What is The Sims 4?

From what I remember the sims 4 originally was going to be a dress-up kind of game? i could be wrong but I remember that's why cas was the most fleshed o ut part of the game and then before it came out they had to scramble to finish the rest of it.

I'm not dead inside but 4 slowly died inside of me, and it hurt...

A good blend? No. I would have voted "A Hot Mess" but that wasn't an option. The Sims franchise is in the life simulator genre, in sandbox style - and they can't seem to get either right. And I enjoy the Sims 4 for what it is, but I'm not blind to what it isn't. They have really leaned heavily towards stuff rather than gameplay, as someone else mentioned, things are opt-in instead of opt-out, and it's just a hot mess. They need to take a seat and really remember the genre they are in. Life simulator. Which means we need some peaching LIFE in our game. And then they need to allow those who do not want to take part to opt out. All it takes is a couple of lines of code to add a toggle, is it really that difficult? Granted, they were getting better with that, and then they go the other way - seems they keep zig-zagging on that one.

All the Sims 4 says to me, is that the left-hand doesn't have a bloody clue what the right hand is doing.

"Scobre;c-17932132" wrote:
I don't think it is either. It was inspired by this app game sadly:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kim-kardashian-hollywood/id860822992

So it is a Hollywood fantasy dress up game.

The interview where they called it a Kim Kardashian game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOiYMtwINXI

I'd describe the game as a simulation within a sandbox world.

Also, not once did they even mention Kim Kardashian in that video. I did however hear Lucy say at 11:46 "sandbox world simulation" when talking about Will Wright and the overall design of the game.

I find the sandbox elements are a way for me to adjust how my simulation plays out.

I believe the game is too busy course correcting from the Olympus "original" direction to be a proper sandbox/simulation game.
That said I do admire what the developers have done despite this. They managed to save it from being a total failure like what happened to Sim City.

This iteration of the sims has been very strange for me.
I usually jump in at the start of new game generation and start playing my sims. This time, everything is delayed. I didn't start playing the game seriously until we received Toddlers, Parenthood, and University.

And in a way, I still won't begin to play the game seriously until all my sims have graduated university, I place all the dormies that I have come to like in their own homes, and I've edited the few remaining pre-mades to better reflect (give evidence) of the suggested lore in their household description.

I've tested that on the BFF household. Summer and Liberty actually have romantic feelings for Travis now. I've earned them some reward traits that support their given traits. I will cheat some character values that make sense for them. I have started editing their bedrooms to better reflect their personalities. I've given them a few skill points that reflect their personality, skills, and careers. I plan to give/earn them a few likes and dislikes that make sense for them. I plan to have them belong to clubs that make sense for them. There will be a sense of an existing social network.

This all intended to create a master save to replace the default start.
I want it to feel like The Sims 2 where you felt everyone lives were in motion before you first entered their world.
As it is now, the game is all talk with little evidence.

So If I decide to start a new game and a challenge, or simply a single sim, I can begin in a world that is already set the way I like with a lot of interesting sims and relationships, homes, and community lots. It will at least feel like there is a simulation at work.

Part of the discord with this franchise, is that it is so far removed from what it was originally - a life simulation.

Remnants of gameplay left with the Sims 3 (according to most). Current timeline is outta sync, aspirations are for noobs (not gamers) & mods are almost always necessary to fix the bug issues or create a good storyline before the devs get around to it.

However, I do feel that the Sims 4 is a direct reflection of our current era. The inclusion & adjustments made over the past 7 yrs are a true complement to the game. Pools & toddlers & skin tones, oh my. CAS & BB are excellent sandbox mechanics which help us build a really pretty dollhouse in a kinda cute town.

I guess I approach the game differently. I stayed with Sims 3 for years after 4 came out to give it time to develop (and come down in price) before jumping in. I didn’t come in with expectations that it would be “just like the past games, only better” because none of the past games were perfect for me, either. I actually wanted different. I direct theater and have written some plays, and I approach the game the same way I write a stage show: Give me a concept to build on, let me create the set and characters and let me interpret their journey my way with some game input, but don’t lock me in to your preferred outcome. For me, Sims 2 was too restrictive in character design and too daily needs oriented. I couldn’t create Sims whose life aspirations weren’t practical (creative or spiritual Sims, for example) and I didn’t like the art style, at all. Sims 3 had better initial character design, with more goal freedom and just enough random events to shake up my self written script a little, but aesthetically the “sets” seemed drab and no matter how hard I worked on a Sim in CAS they all looked pretty much alike in actual play.

On to Sims 4. By the time I started playing, most of those early problems had already been worked out. What I found was an aesthetically pleasing world in which I could direct my own Pixar movie. CAS and BB are less of a chore. The cast actually looks like the version I have in my head, just Pixar style. I can create Sims whose life goals don’t revolve around money, love or power and I can fully direct their stories. What I don’t get from Sims 4 are those fun, random events that provided the plot twists in Sims 3. They happen, but not very often. Sims 4 with the Sims 3 balance of sandbox/simulation would be my perfect game.