Sims 4's "alternate timeline" is unpopular among the fanbase. My theory is that Sims team is now aware of the importance of lore and will provide greater care to this 20+ year old franchise.
Sims Community has reported that the next-gen Sims game will likely have more narrative elements via job listings.
Responsibilities
Guide the delivery of the following:
Define and maintain the narrative vision of the project.
Explore new ways to bring characters to life and create emotional experiences in a non-linear simulation experience.
Work with multiple disciplines to direct and implement the characters, settings, goals, and conflicts from drafts in game.
Work with the tools team to improve workflow and processes.
Create design documentation to support prototyping efforts.
Partner with Development Directors to track tasks, identify risk, and clarify changes in work.
Partner with UX to design, research, and implement features, particularly for introducing narrative elements and decisions.
Aid team leadership in gathering presentation materials.
Playtest, attend UXR sessions, and participate in organizing feedback/insights.
Document findings for future use in Sims development.
Qualifications
Significant Narrative Game Genre design experience, especially in the area of creating the production pipeline to integrate story with the gameplay.
Capability to lead cross-discipline prototyping and idea iteration, actively participating in the development of a feature from start to finish.
Experience with young adult fiction, pop-culture stories, in particular romantic narratives.
Hands-on implementation for an interactive experience or mod.
Excited by and helping define new business and distribution models like live services through the lens of narrative elements.
Knowledge of popular interactive story machinima or mod communities a plus (ex: The Sims, Episode, Grand Theft Auto Online).
Excellent communication and presentation skills required.
Personally, I don't think there is a need to rewrite fundamental characteristics, relationships, and timelines. Continue the history and build on the foundation.
Sims 3 added a backstory to the events of Sims 1 and 2. Now for the future.
I really wish they continue the lore and mysteries from Sims 2. I think it would be really interesting to see for example Bella and Mortimer's grandchildren or Lilith Pleasant with Dirk Dreamer have a family together in the new game.
They could also mix it up meaning that they could also make descendants of returning families who were on TS3 or even TS4.
I agree. The Narrative Designers working on Project Rene have a lot of source material documented on the Sims Wiki for their research.
I would personally like for them to continue the timeline while merging in elements of TS4’s lore, that way it doesn’t brush TS4 off to the side and pretend it never happened. I’m not a fan of the “TS4 is a separate timeline“ so I look for any angle to connect it with the previous games, even if it contradicts a few things haha.
Game lore is the one feature that doesn't interest me at all. I've always deleted the majority of the game created characters while keeping a few just to have some sims in the background as friends/coworkers/schoolmates for my created sims.
I've played one Maxis sim and that was Agnes Crumplebotton for a Sims 3 story challenge.
The narrative features sound interesting but only as they pertain to my created sims.
Game lore is the one feature that doesn't interest me at all. I've always deleted the majority of the game created characters while keeping a few just to have some sims in the background as friends/coworkers/schoolmates for my created sims.
I've played one Maxis sim and that was Agnes Crumplebotton for a Sims 3 story challenge.
The narrative features sound interesting but only as they pertain to my created sims.
I remember that job listing, I wondered back then if they were looking into creating more stories with recognizable sims that people remember. A lot of sims that we have seen in previous games are often remembered for their backstories and events that have happened to them, Bella Goth for example.
I think having more events that give more world building and background to the characters in the world that you are playing is a good thing. Personally I don't like sims who doesn't have a good back story, they are not interesting and I have a hard time making up my own stories.
This should also not be limited by the design of the game, like with the recent Expansion Pack High School Years where Molly was the Principal's Daughter for the High School in that world but the player could not play them at all because that resulted in the Principal getting replaced and the back story was gone.
For Project Rene, I think they should find a way to include the back stories and events from the old games but also have new stories that new players that are not familiar with can also experience. They should probably have a mix of "legacy" sims from the old games and their back stories, some sims from The Sims 4 like the Pancakes family with maybe some hints of what happened to them and also some new sims that showcases what's new in this generation of sims.
And one thing that I listed as a feature that I would like to see in the next sims game are events that the player can choose to partake in or not, in these events we could see interactions between these characters, similar to the stories that they showcased when making their promotional trailers. This would allow the player to interact with the story, getting to know these characters and maybe also shape it their way by having the game allowing different outcomes.
I am just like @simgirl1010, lore is not something that I personally need or have ever paid attenttion to. I don't care for some pre-defined story when I'm playing, I already have in my head what my story will be and based upon that I create/direct it it accordingly.
Besides Bob & Betty, I haven't ever "played" any premades in any of the games (I started with TS and have played them all). Actually all of the premades in my current save are bye-bye and replaced with my own sims. Usually I'll let a few premades live in my world as background filler, but this save I evicted them all out of their houses.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
I would like the next Sims iteration to continue from Sims 2, as Sims 3 was set in the past.
An updated Pleasantview map would be epic! Maybe some of the other towns from Sims 2 and the ability to make your own worlds and lore.
For the Goth house I would love to be able to see Bella be kidnapped by alien and go from there.
I do wonder whether the Sims themselves will be made more realistic or go comic book style. 🤔🤷🏼♂️
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Bella and Mortimer are staples of the game by now, would be weird to not have them at all. Maybe they could add next generation of sims going from premades in TS4 and then have the older ones either playable or as ghosts in a cemetery. Maybe they could add some characters just as history pieces, landmarks and family heirlooms, like pictures, journals, furniture objects.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I’m telling you that Maxis has a limited budget so cannot add everything we all want to the game. The Sims 2 also didn’t have everything we want. None of the previous games have everything we want.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I’m telling you that Maxis has a limited budget so cannot add everything we all want to the game. The Sims 2 also didn’t have everything we want. None of the previous games have everything we want.
it doesn't have everything every player wants but still did good enough for an early 2000s game. 20 years later i'm sure devs can do the same and improve from there. it's not unaffordable for Maxis to do it.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I’m telling you that Maxis has a limited budget so cannot add everything we all want to the game. The Sims 2 also didn’t have everything we want. None of the previous games have everything we want.
it doesn't have everything every player wants but still did good enough for an early 2000s game. 20 years later i'm sure devs can do the same and improve from there. it's not unaffordable for Maxis to do it.
How do you know what is or isn’t affordable for Maxis to do? Do you know what their budget is, and their list of expenses for what you would consider as improvements to TS2?
Anyway, this is off topic as it has nothing to do with lore.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
Then selfishly I care about them hiring at least a single narrative designer to work on lore. Hardly much of the budget. And they’re already hiring one so I don’t know what else to tell you. If you don’t care about the lore I guess that’s a small part of the budget not being spent on something you want. Just how it works
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I’m telling you that Maxis has a limited budget so cannot add everything we all want to the game. The Sims 2 also didn’t have everything we want. None of the previous games have everything we want.
it doesn't have everything every player wants but still did good enough for an early 2000s game. 20 years later i'm sure devs can do the same and improve from there. it's not unaffordable for Maxis to do it.
How do you know what is or isn’t affordable for Maxis to do? Do you know what their budget is, and their list of expenses for what you would consider as improvements to TS2?
Anyway, this is off topic as it has nothing to do with lore.
lmao, do you know either? you seem too worried about their limitations, do you even know them at all?
what i can tell you is that we all see how the sims 2 are, the amount of content it has, i highly doubt Maxis can't at least make something like that given they've already done it many years ago. i assume they can afford it given ea is a multi billion dollar company.
I too have been playing since The Sims and have never played any pre-made character except for the Newbies. I would rather they spend the money on more interactions and animations instead of on things that are of no use to me.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
Then selfishly I care about them hiring at least a single narrative designer to work on lore. Hardly much of the budget. And they’re already hiring one so I don’t know what else to tell you. If you don’t care about the lore I guess that’s a small part of the budget not being spent on something you want. Just how it works
That’s fine as I’m sure they’ll also add things I want, that you don’t. 😁 They may even omit things you want more than lore, but now won’t as they have spent the money on adding lore. 😜
What if they have to choose between lore and build mode? How do they choose which gets the most attention? Hopefully we can influence them as storytelling and lore really needs focusing on.
Sims 4 has great worlds that are lovely to look at. The build tool is the best. CAS has a lot of elements and clothes.
What it lacks is the ability to play out stories and consequences. I have to imagine Ralph still remembers Sally beat him at chess so that’s why he’s going to give a mean greeting at the park. Lavania Chopra was forced to retire as mayor to make way for someone younger so she’s plotting her revenge on the villagers of Henford-on-Bagley.
I love playing Pleasantview in Sims 2 as you can get right into the story of who lives there. I would love that captured in Sims 5 with updated graphics. 😊
Comments
Sims Community has reported that the next-gen Sims game will likely have more narrative elements via job listings.
Personally, I don't think there is a need to rewrite fundamental characteristics, relationships, and timelines. Continue the history and build on the foundation.
Sims 3 added a backstory to the events of Sims 1 and 2. Now for the future.
Forum user @IVXXXVI wrote:
I agree. The Narrative Designers working on Project Rene have a lot of source material documented on the Sims Wiki for their research.
I've played one Maxis sim and that was Agnes Crumplebotton for a Sims 3 story challenge.
The narrative features sound interesting but only as they pertain to my created sims.
What was your first Sims game?
I've played them all. Loved them all. Still have them all. Really want to find time one day to get back to Sims 2 and 3. I left so much undone.
I think having more events that give more world building and background to the characters in the world that you are playing is a good thing. Personally I don't like sims who doesn't have a good back story, they are not interesting and I have a hard time making up my own stories.
This should also not be limited by the design of the game, like with the recent Expansion Pack High School Years where Molly was the Principal's Daughter for the High School in that world but the player could not play them at all because that resulted in the Principal getting replaced and the back story was gone.
For Project Rene, I think they should find a way to include the back stories and events from the old games but also have new stories that new players that are not familiar with can also experience. They should probably have a mix of "legacy" sims from the old games and their back stories, some sims from The Sims 4 like the Pancakes family with maybe some hints of what happened to them and also some new sims that showcases what's new in this generation of sims.
And one thing that I listed as a feature that I would like to see in the next sims game are events that the player can choose to partake in or not, in these events we could see interactions between these characters, similar to the stories that they showcased when making their promotional trailers. This would allow the player to interact with the story, getting to know these characters and maybe also shape it their way by having the game allowing different outcomes.
Besides Bob & Betty, I haven't ever "played" any premades in any of the games (I started with TS and have played them all). Actually all of the premades in my current save are bye-bye and replaced with my own sims. Usually I'll let a few premades live in my world as background filler, but this save I evicted them all out of their houses.
I think the Narrative Designer will be working by themself in designing the lore independently of the animators and software engineers.
An updated Pleasantview map would be epic! Maybe some of the other towns from Sims 2 and the ability to make your own worlds and lore.
For the Goth house I would love to be able to see Bella be kidnapped by alien and go from there.
I do wonder whether the Sims themselves will be made more realistic or go comic book style. 🤔🤷🏼♂️
The money still comes out of The Sims budget, and I would like it to be spent on things we can’t do ourselves. We’ll be able to create our own sims, or download sims that other simmers create.
I don't care much for CAS, but I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that because I know there are other players who care about it.
Nobody is suggesting that you should suggest that money shouldn’t be allocated to CAS. I just stated my preference for the money to be used for interactions and animations instead since I don’t play with pre-made characters. It’s no different from you hoping for the money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations.
Okay, thanks for clarifying. It sounded like you were suggesting that you were hoping that the Sims Team doesn't take money out of the budget for things you personally don't care about, like lore, at the expense of everyone else who cares about it. I would not want to subject other fans to that trade-off, which is why I did not say I want money to be spent on characters with backstories instead of interactions and animations and I did make the point to say "I'm not going to suggest that money shouldn't be allocated to that"
I think we both agree that we all need to be somewhat selfless here as there are many fans with different priorities.
Unfortunately, there’s always a trade-off as our wants for the game is unlimited while Maxis has a limited budget. So every time we ask for something, we’re being selfish even if we don’t state what we would prefer to be excluded. Let’s not lie to ourselves to feel better about not being selfless. 😀
you mean to tell us they can't afford to do what sims 2 accomplished 20 years ago?
I’m telling you that Maxis has a limited budget so cannot add everything we all want to the game. The Sims 2 also didn’t have everything we want. None of the previous games have everything we want.
it doesn't have everything every player wants but still did good enough for an early 2000s game. 20 years later i'm sure devs can do the same and improve from there. it's not unaffordable for Maxis to do it.
How do you know what is or isn’t affordable for Maxis to do? Do you know what their budget is, and their list of expenses for what you would consider as improvements to TS2?
Anyway, this is off topic as it has nothing to do with lore.
Then selfishly I care about them hiring at least a single narrative designer to work on lore. Hardly much of the budget. And they’re already hiring one so I don’t know what else to tell you. If you don’t care about the lore I guess that’s a small part of the budget not being spent on something you want. Just how it works
lmao, do you know either? you seem too worried about their limitations, do you even know them at all?
what i can tell you is that we all see how the sims 2 are, the amount of content it has, i highly doubt Maxis can't at least make something like that given they've already done it many years ago. i assume they can afford it given ea is a multi billion dollar company.
and yeah this is off topic, sorry op.
That’s fine as I’m sure they’ll also add things I want, that you don’t. 😁 They may even omit things you want more than lore, but now won’t as they have spent the money on adding lore. 😜
Sims 4 has great worlds that are lovely to look at. The build tool is the best. CAS has a lot of elements and clothes.
What it lacks is the ability to play out stories and consequences. I have to imagine Ralph still remembers Sally beat him at chess so that’s why he’s going to give a mean greeting at the park. Lavania Chopra was forced to retire as mayor to make way for someone younger so she’s plotting her revenge on the villagers of Henford-on-Bagley.
I love playing Pleasantview in Sims 2 as you can get right into the story of who lives there. I would love that captured in Sims 5 with updated graphics. 😊