Carl's Guide: A History of the Sims 4
And why the game isn't likely to get better. https://youtu.be/kC2fda9k0yc
Forum Discussion
Okay, so from this video, Carl's argument against TS4 is built upon 3 main critiques on - 1. quality of work, 2, depth of features, 3, lack of challenges. I think 1 and 2 go hand in hand with one another. A lower quality of work results in lack of in-depth features, but he also is referring to the abundance of glitches and bugs, and overall programming that makes the game frustrating/unplayable for some. He touched on A LOT in this video, (I've watched it three times to pick up on most of it) and overall, I agree with him.
I think ultimately if EA's vision of what the game is meant to be doesn't align with what you as a player want the game to be, you'll never see it as a great game or a game that feels like it's improving because no matter what EA does with the game, it will not satisfy your expectations. I think TS4 is a very tricky game to talk about in this regard because on one hand, it should be judged on its own merits and presentation as a life sim game, and on the other hand, it has a line of predecessors which will always cast a shadow of expectations over it simply for the fact that the existence of previous games means that comparisons can be drawn between the different versions. And because it's really the only major life sim game currently on the market (with a large audience of players wanting a life sim game, in general), expectations for it can be high from that perspective, as well.
I say that because some of Carl's arguments, and arguments that I've seen here on the forums about what the game should include draws from both expectations of a generic life sim game, and the history of the Sims series. For example, in a generic life sim game (which builds its setting from a modern, Western inspiration), it's not unreasonable to expect usable cars to be in the game. A life simulator is meant to, in some capacity, emulate real life and in real life, cars are usable. And as another example, specifically for a Sims game, it's not unreasonable to expect swimming pools or toddlers in the base game because we have evidence that these things were provided in base games of the past. Our understanding of both life sim games and Sims games shapes our expectations of both, which in turn have an effect on whether or not we think the game is where it should be or if improvements are required.
The Sims 4 turns 7 this fall. Some players feel like Sims are lacking in-depth personalities (myself included). If after 7 years the Sims are still in this hollow state, I just have to conclude that this is how the devs see the Sims of this generation to be. This is their vision. The expectations that I had for the Sims themselves is not equal to what the devs have and delivered in the game.
And, if at some point Sims are updated with some robust personality system, it cannot be ignored that it took so long for it to happen, which is, in my opinion, a misstep in production. Either way, for a player who has the expectation for in-depth personalities, this does not look good either for the current state of the game, or its overall development.
The longer this series goes on for, the worse this...conundrum becomes. And I think personalities can stand in as an example for many other things that players feel are missing from the game. For example, players who want improved babies have to accept/recognize that the current babies are the vision the devs have for them in this iteration, or they will have to reconcile with the fact that if babies are improved somewhere down the line, it took over half a decade for that to happen. It's either a production flaw or a development flaw; either way, for someone who wants improved babies....there's something wrong here because their expectations are not being met.
And, while many Simmers are seemingly fine with this concept of prolonging what feels like necessary inclusions or improvements, others just are not. And yes, the business model for this series has always been to build upon the base game with DLC during its lifespan, but to be the 4th generation of a series, it feels like it's taking more time to get to an endpoint for TS4, or to feel like it's still playing catch up to its predecessors, or to implement truly game changing dynamics which makes it more frustrating. That makes me feel like it's the result of a....flawed guidance/development/inspiration/etc etc. It just is kind of a flop for me as a life sim, or as a Sims game. And I'm not trying to be overly negative when I say this, but rather just matter of fact. It is what it is, this is the reality -- this game doesn't meet my expectations. And I think objectively, that's fine. I can't be blown away by every game. But I can, and I think a lot of the more critical Simmers (who are, unfortunately, often times perceived as being negative and whiny) can also point out things that can be improved based on their expectations for a life sim and a Sims game. For some reason, people get really upset when people state their expectations and how the game fails to meet them.
So anyways, I've said all of this and I think I could go on and perhaps my train of thought is not very clear, but ultimately I think that the people that Carl made that video for, what he calls Castaways, and perhaps I'm one of them,...I think we just have different expectations from a lot of people. It's a reality that we have to face -- that this is just not the game that will make us happy. But, I think due to lack of other viable game alternatives, as well as an attachment to this series overall, we tend to stick around and come across as fussy because we just want a game that does meet our expectations and provides us with the sense of entertainment that other games or tv shows or music or whatever gives us when we indulge in them.
For someone with different expectations from mine, they don't see Carl's critiques as valid. To someone else, the level of depth in the gameplay is enough for them. The lack of challenges, or the current difficulty is enough for them. The devs created a game that makes them content, brings them joy, provides them with endless entertainment. For some of us, I think we just have to wait for something to come along and tick all of those boxes that we want ticked.
I think ultimately if EA's vision of what the game is meant to be doesn't align with what you as a player want the game to be, you'll never see it as a great game or a game that feels like it's improving because no matter what EA does with the game, it will not satisfy your expectations. I think TS4 is a very tricky game to talk about in this regard because on one hand, it should be judged on its own merits and presentation as a life sim game, and on the other hand, it has a line of predecessors which will always cast a shadow of expectations over it simply for the fact that the existence of previous games means that comparisons can be drawn between the different versions. And because it's really the only major life sim game currently on the market (with a large audience of players wanting a life sim game, in general), expectations for it can be high from that perspective, as well.
I say that because some of Carl's arguments, and arguments that I've seen here on the forums about what the game should include draws from both expectations of a generic life sim game, and the history of the Sims series. For example, in a generic life sim game (which builds its setting from a modern, Western inspiration), it's not unreasonable to expect usable cars to be in the game. A life simulator is meant to, in some capacity, emulate real life and in real life, cars are usable. And as another example, specifically for a Sims game, it's not unreasonable to expect swimming pools or toddlers in the base game because we have evidence that these things were provided in base games of the past. Our understanding of both life sim games and Sims games shapes our expectations of both, which in turn have an effect on whether or not we think the game is where it should be or if improvements are required.
The Sims 4 turns 7 this fall. Some players feel like Sims are lacking in-depth personalities (myself included). If after 7 years the Sims are still in this hollow state, I just have to conclude that this is how the devs see the Sims of this generation to be. This is their vision. The expectations that I had for the Sims themselves is not equal to what the devs have and delivered in the game.
And, if at some point Sims are updated with some robust personality system, it cannot be ignored that it took so long for it to happen, which is, in my opinion, a misstep in production. Either way, for a player who has the expectation for in-depth personalities, this does not look good either for the current state of the game, or its overall development.
The longer this series goes on for, the worse this...conundrum becomes. And I think personalities can stand in as an example for many other things that players feel are missing from the game. For example, players who want improved babies have to accept/recognize that the current babies are the vision the devs have for them in this iteration, or they will have to reconcile with the fact that if babies are improved somewhere down the line, it took over half a decade for that to happen. It's either a production flaw or a development flaw; either way, for someone who wants improved babies....there's something wrong here because their expectations are not being met.
And, while many Simmers are seemingly fine with this concept of prolonging what feels like necessary inclusions or improvements, others just are not. And yes, the business model for this series has always been to build upon the base game with DLC during its lifespan, but to be the 4th generation of a series, it feels like it's taking more time to get to an endpoint for TS4, or to feel like it's still playing catch up to its predecessors, or to implement truly game changing dynamics which makes it more frustrating. That makes me feel like it's the result of a....flawed guidance/development/inspiration/etc etc. It just is kind of a flop for me as a life sim, or as a Sims game. And I'm not trying to be overly negative when I say this, but rather just matter of fact. It is what it is, this is the reality -- this game doesn't meet my expectations. And I think objectively, that's fine. I can't be blown away by every game. But I can, and I think a lot of the more critical Simmers (who are, unfortunately, often times perceived as being negative and whiny) can also point out things that can be improved based on their expectations for a life sim and a Sims game. For some reason, people get really upset when people state their expectations and how the game fails to meet them.
So anyways, I've said all of this and I think I could go on and perhaps my train of thought is not very clear, but ultimately I think that the people that Carl made that video for, what he calls Castaways, and perhaps I'm one of them,...I think we just have different expectations from a lot of people. It's a reality that we have to face -- that this is just not the game that will make us happy. But, I think due to lack of other viable game alternatives, as well as an attachment to this series overall, we tend to stick around and come across as fussy because we just want a game that does meet our expectations and provides us with the sense of entertainment that other games or tv shows or music or whatever gives us when we indulge in them.
For someone with different expectations from mine, they don't see Carl's critiques as valid. To someone else, the level of depth in the gameplay is enough for them. The lack of challenges, or the current difficulty is enough for them. The devs created a game that makes them content, brings them joy, provides them with endless entertainment. For some of us, I think we just have to wait for something to come along and tick all of those boxes that we want ticked.
