SimGuruGrant, the lead producer working on The Sims 4 has answered plenty of questions on Twitter over the last few days which revolve mostly around the game’s possibilities and which features could potentially be implemented in the game.
Note that the answers he provided are somewhat vague considering that none of the SimGurus are able to reveal or tease upcoming content before the official announcement. Still, there’s some valuable information about what the game can and can’t do that you might find interesting.
We’ve listed all of his answers down below. As soon as new tweets surface we’ll make sure to update this post and if there’s a bigger batch of answers we’ll include them in a different post.
Baby Ariel has a MASSIVE following. Like, millions upon millions of people. The reality is that we’re always trying to seek new folks and let others know how cool The Sims is. Baby Ariel (and her family, who I all met!) were super fantastic partners. She helps us reach new fans. https://t.co/m4sDlBQdhr
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
I’d LOVE this. @SimGuruMorgan suggested this. https://t.co/sBkL02Y5Zn
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Something we discuss constantly is how to address and improve representation for a lot of cultures. This was a big factor behind our August update and something that will continue to drive us. We look to brands like Fenty Beauty with great respect. https://t.co/PwsoPYP14c
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
Most things are possible. https://t.co/T4CRlx8eWB
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
We joke about this A LOT. I don’t think it was intentional but it tends to work. When we pick titles, it has to work in 18 languages worldwide. So, it’s always SUCH A THING. I wanted to call Dine Out “Get to Dinner.” https://t.co/v7hlkH94nP
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
It’s possible (modders have made a version!). But it’s tough/costly to do right. It’d be very cool to do. https://t.co/XAdSZnwBi3
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
It’s possible. The challenge is finding a fit/theme for it. The reason being it’d be *very* costly, so it needs to *really* matter. https://t.co/pAlCbhmQlD
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 19, 2018
Yes, it is a possible to do thing. https://t.co/2mzGyf0WQL
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
We’ve talked about it. But, we have a lot of kitchen appliances and a blender would make…more drinks? More soups? Would it really add too much value? https://t.co/LYnwBH8HZM
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
It’s a tough sell to promote that we made more garbage options :/
One of our challenges is that we know folks want us to imitate life, but we also have to carefully choose compelling, fun stories that are broadly appealing. It’s a difficult balancing act. https://t.co/ylI5css3LM
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
Toilets, sofas, chairs, don’t require new functionality, animations, or code. And we frequently receive requests for more decor and styles.
Basically, it isn’t an accurate comparison of a new object with functionality versus a mimic (the word we use). https://t.co/C4FBP8jvQM
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
This is a grand over-statement, but for every pack we have capacity for every discipline (animation, modeling, concept, audio, engineering, etc.). This dictates how much we make, and where, etc. https://t.co/PFZzy7exV8
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) December 20, 2018
We don’t pixelize it to add any commentary. We pixelize it because we are a T for Teen game and it is required that we cover all “intimate” body parts when Sims do things. I’m sorry you are upset by it. I promise we are 100% pro mom in this case. https://t.co/PYEs0rwq5u
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
We animate every single interaction you see in our game. Every expansion features hundreds of staff days worth of animation. Cats & Dogs featured *thousands*. It has nothing to do with the engine. https://t.co/r6PAkQRoRf
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
Not in the TS3 Create a World sense, but we have *some* ideas. It’s a significant undertaking and we’d have to weigh it against other options. https://t.co/hcYAzWnHr4
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
We think about this, but there are a few things. For one, homelessness is a serious problem (especially in the Bay Area where I live) and we don’t want to make light of that. Poverty, family life, substance abuse, financial hardship – these are not light topics. https://t.co/IzRv07GirO
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
Some of the clothing cannot really be fixed as the game wasn’t originally designed to support this. It wasn’t something we had considered originally, and while I’m glad we made this first step, we can definitely continue to grow and improve here with other titles. https://t.co/TMMs4nrdXw
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
The challenge here is that this process is *very* personal and very specific to each person. We do *not* want to make any commentary or act in a way that is offensive to the trans community, which is already persecuted far too much. https://t.co/IBJs5EWlZe
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
If we ever did a new game we would do so many things differently to be the most inclusive, representative game ever. https://t.co/elS1LtFOlI
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
We actually had to redo almost every asset in the game for the update a few years ago. Some work better than others. Generally speaking when you make assets that work in so many combinations some things just don’t *quite* work 100 up and down the spectrum. We’re trying. https://t.co/0ilBLXaW4B
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
I’ve been screaming “we have years of content for TS4” from the rooftop for months now. https://t.co/2qecj6rhQD
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 2, 2019
We have a full art group devoted exclusively to making worlds. https://t.co/zI09f9ewUB
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
It is a challenge in ways because we have already sold apartments with City Living. They are a big investment, so if we do it again instead of something new it is a difficult sales pitch. It’s like us saying “Buy this thing you already have, but again!” if that makes sense? https://t.co/8vXJP87fut
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
We have talked about it. It is somewhat controversial and not something we should do lightly. At this time I do not think we would do it. https://t.co/kI8LHbPptE
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
There is so much we can do. I hope we can get to more of it. https://t.co/1lJVRNSwum
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
Because for public restrooms we just do the little rabbit hole stalls. You would lose a much cooler feature for us to animate a bathroom stall or urinal, so I’d rather we focus on cooler stuff at the risk of having fewer toilet types 🙂 https://t.co/gX9uT05xE4
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
The Get Famous Gold Toilet is what we call a “mimic” in that it is purely art and does not require new code or animations. Comparing it to a stall or urinal is not an accurate comparison. https://t.co/9Y2uxQEY7x
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
The talking toilet anger is very amusing. Again, it’s just a normal toilet, but with a hint of scripting and some visual FX. If we didn’t do it – and we thought it was funny – we wouldn’t have been able to do anything else instead. https://t.co/ipwjJcnEjL
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
A big part of the challenge of pack design is combining some normal with some “fun” and extravagant. You’re choosing *one* object from *one* of almost 25 pieces of DLC (and dozens of updates). Don’t worry we’re always chasing both! We hear you! https://t.co/D0Y0KTl29e
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
It’s one of the most costly aspects of each pack. I cannot share numbers. https://t.co/Ex3J7bI7tx
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
So, a comment I see often is “a mod does this, Maxis is <insert insult>.” The reality though is that mods don’t have to work across all hardware specs, console and PC, work with all the DLC UI, plus, you know, we try to polish them as much as possible and catch bugs.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
The mod community is *incredible*. And I love how they do some things we literally cannot (i.e. certain subject matter), or they can experiment with things that take us longer to polish (i.e. snow). But, for example, when we made Seasons, we had to update 40 neighborhoods.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
When we make certain hairs or clothing assets they have to work on a *wide* variety of specifications and they have to mix and match as much as possible with thousands of asset combinations and body sizes.
So, just keep that in mind a smidge 🙂
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
It depends and sometimes changes pretty far along. I’d say *generally* we know a year out. Most pack decisions are made by senior leadership (production/design/marketing) + research + community input. https://t.co/Q2TbFdWdxT
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
SP/GP/EP all have completely different budgets and “value offerings” (i.e. how much stuff) we try to provide. We start with pack type and design for that specifically. A lot of EP ideas could never be GPs, and vice versa. https://t.co/NYfImwV3Ss
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
At one point our estimates to make dogs and cats walk – just walk – was like 1300 staff days? https://t.co/sFnK6oOtEa
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
A lot of you love to zing me for this. We wanted to experiment with adding more content for a previously released pack. And, I think it was a very worthy experiment. We are always going to try things out AND both Cats & Dogs and My First Pet Stuff had a lot of content. https://t.co/JR3rb5DCsE
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
You can probably blame me for no dog houses, and I stand by the decision. Here is my reasoning:
1. They aren’t really realistic or current.
2. It isn’t the story we’re telling. We designed companions, not outside house dogs.
3. We were able to do so much more instead. https://t.co/8BpZWC07sr— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
I think we’re torn between making it an active career or a work from home or a normal career and I’m not sure we’ve found the right pack for it yet. https://t.co/OiKkOT6rKe
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
So, casinos present a few problems.
1.) It is very passive gameplay, not super interesting.
2.) It can create rating issues (we are T for Teen).
3.) Casinos are less cool with younger generations. https://t.co/ygcCfAgTTt— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
Open worlds for TS4 are one of the few things we simply cannot do. It is an engine, architectural level change that cannot occur at this point. https://t.co/6qMMAvTdeO
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
This is possible but very challenging. https://t.co/RKj2KHEl6I
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
As policy we always try to unlock as much as possible. But, many of these objects are not made in a way to work outside of how we place them. It’s something we talk about a lot. https://t.co/fw7nOvxvs1
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
So, don’t assume that trying to do something for one group excludes another. We are trying to do a few things:
Appeal globally to men, women, new players, existing players, builders, storytellers, modders, video makers, legacy players, and more. https://t.co/41pNMm0y12
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
We’re basically working through a gigantic list of things folks want in the best way we can. And, we sometimes succeed, and sometimes don’t. https://t.co/uuOq198SDi
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
I didn’t say impossible. It’s a matter of priority. If we make a urinal, design the behaviors for public restrooms, etc. you will lose other features that I would argue are MUCH more interesting. https://t.co/QZ5MGI5pwE
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) January 3, 2019
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