I'll admit that I'm skimming this subject right now to add my two cents. I might go back and re-read it more thoroughly later.
I will say that I am one of the people who like the various types of foods and different clothes because they do matter to me in the game. I'm not someone who makes the same dish over and over. I need the variety of different characters with their various interests, tastes and quirks as part of how I play the game. I guess I'm really into character development in this game. My mind probably goes in that direction generally, because I'm someone who loves learning about historic details such as what people ate, wore and did from day to day at various points in time or in different parts of the world. I like details. I find all the foods and stuff immersive. If I had less choices, I would get bored faster. That's just how I play and part of what keeps me interested, so I like it.
That said, I agree with you about the recycling. I've definitely noticed it. I guess it's a fair point that they don't need to remake the same market table over and over again. It's also a fair point that they spend a lot of time on re-coloring and re-skinning old items and concepts. I'm sure that you are right that finding ways to re-use old concepts in new ways is a subject that they consider a lot. I don't think it's always bad at all, but I think that pointing out the frequency is a fair criticism. It's also fair to ask if doing this is coming at the expense of developing new ideas beyond new forms of artwork. I also agree that while I liked the depth of the breeds and the pets themselves, I felt like C&D was a little thin. The world was gorgeous but small for an EP. Admittedly, the pets required a whole bunch of new forms of movement for them, so they weren't recycled.
New ways of moving and new activities do feel like they could be increased in this game. I've said this before but I'm liking JA. I saw that someone mentioned that whitewater rafting was originally a suggestion for the OR concept. Having played JA, I can say that it made me wonder, "Why didn't they add something like rafting to OR? It's precisely the kind of thing that is missing from it." It's reasonable to guess that it would have been too much work to develop the new movements at the time.
Weirdly, we tend to see more gameplay objects in SPs such as laundry, climbing walls or bowling. (Yeah, I know that some people panned the bowling but I generally like it. It does offer a bunch of new movements and the games are kind of random. Sure, it'd be nice to socialize but it gives my sims another option for an activity so I like it). Yes, it's almost a joke that laundry is a gameplay object but they really did go all out with it. Lol. I'll admit that it's well done.
Anyway, I don't want to see them simplify objects like foods, clothes and decor but I agree that adding more to do, more gameplay, should definitely be a focus of whatever they release as well. I think the art team does a fantastic job but I agree that adding more activities and directions to go in with the game is key.
