Sims 3 goes 'open world'
EA plotting big changes with third in series
UK game's mag PC Gamer (reported by CVG) have this week published the first proper details on The Sims 3, EA's third offering in the mega-best-selling series of voyeuristic lifestyle, Big Brother titles.
EA are apparently targeting "hardcore" PC gamers with the third Sims game, and hope to entice player that thought the first two games were a bit soft, girly and, well, rubbish.
With this in mind, open world gameplay appears to be on the cards, Sims 3 allowing players to send their Sims off through the town, taking in the sights. The article suggests creative director Rod Humble wants to take the experience "into an open world, where Sims can stroll, meet their friends, go to work, interact with each other. And piss themselves in the gym. It's GTA: Pleasantville."
Daily life will roll-on around our charges, with infinite possibilities promised of the rich and authentic game world - brimming with things to do and characters to interact with.
The game is only in the earliest stages of development, but we can also expect a new inventory system and clearer objectives - a bit like an RPG, possibly.
"We've got a design pickle. We need infinitely large metaphysical aspects to your Sim", Rod Humble is quoted by the magazine as stating. "Instead of having to choose six things that define a person's mood," he continues in reference to The Sims 2, "we wanted an infinite number of ways to say how a Sim was feeling.
"We looked around for design mechanisms that we could use, and sure enough, we were like 'hey, buffs! that really works.' Now there are buffs for everything. You can be in a bad mood because you just pissed yourself. You could be in a good mood because you like sitting in sofas. You could be sad because your lover died. Or you could be happy because you're pregnant."
More customisation is also on the cards, with natural skin and the like promised. You'll also be able to share content with other players, letting them download your Sims. That said, no full multiplayer mode is planned.
"The fact that it's a seamless world means that eventually - not to give away too much of our expansion pack strategy, but in theory - The Sims 3 could expand into an entire seamless world. You can imagine a Sims country which you could just live your life in," Humble concludes on the prospect of expansion packs and the like. PC Gamer UK is on sale later this week.
