general sim population.
Anyways. Back to the topic on hand: I love this blog series and I can't wait to read more about the people responsible for my beloved sims
Thank you for answering! It is really great to get an idea of what family play means to each person so I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what it means to you and I'm really happy you are enjoying this particular blog series. The time I have spent with the team has really allowed me to get to know each of their personalities and I really wanted to highlight each of them in a fun and relaxing way through this series because they are more than just a twitter handle or a name on the forums. They are real, passionate, and funny people who love what they do.
@simgurudrake Were all of you Sim fans and players before you worked on sims 4? Or are you new to the series? Also, thank you for all your hard work.
I have been a Sims fan from the very beginning (14 yr old me would be pretty stoked if she knew she would get to work at Maxis and on The Sims when she got older.)
Are you allowed to tell us if there is anything big or exciting coming up for the Sims 4 in the near future? I mean obviously you can't go in to detail but could you please at least tell us if there's exciting news or packs coming up soon
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Have a pleasant evening, well actually where you are I'm sure it's the morning. In the UK it's 8:24pm
Matthew.
Sadly I cannot.
As for my hobbies: I love cross-stitching and embroidery, perler bead art, and drawing (you can also consider me constantly dyeing my hair different colors as a hobby lol ---which reminds me that I need to change my Sim Avatars hair color because I'm not longer green!) I'm a very creative person (which is another reason I've always loved The Sims) so I love to try different ways to express that creativity.
Ooh, cross-stiching and embroidery. Do you have any projects on the go?
Forgive the ignorance, what's perler bead art?
You mustn't forget yourself during the series of interviews.
Are you allowed to tell us if there is anything big or exciting coming up for the Sims 4 in the near future? I mean obviously you can't go in to detail but could you please at least tell us if there's exciting news or packs coming up soon
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Have a pleasant evening, well actually where you are I'm sure it's the morning. In the UK it's 8:24pm
Matthew.
Sadly I cannot.
As for my hobbies: I love cross-stitching and embroidery, perler bead art, and drawing (you can also consider me constantly dyeing my hair different colors as a hobby lol ---which reminds me that I need to change my Sim Avatars hair color because I'm not longer green!) I'm a very creative person (which is another reason I've always loved The Sims) so I love to try different ways to express that creativity.
Ooh, cross-stiching and embroidery. Do you have any projects on the go?
Forgive the ignorance, what's perler bead art?
You mustn't forget yourself during the series of interviews.
I'm actually in the process of cross-stitching one pokemon a day! I am doing it on 14 count AIDA fabric using a 4" hoop.
Oh no worries! Not many people know about perler bead art but here is an example (this isn't done by me):
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Actually, not me, that's @SimGuruRomeo - I just took the picture. I mean I like Lego and Star Wars - but not like Antonio likes Lego and Star Wars. My desk is filled more with monitors, junk, and :looks around: ... and more monitors, I guess.
@SimGuruDrake other than The Sims and Pokemon, do you play any other games? I was wondering if you play the Lego games or stuff like Assassins Creed?
Also I'm interested to know how you ended up working with EA was it something you always wanted to do or did it just sort of happen?
I think it looks like it would be really fun working at EA with people like @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruSteve
Matthew.
I play lots of games I own all of the Lego games that are tied to franchises ( Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, etc) and I've also played LOTS of Assassin's Creed. Currently I'm obsessed with Stardew Valley, it is a nice homage to Harvest Moon -which is another favorite of mine- and I just really love pixel / 8-bit art style games.
As for working at EA / Maxis: I've always worked in the video game industry doing community management / live stream content / event work. When I saw the job listing for CM of The Sims I just had to apply and I was lucky enough to get it (who wouldn't jump at the chance to work on one of their favorite franchises?!). It is really fun to work with all of the SimGurus, they are a witty bunch lol.
Wow it sounds like you have such a fun time working with EA @SimGuruDrake It's also really cool that you have worked in the video game industry for all your life! And yes you're so right, I wouldn't miss a chance to try and work with my favourite company's. Who would?
That's super that you own all the Lego games I don't own all of them yet, but I am getting there. Do you have a favourite one?
I haven't played Stardew Valley yet, but I have checked it out and it looks super fun!! So I'll have to buy it later this month.
It's great that you love your job and that you LOVE playing lots of video games as well
Matthew.
Not all my life, but definitely the majority of my adult life (I started out in the "work force" at Blockbuster Video --anyone remember those?!). Oh man...my favorite Lego game...that's really hard ...I'd have to say Lego Harry Potter Yrs 1-4!
That sounds so exciting @SimGuruDrake I've never heard of Blockbuster Video before, maybe I'm too young? The jobs you have had all sound really awesome though I like Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 as well. My favourite part of the games are the funny cut scenes!
Matthew.
You are way too young!!!
Wow! I feel so old now.
The other day, my boss said something about Bob Hope, and one of my younger colleagues said: "That's the guy who plays golf, right" And everyone just froze (there's a lot of older people at my job since everyone except the dev team are PhD scholars)
I'm only in my early 20s and I know Blockbuster. Just reminds me of how quickly technology zoomed ahead when I was a teenager. My family didn't use Blockbuster but we did use Hollywood Video, which has also disappeared.
How difficult is it to say: ''Yes we are listening!''.
Come on, everyone can say that. I don't believe it, want to see my toddlers and family play first, since that's what the community screams since the game got released and we still got to see them................... so, listening? prove it.
Also agree with this. I have proof of them not listening.
Evidence A: Toddlers
We've been asking for toddlers for a year and a half now and we still have no toddlers. They haven't even mentioned them except for RF saying it was best not to put them to date.
Evidence B: Culling
We've been complaining about culling and they go ahead and introduce a new form of culling.
I have evidence all the way up to Z , but those are like the biggest ones.
This only proves that some fans are clearly not listening when they DO actually say something about these things.
When did we last hear about toddlers? I mean that interview would be worth reading if the questions were "are toddlers being worked on?" "Is it possible to have a semi open neighbourhood?" "Why are EPs taking so long?" "Whats the point of having GPs if they have less content than EPs yet take the same time in being released?"rather than "what's your favorite ice cream?"
This blog series is meant to give some insight into who the SimGuru's are and what their jobs are.
The questions you are asking aren't one's we would cover in this particular blog series.
Yet these are the questions we want answered The fact is, people who have been fans of The Sims for over 15 years are not playing this game at the moment. Case in point: myself. I want to play it... oh boy, do I want to be able to enjoy it, but I can't because my gameplay is not supported.
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
@SimGuruDrake I know this question wasn't directed at me, and I hope you don't mind me dropping in here, but I did want to answer. For me, family play is building bonds between family members. When I play Sims 3, I love how it feels like parents are guiding and supporting their kids through encouraging skills, and through consequences for negative behaviour. I loved animations like reading your child to sleep while they lay in their bed. I loved how kids could play games with each other, like tag. Teens also had their own special animations, like prom and acne (Sims 2 if I'm not mistaken). I just felt like in previous iterations family members had what felt like unique bonds and interactions that weren't available to the general sim population.
Anyways. Back to the topic on hand: I love this blog series and I can't wait to read more about the people responsible for my beloved sims
Thank you for answering! It is really great to get an idea of what family play means to each person so I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what it means to you and I'm really happy you are enjoying this particular blog series. The time I have spent with the team has really allowed me to get to know each of their personalities and I really wanted to highlight each of them in a fun and relaxing way through this series because they are more than just a twitter handle or a name on the forums. They are real, passionate, and funny people who love what they do.
@SimGuruDrake I can only imagine how much Gurus love this game to spend the time and energy that they do on it. I hope you take the negativity that people can spew on here as passion for the game they love. And with this blog and thread I feel like I know you and @SimGuruSteve a little better now! Perhaps even besties?
Comments
Not all my life, but definitely the majority of my adult life (I started out in the "work force" at Blockbuster Video --anyone remember those?!). Oh man...my favorite Lego game...that's really hard
And I even had a membership to a Blockbuster once in university. Not bad. Should have bought the games it had on sale when going out. XP
I have no memory of this place. Time to start anew I guess
So funny story, when I finally left Blockbuster (I was there for almost 8 yrs!--fun fact my work anniversary was Valentines Day and I worked it every year) about two weeks later my store found out they were being closed and my boss hadn't removed me from the system because he wanted me to be able to have a "fall back" just in case. So I ended up getting a lot of the games they were selling at a crazy discount (employees would get 20% off pre-owned games and if you waited till they marked them down to about $5 a game you basically lucked out on the amount of things you could get) needless to say I still have games in my "backlog" that I purchased several years ago and just haven't gotten to play.
But boy do I miss the times when you could walk into a video game / movie rental place and actually find some hidden gems. You just don't get that feeling with digital streaming now a days.
I wish to know who they are talking to so I can ask them to stop asking for "moar" parties. Let's try something else.
EDIT: Missing words.
Or when you plunk down 15$ for extra 3 nights from your local convinience store so you could play their copy of Final Fantasy IV (VI? That one with Terra and the crazy clown guy).
Also, lucky duck! Closest I got to something lucky like that was when I found a DSi, 4 games, adapter and case at a church sale for $3. Eventually sent it up to my sis as we couldn't find her DS Lite and she really wanted to beat her boyfriend's behind in Pokemon 4th Gen.
I have no memory of this place. Time to start anew I guess
Oo I just started Stardew Valley a few days ago! I never played Harvest Moon, but I played Animal Crossing, and SV reminds me a lot of that. It's a fun little game and the graphics remind me a lot of The Legend of Zelda on Nintendo 64.
That sounds so exciting @SimGuruDrake
Matthew.
You are way too young!!!
Wow! I feel so old now.
The other day, my boss said something about Bob Hope, and one of my younger colleagues said: "That's the guy who plays golf, right" And everyone just froze (there's a lot of older people at my job since everyone except the dev team are PhD scholars)
Are you allowed to tell us if there is anything big or exciting coming up for the Sims 4 in the near future?
Also do you have any hobbies? I noticed that @SimGuruSteve collects and builds Lego and I wondered if you do a similar thing?
Have a pleasant evening, well actually where you are I'm sure it's the morning. In the UK it's 8:24pm
Matthew.
Yet these are the questions we want answered
That is the sad truth.
To get the fans back, these are the questions you guys need to answer. These are the things that need to be addressed.
I don't mind waiting a while in between GPs and EPs, but it would sure be cool to know what was coming.
Again, for this particular blog series I wanted to focus on who the SimGurus are as individuals, and this is something that some fans do want to learn about. It may not be a blog series meant for everyone, nothing can ever really be for everyone, but it would be terrible of me as the Community Manager to only focus on one portion of the community and not look at the entire community (which is filled with individuals from many facets of life, with different interests, tastes, and play styles who are not only in the forums, but they run their own fansites, have youtube channels, are on social media, etc.)
The things you are wanting to learn wouldn't be in an interview blog series like this one. Does it mean those future related questions will never get answered? No. It just means that we don't have anything to say at the moment. As for the questions regarding the difference in packs, I can try to find the best person to help explain the pack difference to you in a much better way than I can.
In regards to your comment about your game play: are you referring to family play? What is missing for you (outside of Toddlers)? I'm aware that there are different threads on the different ways in which each person defines family play but I'd love to know what it is for you.
Sadly I cannot.
As for my hobbies: I love cross-stitching and embroidery, perler bead art, and drawing (you can also consider me constantly dyeing my hair different colors as a hobby lol ---which reminds me that I need to change my Sim Avatars hair color because I'm not longer green!) I'm a very creative person (which is another reason I've always loved The Sims) so I love to try different ways to express that creativity.
I don't mind not having Open World.I hated the open world in the sims 3 because the game was laggy.But one of the futures I miss the most is CASt and CAW!!!
@SimGuruDrake I know this question wasn't directed at me, and I hope you don't mind me dropping in here, but I did want to answer. For me, family play is building bonds between family members. When I play Sims 3, I love how it feels like parents are guiding and supporting their kids through encouraging skills, and through consequences for negative behaviour. I loved animations like reading your child to sleep while they lay in their bed. I loved how kids could play games with each other, like tag. Teens also had their own special animations, like prom and acne (Sims 2 if I'm not mistaken). I just felt like in previous iterations family members had what felt like unique bonds and interactions that weren't available to the general sim population.
Anyways. Back to the topic on hand: I love this blog series and I can't wait to read more about the people responsible for my beloved sims
SimmerJay CAS Challenge! ✨
Thank you for answering! It is really great to get an idea of what family play means to each person so I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what it means to you and I'm really happy you are enjoying this particular blog series. The time I have spent with the team has really allowed me to get to know each of their personalities and I really wanted to highlight each of them in a fun and relaxing way through this series because they are more than just a twitter handle or a name on the forums. They are real, passionate, and funny people who love what they do.
I have been a Sims fan from the very beginning (14 yr old me would be pretty stoked if she knew she would get to work at Maxis and on The Sims when she got older.)
Ooh, cross-stiching and embroidery. Do you have any projects on the go?
Forgive the ignorance, what's perler bead art?
You mustn't forget yourself during the series of interviews.
I'm actually in the process of cross-stitching one pokemon a day! I am doing it on 14 count AIDA fabric using a 4" hoop.
Oh no worries! Not many people know about perler bead art but here is an example (this isn't done by me):
I'll try not to!
Actually, not me, that's @SimGuruRomeo - I just took the picture. I mean I like Lego and Star Wars - but not like Antonio likes Lego and Star Wars. My desk is filled more with monitors, junk, and :looks around: ... and more monitors, I guess.
Word. We'll have to turn the tables on her sometime.
I'm only in my early 20s and I know Blockbuster.
@SimGuruDrake I can only imagine how much Gurus love this game to spend the time and energy that they do on it. I hope you take the negativity that people can spew on here as passion for the game they love. And with this blog and thread I feel like I know you and @SimGuruSteve a little better now! Perhaps even besties?
SimmerJay CAS Challenge! ✨