What do players mean by "gameplay"?

Probably yeah. I find "gameplay" to broad of a term, which people had in mind "Live mode" when they utter this 'gameplay' word to describe that area being shallow, but in reality that term's definition should be grasping and involving together as a whole along with Build Mode and CAS.

To me it means content which makes me want to keep playing.

When I hear or use the word "gameplay" in The Sims, I interpret it as everything your sim is able to do - this includes big features like University, to smaller features, such as picnics. In other words, when people say that this game lacks gameplay, I read it as 'The game lacks activities for my sims to do'.

https://78.media.tumblr.com/b1f87455710a30e4e1d21b7ffed661cc/tumblr_p294wdY1v51v707rto2_r1_1280.png
+ wikipedia

For me personally the sims 2 as an example has a lot of game play. What I mean by that is the game has a lot of different activities for my sims to do and there is a lot of in-depth game play which to me is vital in a game like the sims. No two sims with different personalities should have the same reaction to say an event. An example being a shy sim should feel uncomfortable and should be visibly shocked if walking by a hot tub and the people inside are naked but an outgoing sim shouldn’t care and should get in without their clothes.

If I tried to make that scene in the sims 4, the two sims would have the exact same reaction and for me it’s boring. There’s no game play in that. Half the fun of the sims is watching how they react to things and when in the sims 4 the personalities are so dull and bland? It doesn’t make for interesting game play.

Another major factor that makes good game play for me is depth and not surprisingly an area where the sims 4 falls on its backside. Depth is a staple for me for all the games I play not just the sims. I have to care about my characters (in this case the sims) and the more depth they have the better. Again case in point the sims 2. While I can decide their hair colour, body shape and other physical features the game assigns them their own “natural talent” they decide if they have chemistry and attraction for the Sim I make for them or if they have the hots for the guy/gal next door and while I can steer them away from something I don’t want them doing like maybe harbouring a crush on the guy next door when I really don’t want them too with the sims 2 sims if there’s no attraction there your sims will be quick to show it. My sims 2 sims have memories and I love that a few weeks after a burglar break in they will still be thinking about it, sometimes still getting upset at the memory. I love that relationships aren’t equal and that unrequited love is a thing. That never happens in the sims 4, if your sim has a crush on another sim and they have a relationship bar at 50 the other sims is identical. Dull and unrealistic. Not to mention a huge game play killer for me anyway. Family game play is still the best in that game as sims react appropriately to family events (like cheating), the relationships seem the most natural and believable and they act like a family. None of it’s fake or for show.

With depth comes consequences and again this for me is probably the sims 4 weakest area because the game warns you of impending doom (assuming you make it that far) I don’t want my Elder sims to get a warning about too much woohoo too quickly or the cowplant too. always give a second chance by spitting the sim out the first time. I’m not the type to go about killing my sims on purpose but if they are doing something dangerous like going into a tomb or repairing an electronic item whilst standing in a puddle of water knowing that there’s a chance of something going wrong makes for some interesting game play. I care if my sim is starving whilst deep in a tomb, i care if it’s day 5 of my apocalypse challenge and my sims are starving and the fridge is facing the wall and can’t be turned round till the new day. I want my sims to survive and I’ve played enough of the previous games to know the game might decide to throw a cat among the pigeons.

With the sims 4? What danger? What consequence? My Apocalypse challenge sims are happy. All the darn time. I can’t play that challenge in 4 because of that. I love it in the sims 2 but there’s no gameplay in it in 4. All my sims have the same reactions to “bad events”and if they don’t care I have a hard time caring. The sims 4 has a lot of repeated socials and socials that don’t do much or mean anything. Best example is “show photos”exact same animation as “show off selfie”that teens can do. There is a heck of amount of grinding in the sims 4 to me at the expense of game play. Not to mention a lot of repetition, if I had a dollar for every time I have to click away “look for vampire info” I would be a very rich woman. In th previous sims game occasionally my sims get a wish for perhaps a certain career or to try a certain dish if I ignore it and click the wish away the game won’t push it and will most likely never bring it up again. The sims 4is stuck on a loop for all sims to have the same whims irrespective of traits (and sometimes age; children getting whims to buy dishwashers, adult sims with the hates children traits getting whims to buy puppet theatres?! ) it all feeds into game play or lack of. Once you have seen one sim do an interaction there’s not much incentive to watch their sibling do it. Same behaviour, different sim.

"MidnightAura;c-16253218" wrote:
For me personally the sims 2 as an example has a lot of game play. What I mean by that is the game has a lot of different activities for my sims to do and there is a lot of in-depth game play which to me is vital in a game like the sims. No two sims with different personalities should have the same reaction to say an event. An example being a shy sim should feel uncomfortable and should be visibly shocked if walking by a hot tub and the people inside are naked but an outgoing sim shouldn’t care and should get in without their clothes.

If I tried to make that scene in the sims 4, the two sims would have the exact same reaction and for me it’s boring. There’s no game play in that. Half the fun of the sims is watching how they react to things and when in the sims 4 the personalities are so dull and bland? It doesn’t make for interesting game play.

Another major factor that makes good game play for me is depth and not surprisingly an area where the sims 4 falls on its backside. Depth is a staple for me for all the games I play not just the sims. I have to care about my characters (in this case the sims) and the more depth they have the better. Again case in point the sims 2. While I can decide their hair colour, body shape and other physical features the game assigns them their own “natural talent” they decide if they have chemistry and attraction for the Sim I make for them or if they have the hots for the guy/gal next door and while I can steer them away from something I don’t want them doing like maybe harbouring a crush on the guy next door when I really don’t want them too with the sims 2 sims if there’s no attraction there your sims will be quick to show it. My sims 2 sims have memories and I love that a few weeks after a burglar break in they will still be thinking about it, sometimes still getting upset at the memory. I love that relationships aren’t equal and that unrequited love is a thing. That never happens in the sims 4, if your sim has a crush on another sim and they have a relationship bar at 50 the other sims is identical. Dull and unrealistic. Not to mention a huge game play killer for me anyway. Family game play is still the best in that game as sims react appropriately to family events (like cheating), the relationships seem the most natural and believable and they act like a family. None of it’s fake or for show.

With depth comes consequences and again this for me is probably the sims 4 weakest area because the game warns you of impending doom (assuming you make it that far) I don’t want my Elder sims to get a warning about too much woohoo too quickly or the cowplant too. always give a second chance by spitting the sim out the first time. I’m not the type to go about killing my sims on purpose but if they are doing something dangerous like going into a tomb or repairing an electronic item whilst standing in a puddle of water knowing that there’s a chance of something going wrong makes for some interesting game play. I care if my sim is starving whilst deep in a tomb, i care if it’s day 5 of my apocalypse challenge and my sims are starving and the fridge is facing the wall and can’t be turned round till the new day. I want my sims to survive and I’ve played enough of the previous games to know the game might decide to throw a cat among the pigeons.

With the sims 4? What danger? What consequence? My Apocalypse challenge sims are happy. All the darn time. I can’t play that challenge in 4 because of that. I love it in the sims 2 but there’s no gameplay in it in 4. All my sims have the same reactions to “bad events”and if they don’t care I have a hard time caring. The sims 4 has a lot of repeated socials and socials that don’t do much or mean anything. Best example is “show photos”exact same animation as “show off selfie”that teens can do. There is a heck of amount of grinding in the sims 4 to me at the expense of game play. Not to mention a lot of repetition, if I had a dollar for every time I have to click away “look for vampire info” I would be a very rich woman. In th previous sims game occasionally my sims get a wish for perhaps a certain career or to try a certain dish if I ignore it and click the wish away the game won’t push it and will most likely never bring it up again. The sims 4is stuck on a loop for all sims to have the same whims irrespective of traits (and sometimes age; children getting whims to buy dishwashers, adult sims with the hates children traits getting whims to buy puppet theatres?! ) it all feeds into game play or lack of. Once you have seen one sim do an interaction there’s not much incentive to watch their sibling do it. Same behaviour, different sim.

Well said.

"MidnightAura;c-16253218" wrote:
For me personally the sims 2 as an example has a lot of game play. What I mean by that is the game has a lot of different activities for my sims to do and there is a lot of in-depth game play which to me is vital in a game like the sims. No two sims with different personalities should have the same reaction to say an event. An example being a shy sim should feel uncomfortable and should be visibly shocked if walking by a hot tub and the people inside are naked but an outgoing sim shouldn’t care and should get in without their clothes.

If I tried to make that scene in the sims 4, the two sims would have the exact same reaction and for me it’s boring. There’s no game play in that. Half the fun of the sims is watching how they react to things and when in the sims 4 the personalities are so dull and bland? It doesn’t make for interesting game play.

Another major factor that makes good game play for me is depth and not surprisingly an area where the sims 4 falls on its backside. Depth is a staple for me for all the games I play not just the sims. I have to care about my characters (in this case the sims) and the more depth they have the better. Again case in point the sims 2. While I can decide their hair colour, body shape and other physical features the game assigns them their own “natural talent” they decide if they have chemistry and attraction for the Sim I make for them or if they have the hots for the guy/gal next door and while I can steer them away from something I don’t want them doing like maybe harbouring a crush on the guy next door when I really don’t want them too with the sims 2 sims if there’s no attraction there your sims will be quick to show it. My sims 2 sims have memories and I love that a few weeks after a burglar break in they will still be thinking about it, sometimes still getting upset at the memory. I love that relationships aren’t equal and that unrequited love is a thing. That never happens in the sims 4, if your sim has a crush on another sim and they have a relationship bar at 50 the other sims is identical. Dull and unrealistic. Not to mention a huge game play killer for me anyway. Family game play is still the best in that game as sims react appropriately to family events (like cheating), the relationships seem the most natural and believable and they act like a family. None of it’s fake or for show.

With depth comes consequences and again this for me is probably the sims 4 weakest area because the game warns you of impending doom (assuming you make it that far) I don’t want my Elder sims to get a warning about too much woohoo too quickly or the cowplant too. always give a second chance by spitting the sim out the first time. I’m not the type to go about killing my sims on purpose but if they are doing something dangerous like going into a tomb or repairing an electronic item whilst standing in a puddle of water knowing that there’s a chance of something going wrong makes for some interesting game play. I care if my sim is starving whilst deep in a tomb, i care if it’s day 5 of my apocalypse challenge and my sims are starving and the fridge is facing the wall and can’t be turned round till the new day. I want my sims to survive and I’ve played enough of the previous games to know the game might decide to throw a cat among the pigeons.

With the sims 4? What danger? What consequence? My Apocalypse challenge sims are happy. All the darn time. I can’t play that challenge in 4 because of that. I love it in the sims 2 but there’s no gameplay in it in 4. All my sims have the same reactions to “bad events”and if they don’t care I have a hard time caring. The sims 4 has a lot of repeated socials and socials that don’t do much or mean anything. Best example is “show photos”exact same animation as “show off selfie”that teens can do. There is a heck of amount of grinding in the sims 4 to me at the expense of game play. Not to mention a lot of repetition, if I had a dollar for every time I have to click away “look for vampire info” I would be a very rich woman. In th previous sims game occasionally my sims get a wish for perhaps a certain career or to try a certain dish if I ignore it and click the wish away the game won’t push it and will most likely never bring it up again. The sims 4is stuck on a loop for all sims to have the same whims irrespective of traits (and sometimes age; children getting whims to buy dishwashers, adult sims with the hates children traits getting whims to buy puppet theatres?! ) it all feeds into game play or lack of. Once you have seen one sim do an interaction there’s not much incentive to watch their sibling do it. Same behaviour, different sim.

Yep This^^

Thanks for your explanations guys - I think I have a better understanding of it all now.

It is a broad concept. But read the article on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameplay

I like Sid Meier’s definition of gameplay which is that it is ”a series of interesting choices”. To me it is the game apart from sound, graphics and dead stuff that hasn’t any interactions. It is the way I play the game and not at all the things that I only look at or hear when I play the game. I therefore also don’t include autonomous behavior of my sims in the gameplay and therefore agree with people who say that TS4 is lacking in gameplay.

You know it when you see it. :) I won't go into what I think it is, everyone else has done a fine job. But why TS2 is lauded as one of the best pc games, ever, is because it is much more intricate than TS4 or even TS3. Some may disagree and say players are just projecting their own feelings onto a game. Possible, but the AI is ten times better in ways hard to explain. Since you brought up TS2 I will give you an example that happened years ago in my game.

A Sim who had divorced my Sim was a real cad. (I suppose I made him that way but he did a lot of stuff on his own). He broke off the marriage but it was he who was upset. True, this could just be random the game picked him to be the one to have a sad memory about the break up but TS2 players don't believe that since there is an attraction system, it is highly likely he was upset by it.

Moving his ex wife, to a different house and her first night out ( a match made by the gypsy which is always a good one) after she moved out. Sims don't do walk bys late at night like they can randomly do in TS4. It's not how TS2 works. Walk bys in TS2 are at particular times and one or two and hours apart, and never late at night.

I allowed this Sim to kiss her date good night on the porch. Who strolled by at that moment? Her ex husband. He stood there and watched them, and he wasn't very happy about it. My Sim finally went to the sidewalk to speak to him but it was too late, it was time for him to go on his way since all Sims will leave a property around 2:00 A.M. in TS2.

I understand it's mechanics, but him showing up (had not walked by any other night) on the very night, her first night she decides to have a real date with someone new, tells me, TS2 is a deeper game when it's not TS2's normal generator of Sims situations for walk bys and or at the time they do walk by. And it was more than just walking by to read a paper, it was to see what she was doing.

If you never make Sims unhappy in the series you will never see how intricate they are built. But that is a mild example of why TS2 is lauded above the rest. It took the player's story in a new and different direction to think the ex actually still cared enough to come by her new home at the right time to see her moving on with her life. Projecting my own thoughts onto the game? yes, but the gameplay is there to believe it, and no happy, happy, big grin on faces.


ETA: Able to suspend my disbelief. It matters.