For a long time now, The Sims has been the only game in town. When we talk about 'sim games', we don't mean things 'like the sims', we mean very specific simulators like Euro Truck Simulator, or Bus Simulator: Ultimate, or Shower With Your Dad Simulator. That last one is real, by the way. As far as a life sim goes, where you create a human character and control their existence, along with interfering in the lives of their neighbours and family, it's just The Sims. Even the name is definitive. Now though, like London buses, two copycats are coming along at once. There's Paralives, announced three years ago and developed by a small team led by Alex Massé, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the recently announced Life By You, published by Paradox and made🥂 by a team led by The Sims legend Rod Humble. When it comes to the latter though, I have to ask: why?
I work with and report on The Sims fans often enough to know that the community has its issues with the game. Whether its constant monetisation, empty expansions, or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:that whole deal with the weddings, it's fair to say The Sims 4 has its fair share of critics, and most of them adore it regardless. Having no competitor in a genre that is casual and supports a drip-feed philosophy is a recipe for complacency, and maybe The Sims could use some. I'm not questioning why anyone would take them on. I'm wondering why Humble is the one to do it.
Humble previously worked at EA, where his job title was Head of The Sims. He played a major role in The Sims 2 & 3, and was even an NPC in 2. After that, he worked on Second Life, which at one point in time was The Sims' biggest competitor. Now he's at Paradox leading its attempt at The Sims. In these games, you can do whatever you want, achieve whatever you imagine, and push characters in the wildest and most inventive directions. In his own life, he's made the same game three times, and is now chasing down a fourth.
With a name like that, I have to assume Humble’s a nice guy. Doesn't brag a lot, you know? But he has huge experience across some of the most iconic games of all time, and what he's doing with that experience is making the same game again, but for somebody else. I understand seeing The Sims 4 and its lack of competition as an easy win, I know why studios want to move into this space, and I appreciate that there is more than one way to make The Sims. But Humble could be applying the learned knowledge of how players react within a life-sim environment to an RPG, or a point and click, or (given it's for Paradox) a strategy game.
Humble isn’t a character in The Sims that I can pull and push in whatever direction pleases me, before putting him in the swimming pool and removing the ladders. But it feels like we're getting more clones these days, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:more spiritual successors, more attempts to cash-in on something else's in-built popularity rather than risk creating something separately. Life By You, by the man who brought you the very game it's copying, is the latest example. Like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Callisto Protocol before it, it all feels soulless.
Games are in serious danger of losing creativity at the highest level, because legacy creators are being kept around to reheat thoughts they had over a decade ago. Meanwhile, fresh voices are being forced to conform to the algorithms, focus groups, and demographic appeal charts that drive the industry more than ever. There is no next Rod Humble or next Glen Schofield, just those two, sti☂ll here. It’s either new voices being forced to mimic old ones or the old ones still here, echoing outwards endlessly.
I haven't mentioned Paralives here, but I'm willing to give it a pass. It's made by a team of just ten people and though it looks to take cues from The Sims, it's not chasing the big bucks or trying to create a clone. It is using the basic formula of The Sims and through the necessity of the team's limitations, will remove a lot of the complexity in the hopes that the remaining simplicity will allow the gameplay to sing. I admire it, because I think it's born of creativity and affection.
The Sims needs a strong competitor, and Life By You could be that game. It just doesn't feel like the most imaginative thing you can ask the former Head of The Sims to make is just The Sims, But With Money Going To Our Company. That makes it feel less like competition and more like a rip-off, with limited fresh ideas and instead a determination to cash-in on nostalgia - nothing at all like Paralives attempting to offer a cleaner look at the genre with an indie philosophy. We'll hear more about the game later this month, and there might be a world of difference, but I can't say I'm hopeful. Maybe I'll be eating humble pie.