Recycling old content and a lack of creativity in development

Plus ‘nothing is ever new’ isn’t even true. Even concepts that were done before can be new (pets for instance are done in different ways in the different versions, University is, Seasons is). Apparently it’s really hard to stick to the term “recycling” the OP wanted to discuss in this topic. Reusing an animation for different purposes or even the same in a next version is recycling. Reusing an identical setup/frame like in a career is recycling. Giving a certain theme a different approach is not recycling.