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A pack with a story

This week something entirely new will be introduced to the Sims series: a pack that leads the player through a story, made up by the developers. I’m really curious what the community thinks of this new approach (and also how the pack will be received). So, a poll (and I’d love to read arguments too).
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A pack with a story 236 votes

Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
42%
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Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
30%
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Bad! They’d better spend their time and money on gameplay that sticks to what this franchise is about
14%
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Other
11%
GalacticGalBlkBarbiegalsims2freak737Colorist40TinkerballAmphoraelanorbretonBagoas77catloverplayerLizzychicagoladybreidLustianiciajillbgMeela_PashtAlexaKrySerendipity38jcp011c2papertongueSajahiSindocat 28 votes

Comments

  • Zeldaboy180Zeldaboy180 Posts: 5,997 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    Not necessarily just this once, but not often. I'll have to see how the game turns out fiest though.
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  • MikezumiMikezumi Posts: 49,697 Member
    I know that some TS3ers play TS4 but it seems odd to me that you have the poll here. Still, without voting since I don't care what they do with TS4, I will say that I would be against. I am more about sandbox than quests and such. I couldn't even play TS3 without mods because too much of it is scripted for my taste.
  • Emily4331Emily4331 Posts: 10,850 Member
    Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
    I don't plan on buying it, but StrangerVille looks like the freshest breath of fresh air they could've breathed into The Sims 4. I got a big kick out of the trailer and think that having such an interactive story to go with a town is wonderful.

    Of course, players should be able to opt out of it if they wish (which they can opt out in StrangerVille so good on EA), but yeah. The Sims console games frequently had that story approach and they were all fun as heck. So I am all for it. Basically, to me, StrangerVille seems like Sims: Castaway and Sims: Life Stories, but it will allow more freedom and actually be apart of the main game, so I think it's awesome.

    Side note: I swear I owned Life Stories back in the day but it has mysteriously vanished from my house...hmmm...*puts on conspiracy helmet*
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  • MidnightAuraMidnightAura Posts: 5,809 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I’m not sure. Yet.

    The thing is I LOVE games with a strong story, if it’s a game where the story is lead by the player through choices, I like it even better.
    I also liked Castaway and the Sims Medieval as I can appreciate them for what they were as full stand-alone games.

    I can’t comment yet of course on the the StrangerVille or whatever it’s called Mystery. There is a part of me that thinks the game should be and was always meant to be about the player telling their own stories not having a scripted one set out for them. Arguablely though the latest game is all about “The story WE (as in the developers) want to tell” which has been stated by a producer which I think is wrong for the franchise but that’s a whole other topic. The game is very goal orientated and linear enough,

    I think the fact it is something new for a main game series is a good thing as I think the game needs to try new things. But from next week we will know just how much value the story has and from there I could then say “In my opinion it’s a good thing or it’s the worst thing ever”
  • dreamerz13dreamerz13 Posts: 9,927 Member
    It sounds like one I'd actually try before giving my opinion. But since I refuse to pay the rip-off 30% price increase they threw at Canadians last year... that's NEVER going to happen.

    But in theory, putting my rage at EA aside, it's not much my thing this whole story driven game thing. I don't mind that type of gameplay sometimes. But I prefer making my own story, which Sims is amazing for. That being said I'm not outright opposed to the idea of this type of pack existing. Just because a pack doesn't really fit my interests doesn't mean it's bad or shouldn't exist. There's lots of different simmers with lots of different playstyles and interests out there. Maybe it could be a good thing, maybe not. Honestly, I wouldn't mind giving it a shot myself, it could be worth a shot at least. Which isn't going to happen, but whatever. It's not because of the pack itself. I just want to see how the pack is actually executed before deciding. Sims 4 has taken some pretty good ideas and ruined them, so.... yeah. Of course this "maybe yes maybe no" idea could be where they really shine (not that I have much hope. But whatever).
  • jillbgjillbg Posts: 4,600 Member
    Other
    This is not a new idea to the franchise at all, they've already explored it in TS2 with The Sims Life Stories. It was BTW the CD I first bought and that got me totally hooked on the sims...
    Lifestories.jpg
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  • GraceyManorGraceyManor Posts: 20,079 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I disliked the sims medieval for the quest and goals and that is why I don’t play sims 4 with having to meet certain objectives plus I didn’t think they worked on sims 3 anymore
  • CharlottesmomCharlottesmom Posts: 7,015 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    Sounds interesting, I play 4 on occasion and would try out a story type pack if they ever introduced one. :smiley:

    Cool to know they did delve into it in Sims 2.
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited February 2019
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    Mikezumi wrote: »
    I know that some TS3ers play TS4 but it seems odd to me that you have the poll here. Still, without voting since I don't care what they do with TS4, I will say that I would be against. I am more about sandbox than quests and such. I couldn't even play TS3 without mods because too much of it is scripted for my taste.
    Because my poll is about (the character of) the franchise. As it happens this pack is for Sims 4 but that is not the point here. I for instance see similarities with WA, which always has been considered an out of the ordinary pack as well for the franchise (and got a lot of criticism because of it). The reason I posted it here and not in Sims 4 Feedback, is in fact that I want to ask the question on ‘neutral’ ground, answered by a broader part of the community than just Sims 4 fans (I presume their opinions and expectations are all over the boards anyway, not very active there at the moment and imo they are not the only simmers who are allowed to have an opinion about the franchise and its future). Exceeding the version the pack happens to be created for. I consider it a pretty groundbreaking choice for this franchise to create a pack like this.

    So, this poll is NOT about Sims 4. It’s about introducing a storyline based addition to this so far purely sandbox franchise. I haven’t voted myself yet by the way because I’m really on the fence about it. Which is another reason I’m curious for opinions, my mind is still pretty open about this one. I agree with those by the way who say a lot depends on the quality of this pack, how it will turn out. So this poll is purely about the different concept/approach. Look at it this way: I could have made this poll before they announced this pack in the first place.

    P.s. I also see a parallel with Sims Medieval by the way, which as we know was created as an on the side game
    Post edited by JoAnne65 on
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  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    jillbg wrote: »
    This is not a new idea to the franchise at all, they've already explored it in TS2 with The Sims Life Stories. It was BTW the CD I first bought and that got me totally hooked on the sims...
    Lifestories.jpg
    I don’t know that game, did you need Sims 2 to be able to play it or was it more like Medieval?
    5JZ57S6.png
  • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,701 Member
    edited February 2019
    Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
    The Sims Life Stories was one of 3 standalone games called The Sims Stories. Supposedly they were laptop friendly versions of the Sims 2. I believe you had to complete the story and then sandbox mode became available.

    https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_Stories

    https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_Life_Stories

    https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_Pet_Stories

    https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_Castaway_Stories

  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    @simgirl1010 Thanks for that information, I’ll follow the links. For all we know this pack will do the same of course. You can live there, so once you’ve played the story I suppose you can live your sim’s sandbox life there.
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  • Geralt_ofRiviaGeralt_ofRivia Posts: 126 Member
    Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
    I like the Idea of this. It’s nice to see something different come to the game, instead of always getting the same stuff over again.
  • thuggishsplicerthuggishsplicer Posts: 1,745 Member
    Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
    Some how or other, this story feeling reminds me of "Into The Future" and all those quests to unlock stuff on it.

    I've never played Sims 4 and that announcement caught my eye because of the concept of the story. I may not play it so soon because it must be a rip-off... maybe on a huge sales.

    I think it's cool to have these options here and there. Sims 4 started bland for me. Sims Medieval is cool, but it's a different way of playing. It's hard to have the same kind of gameplay in every installment, otherwise people will complain that they don't innovate.
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited February 2019
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    Thanks for all the contributions so far everyone. Still between 'interesting' and 'no way' myself, because I'm strictly a simmer (and not a gamer in general) because of the sandbox aspect and the ability to tell any kind of story you want to (with the game as your guide). On the side though, yeah, I could see how that could be fun.

    @thuggishsplicer Yes, that link crossed my mind as well. And I must confess that I've never explored that aspect of that pack so far because it felt so scripted. No opinion there though, I should try it first (Utopia/Dystopia; I presume that's what you're referring to).
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  • annaliese39annaliese39 Posts: 2,797 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I'm happy to try something new, but I do prefer to create and control my own story. If I wanted a set story to follow, I would play almost any other game. Thankfully it does seem Strangerville keeps that in mind and still has lots to offer. I love my sandbox. :)
  • CinebarCinebar Posts: 33,618 Member
    edited February 2019
    Bad! They’d better spend their time and money on gameplay that sticks to what this franchise is about
    I'm very sad they thought this belonged in the PC series. Storymode games should be stand alone side games. Think of the time, money, and talent it takes to do all that, and takes away from the pc series. To me it's as bad as saying but we can have an MMO and single player all in one game. No, because one or the other will never be all it could be. I feel the same way about if they ever decide to include a Story Mode for those console players who for the most part didn't play or understand what the pc versions are about. Or what draws us to continue buying and playing each new version of this series. It's very, very disappointing the developers also don't understand why these things should never be mixed. And it is even more disheartening to see more people are fine with it, not understanding why it doesn't belong. If you can't understand after almost twenty years of why mixed genres are a problem, then you never will.
    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
  • suzsessuzses Posts: 2,433 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I like my sims games to be sandbox. Commenting on the whole thread, I am kind of a gamer, but when I play the sims, I want something different, which is to be imaginative and creative. I really don't like to be told what to do with it. That being said, it could be kind of interesting as a side thing that can easily be ignored if one chooses to, but I think it's preferable for story line games to be stand alone. I'm afraid I was one who wasn't terribly excited about World Adventures, although I liked a lot of what came with it and learned to use it in ways that I appreciated after a while. Still, though, it's not something I'm really looking for more of.
    Ackney-upon-Sherne Collab on the forum here
    My Sims 3 Studio
    My forum builds thread
  • IreneSwiftIreneSwift Posts: 6,247 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I am actually currently playing an interactive story on my tablet, which is what that pack sounds like. They're fun, but there are only so many times you'll want to play them before you're tired of the same story over again.
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    I have voted as well, because I think the mere fact I started this poll must mean I am interested in this crossroad (and I’m a huge fan of WA so apparently the original all sandbox idea of the franchise isn’t entirely sacred to me, as long as it doesn’t become a focus but just an on the side thing).

    Is it safe by the way to edit a poll (the introduction text)? I’d like to add my explanation why I deliberately posted it here, that my question isn’t about Sims 4. I think the future of the franchise and the directions they choose for it also matter for us, the people who mainly or solely play Sims 3 (and 2). Don’t want to mess up the results though.
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  • MikezumiMikezumi Posts: 49,697 Member
    JoAnne65 wrote: »
    Mikezumi wrote: »
    I know that some TS3ers play TS4 but it seems odd to me that you have the poll here. Still, without voting since I don't care what they do with TS4, I will say that I would be against. I am more about sandbox than quests and such. I couldn't even play TS3 without mods because too much of it is scripted for my taste.
    Because my poll is about (the character of) the franchise. As it happens this pack is for Sims 4 but that is not the point here. I for instance see similarities with WA, which always has been considered an out of the ordinary pack as well for the franchise (and got a lot of criticism because of it). The reason I posted it here and not in Sims 4 Feedback, is in fact that I want to ask the question on ‘neutral’ ground, answered by a broader part of the community than just Sims 4 fans (I presume their opinions and expectations are all over the boards anyway, not very active there at the moment and imo they are not the only simmers who are allowed to have an opinion about the franchise and its future). Exceeding the version the pack happens to be created for. I consider it a pretty groundbreaking choice for this franchise to create a pack like this.

    So, this poll is NOT about Sims 4. It’s about introducing a storyline based addition to this so far purely sandbox franchise. I haven’t voted myself yet by the way because I’m really on the fence about it. Which is another reason I’m curious for opinions, my mind is still pretty open about this one. I agree with those by the way who say a lot depends on the quality of this pack, how it will turn out. So this poll is purely about the different concept/approach. Look at it this way: I could have made this poll before they announced this pack in the first place.

    P.s. I also see a parallel with Sims Medieval by the way, which as we know was created as an on the side game

    I understand your reasoning :) I still won't vote because I really have no opinions about the future of the franchise but I am sure others do and, since they will probably be the future players, I will leave it to them :)
  • Emily4331Emily4331 Posts: 10,850 Member
    Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
    @Cinebar I don't think this concept is half as egregious as you think it is. Devs have confirmed that you can opt out of the story experience, so there is no impact on sandbox gameplay if that is how you prefer to play (which I do, but would definitely play the story at least once to see how it is). I could understand your concern about genre mixing, but considering you can opt out of this story experience, I'm not sure I would even remotely consider this actual genre mixing. Bad genre mixing happens when a game adds unavoidable elements of a genre not in the game series originally. This is just a cute little story experience that you can choose to do or not to do. I dislike The Sims 4 overall and normally do not have any inclination to ever defend it, but I'm sorry to say, you're making a mountain out of a mole hill here. They made it an optional thing, so they clearly realize most players play for the sandbox experience and I highly doubt, then, that they will implement this idea in all future Sims games.
  • AlexaKryAlexaKry Posts: 2,706 Member
    Other
    I voted for other but it is a "bad", too.
    I didn´t like WA at all, I´ve explored a tomb only once, but I thought it was boring. After that I just used the objects from WA for my Sims.
    I´ve tried out TS3Medieval, but didn´t like to fullfill quest, in order to get something in return.
    And when I played TS4 for a short time I didn´t like the restrictions in build/buy mode, where you couldn´t just buy the oven,e.g., you wanted, because you liked the design more, you had to enable the thing by playing a certain career. I had to cheat a lot in this game, which I didn´t like.
    I just don´t like doing quests in a Sims game.
    So this is a bad, too, they should focus on giving players tools for being able to play the game as the players would like and they should focus to enrichen the gameplay with more interaction between Sims.
    Quests don´t help with making the game better, once they´re done the re-playability is lost.
  • CinebarCinebar Posts: 33,618 Member
    edited February 2019
    Bad! They’d better spend their time and money on gameplay that sticks to what this franchise is about
    Emily4331 wrote: »
    @Cinebar I don't think this concept is half as egregious as you think it is. Devs have confirmed that you can opt out of the story experience, so there is no impact on sandbox gameplay if that is how you prefer to play (which I do, but would definitely play the story at least once to see how it is). I could understand your concern about genre mixing, but considering you can opt out of this story experience, I'm not sure I would even remotely consider this actual genre mixing. Bad genre mixing happens when a game adds unavoidable elements of a genre not in the game series originally. This is just a cute little story experience that you can choose to do or not to do. I dislike The Sims 4 overall and normally do not have any inclination to ever defend it, but I'm sorry to say, you're making a mountain out of a mole hill here. They made it an optional thing, so they clearly realize most players play for the sandbox experience and I highly doubt, then, that they will implement this idea in all future Sims games.

    No, you either avoid the story and just put your Sim there like any other world or play a story driven script. Think what this says, we want slow dancing, it's four years later, no sorry, we had to write and animate a linear story script. We want this or this or that we still don't have in TS4. No, sorry we took our time and money and wrote, animated, scripted a story. We want to play our own stories, No, sorry, if you don't play our story you won't get or see any weirdness in the town. And techinially you are buying our town for $20 if you avoid the 'story'.

    See my signature, this is blasphemy to the great Will Wright. :p

    Number one rule of The Sims> 'Games are not the place to tell stories, but let the players tell their own stories. Gurus wanted a story driven pack, how many? 1% of all Simmers of the pc versions ever asked for more story driven packs? Maybe console players do, and maybe mobile gamers do, but PC players don't because we understand the concept of The Sims pc version and it doesn't belong. But I digress, maybe they win in the end and all of TS5 or all next packs will all be Story Mode and make console and mobile players happy.

    ETA: And they have wasted two GPs already with JA and this new one coming out. Don't mean to get on a soap box. lol But think about it. Two GPs with scripted play. And this one even more than JA...money and time spent on something those of us who loved the original focus of The Sims abhor. It's like they don't understand their own game.
    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited February 2019
    Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
    Mikezumi wrote: »
    JoAnne65 wrote: »
    Mikezumi wrote: »
    I know that some TS3ers play TS4 but it seems odd to me that you have the poll here. Still, without voting since I don't care what they do with TS4, I will say that I would be against. I am more about sandbox than quests and such. I couldn't even play TS3 without mods because too much of it is scripted for my taste.
    Because my poll is about (the character of) the franchise. As it happens this pack is for Sims 4 but that is not the point here. I for instance see similarities with WA, which always has been considered an out of the ordinary pack as well for the franchise (and got a lot of criticism because of it). The reason I posted it here and not in Sims 4 Feedback, is in fact that I want to ask the question on ‘neutral’ ground, answered by a broader part of the community than just Sims 4 fans (I presume their opinions and expectations are all over the boards anyway, not very active there at the moment and imo they are not the only simmers who are allowed to have an opinion about the franchise and its future). Exceeding the version the pack happens to be created for. I consider it a pretty groundbreaking choice for this franchise to create a pack like this.

    So, this poll is NOT about Sims 4. It’s about introducing a storyline based addition to this so far purely sandbox franchise. I haven’t voted myself yet by the way because I’m really on the fence about it. Which is another reason I’m curious for opinions, my mind is still pretty open about this one. I agree with those by the way who say a lot depends on the quality of this pack, how it will turn out. So this poll is purely about the different concept/approach. Look at it this way: I could have made this poll before they announced this pack in the first place.

    P.s. I also see a parallel with Sims Medieval by the way, which as we know was created as an on the side game

    I understand your reasoning :) I still won't vote because I really have no opinions about the future of the franchise but I am sure others do and, since they will probably be the future players, I will leave it to them :)
    Thanks, yes, I appreciate that of course.

    @Cinebar Yes, can’t help but agreeing with that, which is why the “just this once” addition in the second option is crucial for me. I happen to love WA, but at the same time I’m glad they only did a pack like that just once. That is... they also kind of did for the last EP but in a much more half-baked way. I only love WA because you can tell they put a lot of time and effort in the exploring aspect of that pack, the tombs and the adventures.
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