Back in April we had sent SimGuruShannon a small Q&A on her work in the sims & some questions on Generations. Today we received back the answers to those questions. (Late, but she’s a busy woman!) The questions we asked, had not been answered yet at the time, so excuse the “old” questions! 😛 Why not post the Q&A anyway? 😉
We do learn that we will not be able to select our sims maternity clothing, only teens and children can play pranks, and we can even take our sims to existing rabbit holes for a date…including the Mausoleum! 😯 Imagine that for a first date! 😆
♦ How long have you been working on the Sims 3 series?
I have been working on The Sims 3 since 2008.
♦ What part of your work do you enjoy the most?
Wow, I enjoy a lot of things about my job! I make video games for one! How cool is that? I love working with my team! They are all so amazingly talented, intelligent, funny, caring, and passionate. I enjoy hearing from our fans. You guys have such great ideas. We love seeing how you play with the game.
♦ What project(s) in the Sims 3 do you work on?
I am in charge of the Stuff Packs and the Expansion Packs. I think at one point I was working on 6 of them at once. Of course they were all at different stages of development of course.
♦ How many EP’s and Sp’s can players expect to see in the Sims 3 Series?
We really can’t say. You’ll just have to wait and see. Right now we finished Generations. What are you looking forward to being able to do in it? 🙂
♦ We are heading into our 4th EP named Generations. What was(is) your role in creating this Expansion?
I worked with the Design team to come up with the theme. I then worked with our Marketing partners to make sure that this was the right pack. We conducted surveys to see if our fans were interested in Generations. Once we found out that this is the pack that your guys were the most interested in, we started to brainstorm and flush out the design. We then play the game and tweak it to make it a fun game.
♦ What type of SP can we expect to see next?
We haven’t announced anything yet, but stay tuned. 🙂
♦ When deciding on the 4th Expansion Pack, how did the team decide on Generations?
We conducted surveys to see if our fans were interested in a theme like Generations. Once we found out that this is the pack that your guys were the most interested in, we started to brainstorm and flush out the design. The team had a lot of great ideas that we pulled from our own life experiences. Who didn’t have an imaginary friend growing up? Mine was named Maynard.
♦ What new features will Generations bring into Sunset Valley? Was there a specific reason a new town was not included?
All of The Sims 3 Generations’ new features can be played in Sunset Valley! From having a Bachelor Party at Le Petit Shark Swim Center to Ding Dong Ditching the Landgraab’s house, all of the new features can be taken advantage of in Sunset Valley, as well as Riverview, Twinbrook, Bridgeport, or Barnacle Bay. When we started designing Generations, we made the decision not to include a new town because we wanted this pack to be all about the Sims themselves! The extra development time went into making features like Midlife Crisis and Romantic reputations more fun!
♦ Other than the playground, are there any other community lots that have been added to the game?
We have created 8 residential lots and the new playground.
♦ It has been said that dating has returned in Generations. Is this option like the “group outings” in Late Night? Will we see any Rabbit Holes open up for sims to go out? (Restaurants, Theater etc)
Dating has indeed returned! It does work similarly to grouping from Late Night, but the brand new Romantic Reputations feature takes it to a whole new level! If your Sim is seen going on lots of dates with different Sims, they may develop the Player reputation! We didn’t open up any Rabbitholes, but Sims can take advantage of the existing Rabbitholes to take their dates on! How does a date to the local Mausoleum sound?
♦ With Treehouse and Shower woohoo, will we also get the option to woohoo in vehicles again?
We did not add woohooing in the cars, but your Sims can woohoo in the shower and treehouse. Try not to get splinters!
♦ Is bringing back the ability to bathe infants an toddlers something the team is planning on bringing back to the game?
You never know. 😉
♦ Since Pranksters can get a reputation during their teen years, does this mean that it will effect them in adulthood? Will adults be able to continue their pranks as adults?
Everything a Sim does as they grow up can affect their chances of developing a Midlife Crisis when they age up to an adult! Things like never getting married, having a low career level, or bad relationships with family members will all increase the chances of having a Midlife Crisis. Only children and teens can plant booby traps and play pranks.
♦ Has Generations given us an option to select our Sims maternity clothes?
You can’t select it, but The Sims 3 Generations does come with brand new maternity clothes!
♦ Is the Day Care profession the only new career added into Generations?
Day Care is the only new profession, but trust me, it is all you need! Have you ever tried to take care of 3 screaming babies and a toddler that are up to no good??
♦ When Teens attend their Prom, is there a special community lot for the dance? Can we select where Prom will be held or will it be a rabbit hole dance?
Your Sim dresses in Formal clothes and a limo arrives to take them to their prom. The prom is held at their school. Your Sims could end up with a new crush, become Prom King or Queen or even get into a fight. You can even post their prom picture online and share them with your friends.
