Rock, Paper, Shotgun

What’s this? A press release has come tumbling through the RPS letterbox, bound in tattered leather and announcing the Spring 2011 release of The Sims Medieval. A full game of its own (presumably using the Sims 3 engine), The Sims Medieval will allow players to create their very own “Hero Sim (TM)” and then either head off on quests or focus on building up their kingdom. We’re promised “drama, romance, conflict, and comedy” involving “characters from all walks of life, from Kings and Queens, to Knights and Wizards, Blacksmiths and Bards.” Full press release, some screens and some thoughts after the break.
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College Humor gets it right pretty often, and this remarkably well produced Sims spoof is perfectly aimed. Sure, we’ve all told our own version of the time we made our Sims die in a puddle of their own urine, but CH realises those jokes with impressive production values and a superb horror movie vibe. In fact, it’s because we’re all so familiar with the themes that it works so well. Watch it below.

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Cleverman make cleverthinks! Fresh from the Web 2.0 expo earlier this month is this entertaining and educating half-hour talk with Will Wright about everything including but not limited to his career and games to date, what’s next, lessons learned from Second Life, the intersect between games and reality and -ooh missus – Spore’s controversial DRM and the business considerations around it: “These people have paid money for a game, and you don’t want to be treating them basically as criminals”. On Spore itself, he observes that he wanted it to be almost more of a toy than a game per se – something else for the game’s many critics to chew on, then.

Also especially salient is an observation that gamers are basically narcissitic – “the more you can make the game about that person, the more interested, the more emotionally involved they will get.” A theme which, clearly, has run through a number of his games. LET THE MAN SPEAK.
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We don’t usually pay much attention to the charts, but I spotted the September 6th line up over on Shacknews and it amused me. And there’s a mystery…
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Last week we brought you part one of our interview with EA’s Rod Humble. This week we bring you the second part, where we get down to talking about Rod’s day job: The Sims. When you’re sat down for dinner with the man in charge of one the biggest selling gaming franchise ever, and have a chance to find out more about the forthcoming The Sims 3, what do you ask about? Peeing. And then some slightly more practical questions. Along the way we discussed The Sims’ sociology on a wider scale, how Rod finds freezing to death endlessly funny, and why The Sims’ expansion packs deserve a better time than the gaming press gives them.

RPS: You said that you want Sims 3 to welcome back the hardcore.

RH: Yeah. We’re adding systems which add depth and longevity to the gameplay. In addition to being able to go up many different advancement tracks, such as gardening or hobbies. The game also gives you little tasks to do. The game has an added depth that I think we’ve learned from other games that have come out in the last four or five years. It adds that extra meat of challenge. I think a lot of current players love all the Sims games as creative tools, but quite often I think core gamers like challenge and depth, and we’re always trying to strike a balance. I hope Sims 3 adds a little bit more to that balance.

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An unimaginable number of little computer people have now been created and probably sent to work against their will by cackling human overlords.

“At this milestone, we want to thank players of The Sims everywhere for making The Sims such a worldwide phenomenon,” said Rod Humble, Head of Studio for The Sims Label. “The Sims has been an interactive experience for people around the globe to explore their passion for creativity and we’re thrilled to be a part of that. From building houses and relationships, from the first kiss to a toddler’s first step, from kitchen fires – and even visits from ghosts, players have told more than 100 million unique and fun stories!”

What’s perhaps most remarkable about this is how few games have actually tried to imitate The Sims or cash in on the success of the series. I can really only think of a handful of other games, and few of those have the same kind of universality. Anyway, good work Sims designers, looks like you’ve proved you don’t need a gun lurking at the bottom of the screen after all…