Game Design in The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, The Sims 4
The Sims: The Sims have basic needs, and how they interact with certain objects or other Sims affect their needs and moods. Sims also have responsibilities in life - household chores, working, studying in school.
The Sims 2: The Sims now have wants, fears, aspirations, aspiration rewards, aging, family trees and albums. The entire gameplay experience is centered around the Sim from cradle to grave. If the Sim dies with a platinum aspiration, then he or she may receive a gold-and-marble tombstone with a marker that displays that Sim's aspiration. Aspiration is a core feature of The Sims 2. Aspiration rewards may be very useful for a Sim's aspirational goal or career goals. Career rewards help out with advancing one's careers. Like the prequel, The Sims, The Sims 2 focuses on day-to-day life of one household.
The Sims 3: The Sims are now in an open world. Sims can go to work, and the player can change how the Sim performs at work, even though the workplace itself may be a rabbithole. But hey, it's a step up from The Sims 2, in which Sims will just drive off the lot and vanish. Sims may have fears, but they are not something that can be realized intentionally or accidentally like in The Sims 2, but Sims may receive a negative moodlet if they are in the dark and they have the Coward trait. Careers are branched for extra replayability value, and each career comes with a boss. The Sims 2 chance cards may imply a boss or supervisor, but that's just part of the story. The Sims 3 literally has a Sim as the "boss". The general gameplay seems to be more focused on the grand scheme of things, as highlighted by the big open world and story progression. Sims are smarter than ever before. They can take care of themselves better, and children don't have to be commanded to do their homework. The player can select one household as the active household and promise the members wishes so they will eventually die with a pretty tombstone. In the meantime, lifetime rewards may be earned, which may help a Sim progress through life. The Sims 3 by default does require a different kind of playstyle, so it may not be for people who prefer the Sims 2 rotational play. So, those people may tweak the ages a bit just so they can transfer over their Sims 2 playstyle to a Sims 3 game. Personally, I just play the Sims 3 as the Sims 3. In my own game, I just set my aging so that 1 Sim day equals 1 real-life year, so Elders tend to have the longest life stage for Humans, Dogs, Cats and Horses. Sometimes, I may play with aging off just so I can help a family gain more LifeTime Points at a certain age, then switch to a different household and help that household earn LifeTime Points, then finally return to the initial household and turn aging back on, allowing everyone to age up and progress the story.
The Sims 4: The Sims are now in a semi-open world. It's somewhere between Sims 2 and Sims 3. Sims can actually go beyond the home lot and forage for things and sell the foraged items. In the Sims 2, the main source of income is through the standard careers; I think foraging (aka "hiking" as it is known in the game) comes later with some kind of EP. In the Sims 2 base game, Sims can buy money trees with their hard-earned aspiration points and harvest them for Simoleons. The Slacker career reward allows Sims to harvest flowers. In the Sims 4 base game, you can buy flowers and vegetables and fruits and herbs. Sims behave like Sims in the Sims 3 in the sense that inactive Sims will move around a lot, will not be fixed in one saved spot, and can age up with the active household. In the Sims 2, Sims have to be playable in order to progress in age, because NPC aging is an EP addition. The core feature of The Sims 4 is "emotions", but some players may complain that the emotional system may be too unbalanced, and the Sims lack personality. While a personality overhaul is a possibility, another solution may just be providing a Sims 2-style Family Album, allowing each household to have a Family Album with pictures and captions tied to that Family. That way, players can create and imagine a personality for the Sims, so it creates an even more dollhouse-like experience. Words can express intentions and aspirations and goals and personality in ways that mere screenshots cannot, so a Sims 2-style Family Album would be nice. The Family Album will work well with the existing Memories+Screenshots system in the Sims 4.
The Sims 2: The Sims now have wants, fears, aspirations, aspiration rewards, aging, family trees and albums. The entire gameplay experience is centered around the Sim from cradle to grave. If the Sim dies with a platinum aspiration, then he or she may receive a gold-and-marble tombstone with a marker that displays that Sim's aspiration. Aspiration is a core feature of The Sims 2. Aspiration rewards may be very useful for a Sim's aspirational goal or career goals. Career rewards help out with advancing one's careers. Like the prequel, The Sims, The Sims 2 focuses on day-to-day life of one household.
The Sims 3: The Sims are now in an open world. Sims can go to work, and the player can change how the Sim performs at work, even though the workplace itself may be a rabbithole. But hey, it's a step up from The Sims 2, in which Sims will just drive off the lot and vanish. Sims may have fears, but they are not something that can be realized intentionally or accidentally like in The Sims 2, but Sims may receive a negative moodlet if they are in the dark and they have the Coward trait. Careers are branched for extra replayability value, and each career comes with a boss. The Sims 2 chance cards may imply a boss or supervisor, but that's just part of the story. The Sims 3 literally has a Sim as the "boss". The general gameplay seems to be more focused on the grand scheme of things, as highlighted by the big open world and story progression. Sims are smarter than ever before. They can take care of themselves better, and children don't have to be commanded to do their homework. The player can select one household as the active household and promise the members wishes so they will eventually die with a pretty tombstone. In the meantime, lifetime rewards may be earned, which may help a Sim progress through life. The Sims 3 by default does require a different kind of playstyle, so it may not be for people who prefer the Sims 2 rotational play. So, those people may tweak the ages a bit just so they can transfer over their Sims 2 playstyle to a Sims 3 game. Personally, I just play the Sims 3 as the Sims 3. In my own game, I just set my aging so that 1 Sim day equals 1 real-life year, so Elders tend to have the longest life stage for Humans, Dogs, Cats and Horses. Sometimes, I may play with aging off just so I can help a family gain more LifeTime Points at a certain age, then switch to a different household and help that household earn LifeTime Points, then finally return to the initial household and turn aging back on, allowing everyone to age up and progress the story.
The Sims 4: The Sims are now in a semi-open world. It's somewhere between Sims 2 and Sims 3. Sims can actually go beyond the home lot and forage for things and sell the foraged items. In the Sims 2, the main source of income is through the standard careers; I think foraging (aka "hiking" as it is known in the game) comes later with some kind of EP. In the Sims 2 base game, Sims can buy money trees with their hard-earned aspiration points and harvest them for Simoleons. The Slacker career reward allows Sims to harvest flowers. In the Sims 4 base game, you can buy flowers and vegetables and fruits and herbs. Sims behave like Sims in the Sims 3 in the sense that inactive Sims will move around a lot, will not be fixed in one saved spot, and can age up with the active household. In the Sims 2, Sims have to be playable in order to progress in age, because NPC aging is an EP addition. The core feature of The Sims 4 is "emotions", but some players may complain that the emotional system may be too unbalanced, and the Sims lack personality. While a personality overhaul is a possibility, another solution may just be providing a Sims 2-style Family Album, allowing each household to have a Family Album with pictures and captions tied to that Family. That way, players can create and imagine a personality for the Sims, so it creates an even more dollhouse-like experience. Words can express intentions and aspirations and goals and personality in ways that mere screenshots cannot, so a Sims 2-style Family Album would be nice. The Family Album will work well with the existing Memories+Screenshots system in the Sims 4.
