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Interviews:
Will Wright
[Jason]
How long has the game "the sims" been in development?
[Will] I first had the
idea about 7 years ago. I worked on it for about 4-5 before
being drug into SimCity2000 (which I then took over and spent
about 1.5 years on). After SC2000 I continued to work on The
Sims in the background (with 1 programmer) up until about
2 years ago when we scaled up to a full team.
[Jason] When are you planning to release the game?
[Will] Later this year.
[Jason] What gave you the Idea, or motivated you to
begin working on a game such as this?
[Will] It started because
I wanted to make a game about architecture. I became much
more elaborate in scope over time though.
[Jason] Can you give us more detail on exactly how
the game works?
[Will] This is a very
long answer so I'm just going to paste in an explanation that
Luc wrote below.
[Jason] Can you control the sims? Up to what point?
[Will] Yes, you can tell
the Sims exactly what to do if you wish (walk over there,
eat a snack, pick up that trash, turn on the TV), or you can
sit back and let them decide on their own (each one acts differently
based on how you set up their personality). In reality controlling
more than 2-3 sims at the detailed level is quite difficult
in real-time, so you'll usually just intervene for specific
tactical reasons.
[Jason] Do the sims give "feedback"? If so,
what type of feedback, and how?
[Will] There are several
levels of feedback including: readouts on the control panel,
body gestures (vrying for unhappy, squirming for bladder),
and thought ballons over their heads.
[Jason]
Exactly what type of game is this? Is it like simcity where
you set your own goals?
[Will] Pretty much. In
this game social success is closely tied to materialistic
and career success. So the most obvious goals are to make
a lot of friends, build a fully-staffed (maids, gardeners,
etc.) mansion on the hillside, and advance to the highest
level of the career you've chosen.
[Jason] Where are you in the development in the sims?
What is your say in what goes, and what doesn't?
[Will] I'm the lead designer
(along with 2 co-designers, Claire Curtain and Roxie Wolosinko
(the designers of SimPark and SimSafari)), we argue a lot
but usually end up in consensus on most design issues. We've
got most of the functionality in the game which means we're
just getting to the hard part, tunning.
[Jason] How many characters do you plan for the game?
[Will] Currently about
50-60.
[Jason] Can you create your own characters? If so,
exactly how?
[Will] Yes, see below.
This part below is from Luc Barthelet:
From a phone call with Mayor Teresa yesterday I realized what
I have not explained yet. So here is some more info about
the game:
Creating a character:
You can start the game by creating a family. For each family
member you can select an appearance (body, head) a name, and
you can set its personality. At this time the personality
traits are (Sloppy<->Neat, Shy<->Outgoing, Lazy<->Active,
Serious<->Playful, Grouchy<->Nice, Selfish<->Generous)
As usual this might change. You have so many points to distribute,
so you will have to compromise, and will not be able to make
a character that will be Neat, Outgoing, Active, Playful,
Nice and Generous. Those personalities have an impact on all
aspects of the simulation, so it is a pretty important decision.
I am sure that you will all become experts at predicting behavior
based on the personalities.
Moving in.
Once your family is created, you have to move them in the
Neighborhood. You can either choose an empty lot and build
a house, or move in an existing house (more expensive than
an empty lot, but you don't have to spend money on construction).
First purchases
Whether you built it or bought it, you are moving in an empty
house. Now it is time to buy some furniture. You have to be
careful to buy only what you can afford, and keep some money
to be able to feed your family. Do not forget the bathroom,
as the Sims have basic needs like all of us. If you do not
buy a fridge, you will be limited to ordering pizza, not your
most healthy food when eaten every day...
What do I control?
As soon as you select the "Live" mode, your sims
will come to life. The user can control any of the Sims that
lives in the house. The user can not control the sims that
do not live in the house (visitors, services, anyone else
showing up at the door).
They do not do anything by themselves?
The Sims are autonomous, but if you give them commands, they
will do those first. You can accumulate the commands and they
will do those one after another. When a Sim is selected, you
can see at the top of the screen the list of commands that
they have accumulated. By clicking on any of them you can
remove that command from the list. The Sims starts the game
with no skills, and unless they are in a very good environment
they are not very good at choosing what they should do next.
That's why it is so important for the user to control them,
but it is not required all the time.
Can they die?
Yes, if they cannot feed themselves they can die of hunger.
Or if they are locked in a room on fire (oh, I forgot to tell
you about the fires) they can die. Those are the signs of
a very badly run household.
Do they
go to work?
Buying is fun, but sooner or later you have to pay for what
you have. You also have to pay for food (if you have no cash
the fridge is empty and you cannot call for pizza). The nicer
the house the higher the bills. So at some point you will
have to balance your budget (sounds familiar?). One fund way
to do it is to get someone in the house hold to work and to
get that person promoted to make more and more money. There
are many career tracks to choose from. Once you have a job,
you have to go to work when the carpool shows up in the morning
at 8am. Then you come back at 3pm.
Kids also have to go to school. They do not get promoted,
but they have grades, (from F, to A). I suggest you don't
let them have Fs for too long. If anyone misses work for 2
days, then they get fired, and they have to start and get
a new job again.
How does one gets promoted or gets better grades?
It is directly related to their happiness when they get to
work or school. The happier they are, the more likely they
are to be promoted. So be happy! Quickly jobs require specific
skills. And higher jobs requires connections (friends). So
to get the best jobs, you will have to invest some time in
learning the necessary skills, and make sure you have enough
friends.
What happens
when you do not pay your bills?
Well, your furniture will be repossessed. (forget that big
flat TV...) get back to your job! Remember, if you do not
have any money, you can't eat.
How do I make friends?
You can call them over (using the phone, did you buy a phone?),
and when they are visiting if you are nice to them, maybe
you can be friends. Kids will sometimes bring their friends
back from school.
How can
I grow my family?
Well, if you have very good friends, and you fall in love,
and they also love you, maybe you can propose (when you are
in a really good mood). If they accept, they will move in!
Once you have a couple in the house, they can have kids (more
on this
later...)
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