It's Dai Time

Katie & Scott & Simon & Cecily.

Tag: sims

Day 358: happy birthday, sims

February 4, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Today, our studio celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Sims.

The first Sims game was released 10 years ago today.  Since then, there have been two sequels (one of which I had the honor of working on), with both the original game and Sims 2 having dozens of expansion and stuff pack.

But what a different world it was back then.  When the Sims first launched, Metacritic didn’t exist yet.  I had not yet graduated from high school.  I had not yet dreamed of ever working in the video games industry.  I was fairly certain at the time that I’d probably be a computer scientist for all of my life.

I was instead updating a personal website that used frames, the marquee tag, a listbot subscription field, a guestbook, a visit counter, and had such stellar content as:

I’m back again. And I’m rip roaring ready for another fun-filled year of school. This time, it’s even more special, because (gasp!), I’m a…junior! So, I’m going back to the rat race, the drawing board, the cheese factory, the pit, the blue hallway, whatever you want. I’m going back. That means I get to see all my loyal friends (and loyal enemies). Yeah! A little bonus for you all…I now have a picture of me!

Unfortunately, that picture of me is lost forever in the Internet.  Even I don’t remember whatever unfortunate hairstyle or expression I may have been wearing at the time.  It probably looked a little something like this:

sound board hijinks

Anyway, the point is, the pedigree of the games that I’ve been working on for the past three years is long and grand.  I’m proud to continue the work of all those who have come before me, to make games that are about creativity, storytelling, and the lives of ordinary people.  I’m honored to be part of a decade-long commitment to making games that can be fun without ever requiring you to shoot anyone in the face.

Also, the celebration at work today meant I got free cake.  So, that’s a big plus, too.

Day 9: what makes video games fun? (part 1)

February 20, 2009 / / 1 Comment

I try to play many video games, both in sheer number and in a variety of different genres.  Part of this is in an attempt to become a better producer, but it’s mostly because I find it fun.

While I cannot play every game that comes out, the lending library that we have here at work, along with the company store and the occasional purchase means that I can get pretty good coverage of all the “major” games that get released (although the definition of major is heavily controlled by how much marketing a particular game receives).

This initial brief inspection of what – to me – is a good game focuses on one aspect of games: difficulty.  As I’ve grown older and my total free time has become narrowly defined by my working hours, I’ve started to appreciate more and more the shorter games with solid story and gameplay: the Portals, the Mirror’s Edges, the Dead Spaces.  That’s not to say I don’t get enjoyment out of an epic like Zelda or Fallout or GTA.  It’s just that the length, after the initial 15-20 hours, begins to feel like it’s working against me instead of for me.

Starting a long game isn’t the problem.  The problem is that with a long game, I’ll often reach a point where the difficulty of progressing is no longer worth the reward of what I’ll unlock.  There’s a very fine balance between making a game challenging and making a game hard.  I feel that many games fall into the trap of needing to ensure an experience that isn’t too easy and end up forgetting that difficulty requires fun gameplay to motivate the player to continue.

Maybe I’m bitter because I played Street Fighter IV for two hours last night and couldn’t defeat Arcade mode on Very Easy.  Maybe it’s because I remember exactly when I stopped playing GTA IV – a mission where I had to clear out an entire building full of drug dealers.  I did so and got a great feeling of accomplishment, only to be shot down by a police helicopter trying to escape and being reset to the beginning of the mission.  Maybe I just suck at games with “IV” in the title.

Regardless, it just felt like I was being needlessly punished by the game.  Why weren’t the GTA checkpoints in the mission closer together?  Why are the Very Easy fighters on Street Fighter still so good at fighting?  I should never have to say, “What?  Are you kidding me?” to my TV while playing in regards to failing.  I should only say things like “Oops.” or “Agh!  I can do this!” or “Wow, those 12 year olds are much better with sniper rifles than I am.”

It’s funny because The Sims series is the exact opposite of most games.  There is very little difficulty involved.  In fact, if you let your computer sit there, your Sims will generally do a decent job at taking care of themselves.  All our money cheats are right there in the readme and there’s no stigma to giving yourself a million dollars to build that ultimate mansion.  And yet, designers and producers on the team still talk about making sure that we’re not making things too hard or too easy – that we walk that fine line where players don’t feel like they’re watching the game play itself but also don’t feel inadequate because they’re not “good enough” to get past the first level (of a career or skill, for example).

And that’s a good thing.

Day 5: what i do at work (part 1)

February 16, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I do not get President’s day off, so I’ll be working today.  I worked a bit yesterday too, because our deadlines are getting close and there’s still much to do.  I don’t mind going overtime when I have to, if it means making a better game in the end, and despite the somewhat cyclical nature of stressful times, I really like my job.

But what do I really do?  Ask me when we first meet and I’ll tell you that I’m a “producer on the Sims 3” – but what does that really mean?  If you’re not in the game industry, it won’t be immediately clear and almost 2 years into the job, I’m still doing my best to put into words the actual responsibilities and day-to-day tasks I do.

In general, what is a producer?  A producer is…someone who makes sure stuff gets done?  Someone who attempts to keep in mind the big picture and overall quality of the product?  Someone who tells people what to do?  Someone who produces?

Those are all somewhat general and stereotypical answers that I’ve either spouted at one time or another or head other people say.  Like most generalizations, they’re not entirely accurate but tell a bit of the story.

For me, the best thing I can compare it to is directing a show in college.  A producer is a bit like a director, but (at my level, at least) with less power.  As a producer, you often get to see all the pieces of the puzzle that everyone else is making so you can ensure that they all fit together nicely.  Although very little of what I actually do (in a labor sense) ends up in the final game – much like when the curtain rises, the audience doesn’t see any of my work directly – a producer has a lasting and large influence of the overall way that a game is presented.

For example, let’s say you fire up a game for the first time and are presented with a menu screen.  You start a new game and get a short tutorial.  No, I didn’t make any of the art assets for that menu or tutorial, nor did I do the coding to make them behave like they do.  But a producer (probably in conjunction with a designer) ensured that the tutorial played well and taught you what you needed to know in the right amount of time.  We probably considered how the main menu would affect the flow of the start of the game.  We take the feedback from focus tests, the marketing department, and other members on the team and try to turn it into coherent and specific changes that improve the game.

In summary, a producer must – while working on bugs and spreadsheets and a bunch of little tasks – always keep their eye on the main goal: making the player happy while retaining the original intentions of the design of the game.

© 2024 It's Dai Time

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑