Issue 17
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@smagofcl 1
welcome to<br />
our new<br />
magazine<br />
Hello, and welcome to the first issue of New<br />
SMag (which also happens to be our third anniversary<br />
issue!). We’ve changed quite a bit since<br />
you last saw us, and there’s more than just a<br />
fresh lick of paint. SMag is reaching out to new<br />
audiences but don’t worry, we promise to still<br />
deliver our tried and tested fan favourites like our<br />
favourite creations and creator interviews every<br />
single issue. But you’ll also find new and exciting<br />
content from the whole of The Sims, and other<br />
games too.<br />
GEORGE B<br />
Editor in chief<br />
Before we move on, I have to mention our<br />
anniversary. Three years! Isn’t that crazy? Thank<br />
you to everyone who has helped us get here,<br />
whether that’s by contributing, sharing the issue,<br />
or just reading it, because I really do appreciate<br />
every single one of our readers and fans. Thank<br />
you for helping us get to where we are today.<br />
Let’s get into the issue - I’m excited to see what<br />
you think of New SMag! I hope you’ll enjoy<br />
reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it<br />
together.<br />
2 simnation.tv/smagazine
WANT TO CONTACT US?<br />
email george@smagazineofficial.co.uk<br />
or tweet @smagofcl<br />
@smagofcl 3
welcome to<br />
ISSUE <strong>17</strong><br />
Contents<br />
06<br />
12<br />
16<br />
20<br />
28<br />
34<br />
38<br />
46<br />
Simmers Meetup 2016<br />
SMag reports from the Simmers Meetup in Manchester.<br />
The Sims, Around The World<br />
Just how different is The Sims around the world? We take a look.<br />
The Mod Pod<br />
SimsVIP presents a look at another great mod for The Sims 4.<br />
SMag Loves!<br />
Quick Faves has a new name!<br />
The Next Big Coaster Builder<br />
Exit Rollercoaster Tycoon, enter Planet Coaster.<br />
SIFF Film Focus<br />
SimsFilmFest shares the best machinima from the community.<br />
The Interview<br />
SMag talks to The Sims 4 producer Aaron Houts!<br />
The Photobook<br />
It’s like a virtual art gallery!<br />
4 simnation.tv/smagazine
06 OUT & ABOUT<br />
SMag was at the Simmers Meetup 2016!<br />
16 THE MOD POD<br />
SimsVIP takes a look at a new mod<br />
for The Sims 4 that brings zombies<br />
to the game!<br />
28<br />
COASTER<br />
KING<br />
We take a proper<br />
look at Planet<br />
Coaster, the true<br />
sequel.<br />
12 SIMS AROUND<br />
THE WORLD<br />
We go around the world<br />
to see how our favourite<br />
game changes.<br />
20 SMAG LOVES<br />
Quick Faves has a brand new style<br />
and it’s better than ever, with our<br />
favourites from The Sims 4 and<br />
other games too!<br />
38 SIMGURUHOUTS<br />
We got to talk to producer Aaron Houts about The Sims 4, his<br />
role in the studio...and a VR pack?<br />
@smagofcl 5
IMAGE: EA UK (Cathy)<br />
Simmers<br />
Meetup<br />
2016An alpaca, a Deli Table and much<br />
more...just what went on at the<br />
Simmers Meetup this year?<br />
6 simnation.tv/smagazine
By the time I’d turned up at EventCity UK<br />
I had already been awake for five hours.<br />
Fuelled by giddiness and a lovely bacon<br />
bap from a motorway service station, I<br />
and around three hundred other Simmers<br />
were queuing to enter the Simmers<br />
Meetup 2016, the third event organised<br />
by BeyondSims and Rachybop. This year,<br />
the event took us to Manchester, and<br />
there was plenty in store!<br />
I missed last year’s event, but there<br />
were plenty of familiar faces from the<br />
2014 event and Twitter, like one of my<br />
favourites, Simtastic World! It was also<br />
wonderful to meet the lovely Mollie (you<br />
might know her as The English Simmer),<br />
whose vlog will be over the page, as well<br />
as Luke the Plumbob and his amazing<br />
shiny jacket! That’s not to mention the<br />
hilarious Steph0Sims, who it was great to<br />
meet!<br />
The Sims Resource had a presence at this<br />
year’s event, and had machines set up<br />
to play every game - The Sims 1 through<br />
to The Sims 4! Unfortunately, The Sims 1<br />
wouldn’t play ball with Windows 7, but<br />
we all had a wonderful time! They were<br />
holding a lucky dip of sorts, and we all<br />
came away with a free VIP membership<br />
for a week. Find out more about them<br />
here.<br />
The venue was huge, and a wall of Sims<br />
umbrellas kept us from straying where<br />
we shouldn’t have! EA took over a corner<br />
of the hall with their Pods, which allowed<br />
you to play not just The Sims 4 but also<br />
The Sims Freeplay and SimCity BuildIt!<br />
We popped over there with Steph and<br />
Luke, where Steph found the fact that<br />
Freeplay has toddlers and pre-teens hard<br />
to swallow...<br />
@smagofcl 7
Here’s some of our favourite vlogs<br />
from the event...some starring yours<br />
truly!<br />
Full interactive features are only<br />
avaliable on our Yumpu reader<br />
Throughout the event there were a few<br />
very interesting panels for everyone to<br />
watch over in one corner of the hall.<br />
The first to take to the stage (very<br />
bravely, might I add) were Steph0Sims<br />
and the English Simmer, who gave a<br />
panel on let’s play videos. Me being me,<br />
I somehow managed to end up in the<br />
spotlight, having tripped over a chair as I<br />
went to ask a question for the panel.<br />
There was also an interesting build panel<br />
with The Sim Supply and Deligracy,<br />
where they built a little house, and also<br />
struggled to get to grips with the Mac<br />
controls for The Sims 4.<br />
Speaking of Deligracy, she had to be the<br />
most in-demand person at the event!<br />
A table that was once dedicated to the<br />
special Voidcritter cards became what<br />
we dubbed the “Deli table”, where a<br />
queue to say hello had formed!<br />
There was also an interesting panel<br />
which included a man from YouTube and<br />
the many creators at the event talking<br />
about what it means to make YouTube<br />
content, and the challenges and<br />
responsibilities that come with it. It was<br />
really quite eye opening. You can see<br />
little bits of it in Steph’s vlog to the left.<br />
Now, as if there wasn’t enough to do<br />
with all of these talks going on, at one<br />
point, Dan hinted to me that “we’ve got<br />
something very exciting coming now.”<br />
What could it have been? Not soon later,<br />
Rachel wandered into the event hall<br />
with an alpaca! The team had managed<br />
to arrange for an alpaca from the pet<br />
show next door to come and say hello to<br />
everyone, and he went down very well -<br />
people were >><br />
8 simnation.tv/smagazine
@smagofcl 9
10 simnation.tv/smagazine IMAGES: EA UK (Cathy)
going crazy for the alpaca! Lots of<br />
people just couldn’t resist a selfie with<br />
him. Rest assured, he was happy and<br />
calm throughout, and returned to the<br />
pet show quickly.<br />
I kept saying that it wasn’t like meeting<br />
new people at the event: instead, it<br />
was like catching up with old friends.<br />
Everyone felt so familiar, none more<br />
so than the lovely Mysticalmaid and<br />
Cinderellimouse. It was great to sit<br />
down and have a little chat about the<br />
game (and also about how lovely the<br />
brownies at the little cafe were - they<br />
really were spectacular).<br />
The excitement still didn’t stop there!<br />
At around four o’clock a huge raffle<br />
was held, and there was a plethora of<br />
Steelseries merch up for grabs, as well<br />
as some games. Also up for grabs were<br />
the umbrellas that were being used to<br />
cordon off parts of the hall - I was lucky<br />
enough to win an umbrella, and so<br />
were many others in the crowd! There<br />
was also a lovely cosplay competition,<br />
featuring a line-up of Grim Reapers,<br />
burglars, Bella Goths and Bob Pancakes<br />
- it was only a sight you would see at a<br />
Sims event!<br />
It was a really wonderful experience<br />
and it was amazing to meet so<br />
many lovely people, some of whom<br />
I haven’t mentioned yet, like Hatsy,<br />
Devon, Soph, Zoe (you know her as<br />
TheGreatSimphony), and many, many<br />
more. I’m sure next year is going to<br />
be an even more amazing event, and I<br />
can’t wait to cover it again! Thank you<br />
to everyone involved for organising and<br />
holding such a wonderful event.<br />
@smagofcl 11
around<br />
the world<br />
How does our favourite game change as it moves<br />
around the world? Let’s take a look at how The Sims<br />
changes itself to fit a truly global audience.<br />
12 simnation.tv/smagazine
We’re often told that the language<br />
of love is universal, but that isn’t<br />
the case in The Sims 4! We might<br />
know it as WooHoo, but in France,<br />
it’s called Cric-Crak.<br />
THE LANGUAGE OF<br />
love<br />
In Germany, getting down and dirty<br />
is called Techtelmechtel (which can<br />
translate as ‘entanglement’?), and<br />
in Brazil, your Sims can Oba-Oba!<br />
In Norway, there’s no rhyming to<br />
be found, and they call it the more<br />
boring-sounding årnings. But play<br />
the game in Dutch, and it’s Ojaa,<br />
which can mean “oh yes!”.<br />
Almost every language has a<br />
different word for WooHoo!<br />
WATCH OUT FOR<br />
BEASTS<br />
Who doesn’t love puppies and kittens!?<br />
Well, clearly the Germans: they call The<br />
Sims 3 Pets “Einfach Tierisch”, which<br />
roughly translates as Simply Beastly!<br />
The German version of the game also<br />
carries a seal of approval from Ross<br />
Antony, a German television personality.<br />
At least it isn’t Katy Perry!<br />
@smagofcl 13
WHAT A<br />
bargain!<br />
We might not think of them as<br />
being particularly frugal, but<br />
in France, The Sims 2 Open for<br />
Business is called “La Bonne<br />
Affaire” - The Bargain!<br />
There’s more: in Spain, Teen<br />
Style Stuff becomes Urban<br />
Youth Stuff. How do you do,<br />
fellow kids? Also in Spain, The<br />
Sims 3 Showtime is called The<br />
Sims 3 Claim to Fame!<br />
Did you know that in the UK<br />
we call The Sims Vacation<br />
The Sims On Holiday?<br />
And in Dutch, The Sims 3<br />
University Life becomes<br />
Studentship? Also, staying<br />
in the Netherlands, The Sims<br />
4 Outdoor Retreat takes the<br />
title De Sims 4: In De Natuur,<br />
which means In Nature, and<br />
sounds quite funny in Dutch!<br />
14 simnation.tv/smagazine
RATED<br />
R<br />
Who<br />
could possibly rate The Sims as being unsuitable<br />
for children!? Well, the answer to that question is Putin’s<br />
Russia: the game is rated 18 due to the fact that your<br />
Sims can have gay relationships. Talk about a backwards<br />
country...<br />
Here’s a classic one that everybody<br />
loves. In Norway, Sweden, and<br />
some other countries with similar<br />
languages, The Sims 3 Fast Lane<br />
Stuff becomes Full Fart Staesj, owing<br />
to the translation of the word ‘speed’,<br />
which is usually translated to ‘fart’.<br />
FULL SPEED!<br />
je t’adore<br />
Finally, the French are really huge<br />
fans of The Sims: so much so that<br />
they even gave the game it’s own<br />
postage stamp in 2005! In France,<br />
The Sims is ranked eighth on a<br />
list of the ten best entertainment<br />
products...just behind the Da Vinci<br />
Code! La Poste distributed 3 million<br />
of these unique stamps honouring<br />
The Sims.<br />
@smagofcl 15
16 simnation.tv/smagazine
@smagofcl <strong>17</strong>
A head start into the<br />
world of the undead...<br />
Our culture is full of<br />
crazy tales of the undead<br />
walking the Earth, from<br />
religions to comic books.<br />
But, some sort of zombie<br />
apocalypse isn’t actually<br />
possible, right? RIGHT?<br />
Actually, it is very much<br />
possible…at least in<br />
The Sims 4! Well, sorta.<br />
In this edition of the Mod<br />
Pod, we’re going to take<br />
a look at the Zombie Set<br />
by Poon’s Creations. This<br />
mod is a must have if you’re<br />
preparing for Halloween,<br />
or just want to add some<br />
not-so-normal Sims into<br />
the game. Without a<br />
continuous stream of life<br />
states from Maxis, it’s only<br />
normal that we yearn for<br />
more variety. This mod<br />
should help fill that void!<br />
First things first. This mod<br />
is currently only available<br />
for Adult Female Sims,<br />
but we are very hopeful<br />
the creator will expand<br />
the creation for Male<br />
Sims and even children!<br />
Maybe even head over to<br />
Poon’s Creations and let<br />
them know you’d like to<br />
see this mod expanded!<br />
Now on to the good stuff!<br />
This mod comes with<br />
some amazing Create-a-<br />
Sim assets. Items include a<br />
Custom Zombie Trait, Eye<br />
Colour, Skin Detail, and<br />
an Outfit. The skin detail<br />
includes gashes across<br />
the shin and upper torso,<br />
and the outfit includes<br />
blood splatter and a<br />
missing hand. One of our<br />
favorite things about this<br />
set is that you can mix and<br />
match the assets to create<br />
truly unique Sims. Want<br />
a Zombie bride? Done.<br />
Want a zombie ranger in<br />
Granite Falls? Done. Want<br />
a hospital patient with<br />
a missing limb? Done!<br />
18 simnation.tv/smagazine
As you can see, this mod<br />
gives you a variety of ways<br />
to create your own unique<br />
Zombie Apocalypse. How<br />
you play is your choice, but<br />
this mod should definitely<br />
give you a head start to<br />
the world of the undead.<br />
DOWNLOAD!<br />
@smagofcl 19
our favourites from the community<br />
Quick Faves has a new look and a<br />
new way of doing things! Welcome<br />
to SMag Loves, where we share our<br />
absolute favourites from the creative<br />
community surrounding all sorts of<br />
games, and we share just why we<br />
love it too!<br />
Do you love something and want to<br />
share it? Tweet us at @smagofcl!<br />
20 simnation.tv/smagazine
Atwood Dining Add-On<br />
Room Set<br />
by peacemaker-ic.tumblr.com<br />
why we love it<br />
Peacemaker never fails to impress<br />
with his high-quality object sets and<br />
his creative genius. Once again, he’s<br />
given us really high-quality meshes<br />
that look great.<br />
@smagofcl 21
Cities: Skylines<br />
22 simnation.tv/smagazine
Let’s Design Cities: Skylines<br />
by Strictoaster<br />
why we love it<br />
Strictoaster presents a really refreshing<br />
take on Cities: Skylines from his point of<br />
view as a designer. He makes the game<br />
look amazing, and his videos are always<br />
entertaining!<br />
@smagofcl 23
The Sims 4<br />
24 simnation.tv/smagazine
Savidal - Habitat Urbain<br />
by simsontherope.tumblr.com<br />
why we love it<br />
This build is a beautiful refurb of Jenba’s<br />
Seaside Manor Apartments and is full<br />
of French charm. The build beautifully<br />
blends modern and traditional design<br />
ideas and the result is beautiful.<br />
@smagofcl 25
The Sims 4<br />
26 simnation.tv/smagazine
“Omelette du Fromage”<br />
by redhotchillisimblr.tumblr.com<br />
why we love it<br />
It’s stunning! This is an amazingly<br />
crafted Parisian style restaurant from a<br />
French Simmer, and it looks great! The<br />
build has loads of beautiful little details<br />
that bring it to life.<br />
@smagofcl 27
the next big<br />
coaster<br />
builder<br />
opinion<br />
Watch out Rollercoaster Tycoon, because<br />
there’s a new coaster builder on the<br />
scene. And it’s blown you out the water.<br />
Words George B<br />
28 simnation.tv/smagazine
IMAGE: FRONTIER DEVELOPMENTS<br />
planetcoaster.com<br />
We went nearly ten years without<br />
a new entry into the theme park<br />
management genre, leaving<br />
dedicated fans playing the outdated<br />
and poorly optimised Rollercoaster<br />
Tycoon 3. Atari returned with a new<br />
offering for us: Rollercoaster Tycoon<br />
World.<br />
Unfortunately, RCT World left us as<br />
fans yearning for more: the early<br />
access received over 1,800 negative<br />
reviews on Steam, averaging only<br />
five out of ten stars. NerdCubed<br />
made the game the first entry<br />
into his short-lived Hates series,<br />
saying he’s “never had to set the<br />
bar so low”. To say that World was<br />
a shocking successor to RCT3 is an<br />
understatement for many.<br />
Enter Frontier Developments and<br />
Planet Coaster, (£26.99 pre-order<br />
on Steam) a game which has<br />
been dubbed the “true sequel” to<br />
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.<br />
@smagofcl 29
Originally called the much less<br />
inspiring Coaster Park Tycoon,<br />
Frontier invites users to “be the<br />
boss…as you create, manage<br />
and share the world’s greatest<br />
coaster parks”. It is a game that is<br />
designed to not only appeal to the<br />
die-hard fans of the Rollercoaster<br />
Tycoon series, but to appeal to<br />
everyone: the game is incredibly<br />
simple on the surface, but offers<br />
an incredible amount of complex<br />
micromanagement for those that<br />
want it.<br />
The world revolves around money,<br />
and Planet Coaster is no exception.<br />
As is the norm in coaster games,<br />
every guest enters your park with<br />
a set amount of money, but they<br />
can choose to take out more money<br />
from an ATM in your park as their<br />
wallets start to get a bit lighter.<br />
The game doesn’t work with blocks<br />
of characters: every guest in your<br />
park is simulated and rendered. If<br />
you manage to coax three hundred<br />
people into your park, every single<br />
one of them will be simulated, with<br />
their own bank accounts, thoughts,<br />
and look. It’s charming, immersive,<br />
and also very impressive. It all comes<br />
down to making as much money<br />
from your guests as possible.<br />
what to build. Plop down walls, roofs<br />
and shops at will, provided you have<br />
the cash, creating unique buildings<br />
out of hundreds of different pieces.<br />
Don’t like where something is?<br />
That’s fine, you can just pick up<br />
a building and pop it back down<br />
elsewhere. Paths are also more<br />
powerful in Planet Coaster, blowing<br />
the path system from old games<br />
like Rollercoaster Tycoon out of the<br />
water, allowing you to customise<br />
path widths, and also to curve and<br />
elevate paths however you please.<br />
Frontier invites<br />
you to “be the<br />
boss...as you<br />
create, manage<br />
and share the<br />
world’s greatest<br />
coaster parks.”<br />
But Planet Coaster doesn’t<br />
disappoint those with a more<br />
creative side, either. With the game<br />
comes a modular building system<br />
which, whilst fiddly at times, gives<br />
the user infinite possibilities as to<br />
30 simnation.tv/smagazine
IMAGE: FRONTIER DEVELOPMENTS<br />
planetcoaster.com<br />
@smagofcl 31
32 simnation.tv/smagazine<br />
IMAGE: FRONTIER DEVELOPMENTS<br />
planetcoaster.com
But possibly the most important<br />
feature of Planet Coaster is the<br />
community integration. Planet<br />
Coaster comes with Steam<br />
Workshop integration right out<br />
of the box, and the main menu<br />
features a planet covered in fun<br />
animated avatars representing you,<br />
your friends, and the community’s<br />
‘celebrities’ (Frontier staff and<br />
prominent content creators). It’s<br />
clear that Frontier is putting a lot<br />
of emphasis on this game’s social<br />
side: Steam Workshop makes<br />
it easy for you and your friends<br />
to share your own buildings or<br />
rollercoasters (dubbed ‘blueprints’)<br />
and to download them. It’s a great<br />
new feature, and things like regular<br />
community livestreams coming<br />
from Frontier make it even more<br />
obvious that they really are betting<br />
on the community making this game<br />
come to life. Even the open alpha<br />
programme (which is now closed,<br />
as the game moves into beta) really<br />
reflects this philosophy of openness<br />
which is often lacking in games from<br />
large studios.<br />
It would be unfair to criticise the<br />
little bugs in the game right now: it’s<br />
only in alpha, and it’s fair to assume<br />
that the edges will be polished and<br />
bugs stomped before the game<br />
is released. The camera controls<br />
have a learning curve and can be<br />
difficult to understand, and the sheer<br />
number of options presented by<br />
the modular building system can be<br />
overwhelming to a new, or perhaps<br />
young, gamer. There are still some<br />
rough edges, but whether or not<br />
they’ll be polished before release is<br />
yet to be seen.<br />
All in all, Planet Coaster is a game<br />
with a lot of promise. It’s the game<br />
that the community surrounding<br />
the Rollercoaster Tycoon series<br />
deserves.<br />
85<br />
Planet Coaster Alpha<br />
Frontier Developments, £26.99<br />
Full version coming Nov <strong>17</strong><br />
WE LIKE...<br />
Creative tools are unrivalled in this<br />
genre<br />
Fun and beautiful art style<br />
Powerful and well-executed social<br />
sharing features<br />
WE DON’T LIKE...<br />
Overly sensitive camera controls<br />
Modular building system can be<br />
overwhelming<br />
IT’S WORTH FULL PRICE<br />
@smagofcl 33
Jorga Haq takes a look at some of the best machinima<br />
creations in our community. Brought to you by the Sims<br />
International Film Festival, we’d like to welcome you to the<br />
second edition of the...<br />
34 simnation.tv/smagazine
Full interactive features are only<br />
avaliable on our Yumpu reader<br />
MY HOME<br />
by Lawlly Pop<br />
MADE WITH<br />
The Sims 4<br />
RUNNING TIME<br />
08:51<br />
My Home is one of a small handful of<br />
Sims 4 machinimas that was released<br />
for Season 14 of SimsFilmFest. When<br />
we came up with the “Most Unique<br />
Machinima” award, it was projects like My<br />
Home that we had in mind.<br />
The entire story is told with one poignant<br />
line at the very end of the film. In fact, it’s<br />
the only line throughout My Home, which<br />
makes for some amazing storytelling.<br />
@smagofcl 35
Full interactive features are only<br />
avaliable on our Yumpu reader<br />
BEAUTIFUL<br />
COWARD<br />
by TwistTVShow<br />
MADE WITH<br />
The Sims 3<br />
RUNNING TIME<br />
10:47<br />
36 simnation.tv/smagazine<br />
Beautiful Coward is the start of a new<br />
series by TwistTVShow, known for Life’s<br />
A Beach. However, if you are expecting<br />
something along the lines of Life’s a<br />
Beach, you will be disappointed because<br />
this is far from it. Twist explains the story:<br />
“In a timeless Victorian world, morality is<br />
now reversed. All that is right is wrong,<br />
and all that is good is evil. Everyone has<br />
been converted to or born a blackguard-<br />
-everyone except Finley Foster, known<br />
as the beautiful coward, the last purehearted<br />
soul alive. It is every blackguard’s<br />
dream to convert him to their side and<br />
entirely shroud the world in darkness.<br />
Now, threatening his safety, Finley has<br />
grown so lonely that he dares invite<br />
danger to his doorstep--all for the simple<br />
chance of making a friend.”<br />
The sets are amazing and the story<br />
fascinating. This is Gothic storytelling at<br />
its best.
Full interactive features are only<br />
avaliable on our Yumpu reader<br />
get more SimsFilmFest at simsfilmfest.com<br />
OUT OF<br />
FOCUS<br />
by alittlemid<br />
MADE WITH<br />
The Sims 2<br />
RUNNING TIME<br />
15:14<br />
Out of Focus falls under the guilty<br />
pleasure of ‘teen romantic comedy’ in the<br />
same vein as 80’s classics like 16 Candles<br />
or Pretty in Pink. All it’s missing is Molly<br />
Ringwald. The series is about Kadence, a<br />
teen model used to being in the spotlight.<br />
Her life takes a turn when she decides to<br />
attend public school to find “normalcy”.<br />
At the same time her agent and mother<br />
(who reminds me so much of the type<br />
mothers you see on shows like Toddlers<br />
and Tiaras) insist that she form a<br />
“modelling team” with a rather popular<br />
male model. To tell more would give<br />
spoilers. The first three episodes are up<br />
and will having you waiting on the edge<br />
of your seat for the next.<br />
@smagofcl 37
interview<br />
we speak to<br />
aaron<br />
houts<br />
38 simnation.tv/smagazine
Hi, I’m Aaron Houts (a.k.a. SimGuruHouts). I’m currently working as<br />
a designer on The Sims 4 at Maxis. I’ve been at Maxis for 6 years.<br />
When working on The Sims 4 base game, I mostly worked on Build<br />
Mode. Since then, I’ve primarily worked on Expansions and Game<br />
Packs, with specific projects including; the Detective career, the<br />
world of Windenburg, Restaurants, and a bunch of other stuff.<br />
@smagofcl 39
What is the best part of your job?<br />
The best part of working at Maxis<br />
is getting to see people play<br />
the stuff the team has created.<br />
...and what is the most challenging<br />
part?<br />
One of the challenges we continue to<br />
come up against is trying to fit in all<br />
the features we want, and know fans<br />
want, into a pack. But with limited<br />
budget, time and resources, it’s just<br />
not possible to get everything in.<br />
40 simnation.tv/smagazine
What has been your favourite<br />
project to work on at the studio?<br />
There is definitely a tie between<br />
two projects I’ve worked on for my<br />
favorite: The first one is working<br />
on Build Mode in The Sims 4; The<br />
second is designing quests for<br />
Sims Medieval: Pirates and Nobles.<br />
What do you think of the build<br />
tools in The Sims 4?<br />
I have to admit I’m a bit biased about<br />
the build tools in The Sims 4, because<br />
I had a large role in designing Build<br />
Mode in the game, and I’m really<br />
happy with how they turned out.<br />
We were able to greatly improve the<br />
flow for building, so it’s much more<br />
fluid than previous games. Being<br />
able to move and adjust stuff after<br />
you’ve built it is also a hugely useful<br />
feature. Lastly, we’ve also made the<br />
interface a lot more approachable<br />
and easier for people to get into.<br />
It’s been great seeing people who<br />
haven’t been builders in the past<br />
start exploring and enjoying a<br />
huge part of the game that they<br />
previously hadn’t connected with.<br />
That being said, there’s always<br />
room for improvement and more<br />
features. In particular, I’d love to add<br />
things like terrain manipulation, split<br />
level building, and new stair types.<br />
But as I mentioned in one of the<br />
questions above, one of the greatest<br />
challenges of making a game is<br />
figuring out how to fit in all the cool<br />
things we want to make and when<br />
the best time is to do it. (Which<br />
is hopefully sooner than later!)<br />
Follow Aaron on Twitter<br />
@smagofcl 41
If you could create one pack for<br />
the game without limitations, what<br />
would you do?<br />
Right now, I’m really excited about<br />
VR, so if I had the freedom to<br />
create anything I wanted without<br />
limitation, I’d have to go with<br />
a game pack that introduces a<br />
VR mode to The Sims. Imagine<br />
being able to walk around the lots<br />
you’ve built and watch your Sims<br />
interact right next to you, life-sized!<br />
What is your favourite memory<br />
you’ve had working on The Sims?<br />
My favorite Sims memory might<br />
be the time I stayed up until 7am<br />
working on a particular quest for<br />
The Sims Medieval (although I don’t<br />
remember which quest anymore).<br />
By 10pm, everyone else had gone<br />
home, but I was on a roll and really<br />
into the work I was doing so I just<br />
kept going. At some point, I noticed<br />
that it was starting to get<br />
light outside and realized<br />
I’d been working literally<br />
all night. I pretty much live for the<br />
kind of inspiration that lets me get<br />
so deeply immersed in creating<br />
something, so despite being very<br />
tired the next day, it was a highlight<br />
for me.<br />
Another great memory is when<br />
I went to GamesCom in 2014 to<br />
promote The Sims 4. Meeting<br />
and hanging out with our fans<br />
was awesome and it was really<br />
energizing to see all the excitement<br />
about our upcoming game (at<br />
the time). Plus, getting to travel<br />
to Germany for work was pretty<br />
amazing. Later on in that trip, I<br />
ended up proposing to my wife<br />
(well, now she’s my wife), so it was<br />
an amazing trip for both my work<br />
and personal life!<br />
42 simnation.tv/smagazine
@smagofcl 43
How did you get into game<br />
development, and what tips do you<br />
have for people wanting to do the<br />
same?<br />
As a kid, I made board games with<br />
a friend. Then in the early 2000’s, I<br />
started making video games on my<br />
own in a program called Director. Later<br />
on, I did QA work for a few years before<br />
getting tired of not being directly<br />
involved in creating things, and started<br />
doing freelance multimedia work.<br />
Eventually a friend who works on The<br />
Sims told me they were looking for<br />
quest designers on Sims Medieval - so<br />
I interviewed, got the job, and finally<br />
started making games professionally.<br />
When I was getting started in this<br />
stuff there weren’t nearly as many<br />
opportunities and tools available as<br />
there are now. For people who want<br />
to get into video game development<br />
now, I suggest you start learning<br />
Unity or something else like it. There<br />
are tons of resources online that<br />
can help you learn the ropes. I also<br />
recommend that you start making<br />
board games. You don’t need to know<br />
how to program, animate, or any of<br />
the other time-consuming tech parts<br />
of game development, but you can<br />
learn a ton about game mechanics.<br />
Lastly, get involved in online forums<br />
and communities that are about<br />
games and game development.<br />
At the end of the day, if you really<br />
want to do it, take advantage of<br />
all the resources out there and<br />
push yourself to learn and practice!<br />
Thank you so much to Aaron<br />
for taking part in this interview!<br />
We really appreciate it. You can<br />
follow him on Twitter to get a<br />
better insight into what goes<br />
through a Guru’s head...<br />
Follow Aaron on Twitter<br />
44 simnation.tv/smagazine
Gossip, news and<br />
debate between<br />
Simmers and<br />
special guests!<br />
You should hear this - it’s worth<br />
listening to...<br />
George B Editor<br />
I’m excited to say that you can get a<br />
more regular fix from myself and my<br />
friends as we discuss the game and<br />
the latest news regarding it regularly.<br />
I join @SimmerNick in our little virtual<br />
studio (it’s just a Skype call) to debate<br />
different talking points, as well as to<br />
deliver the latest news and have a<br />
laugh in the process.<br />
We’re also often joined by a guest to<br />
shake things up a bit. It’s a bit like tea<br />
and cakes, but with Simmers, and we<br />
hope you can join us!<br />
YT<br />
Watch us<br />
SC<br />
Audio<br />
edition<br />
PC<br />
Pocket<br />
Casts<br />
@smagofcl 45
46 simnation.tv/smagazine<br />
The best screenshots from the community
alienpollination.tumblr.com<br />
@smagofcl 47
48 simnation.tv/smagazine
silverowlblog.tumblr.com<br />
@smagofcl 49
50 simnation.tv/smagazine
auroramoonsims.tumblr.com<br />
@smagofcl 51
52 simnation.tv/smagazine
sjane4prezcc.tumblr.com<br />
@smagofcl 53
54 simnation.tv/smagazine
Plea for help: we had someone on our team last issue called Eri who wrote articles for us,<br />
but in the process of changing mail services I lost her email and have no way of getting in<br />
touch with her! If you’re reading this please email us!<br />
thank you for reading<br />
We’re back with <strong>Issue</strong> 18 in January 20<strong>17</strong><br />
THE STAFF<br />
George B<br />
Editor in Chief<br />
Jorga Haq<br />
SimsFilmFest Film Focus<br />
Alexis (for SimsVIP)<br />
The Mod Pod<br />
CONTACT US<br />
E-mail george@smagazineofficial.co.uk for business or to join the team<br />
Follow @smagofcl for everything in between<br />
SMag is not endorsed or funded by Electronic Arts,<br />
or it’s licensors, in any way. All trademarks are the<br />
property of their respective owners.<br />
All creations shared inside this magazine were<br />
shared in the belief the creator would not object to<br />
us doing so. You can find out more by emailing us,<br />
george@smagazineofficial.co.uk<br />
We will not hesitate to take action against those<br />
that plagiarize the content of this magazine.<br />
SMag, this issue and the original content inside it<br />
is protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-<br />
NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International<br />
License.<br />
All prices were correct at the time of writing.<br />
@smagofcl 55
56 simnation.tv/smagazine