The Sims 3: EA Maxis' Ben Bell Interview

Huge interview with the executive producer of The Sims 3 at EA Maxis, Ben Bell.

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Kikizo: Would you be able to put a soundtrack over the top?

Bell: Absolutely yeah, you can take music from the game and put it in there, plus special effects we've got there, or you can make your own. So it's really a creative tool that's built into the community, totally free, that people are going to use to share their experiences as well. It's a totally new dimension that hasn't been there as well.

Kikizo: Some of the stuff BioWare has been working on with Dragon Age: Origins - a very different experience in most respects - is oddly comparable to some of the things you've mentioned today - they put a lot of stress there on the character's backstory and how it conditions your progress. Have you drawn much inspiration from RPGs, both BioWare's games and in general?

Bell: I think that in terms of role-playing games in general, there are definitely some elements of The Sims 3 that are influenced. When you look at the way you track the Sim's mood, for example. Mood is one of the most important metrics in the game, and there are a lot of things that contribute to it, like whether or not I've fulfilled my Wishes and so on.

But there are components of your mood called "moodlets" which are these temporary effects that are placed on your character. So a couple of examples - because this character loves the outdoors and he's outside, he has this "Beautiful Park" moodlet, and because people are watching him while he's playing the guitar, he's entertained. And that'll carry with him after this event. So if you go out on a date and you have your first kiss with a girl, your Sim is going to be, you know...

Kikizo: Over the moon.

Bell: Yeah. If you get a shiny new object that your Sims love, they're going to be happy about that. If you buy a house that overlooks the ocean, near a great view, you'll have a "Beautiful Vista" moodlet. It's definitely something that was inspired by role-playing games...

Kikizo: Kind of like a status buff or something...

Bell: Yeah, it's a cool game mechanic and it's a cool way for us to expose who your people are to you. You get to learn a lot more about them than you would otherwise. In the past you just had those bars, but now there's a lot more.

Kikizo: And will moodlets have a cumulative effect? Say your character lives near a beautiful view as you've just described, and experiences that Beautiful Vista moodlet every day - would they be inspired to take up painting, or something to that effect?

Bell: There are things that happen like that in the game, the wishes are very much like that... So if a character has visited the park for the first time in his life, because he's seeing this park for the first time and he loves the outdoors, he has the wish to take up fishing. There are lot of things like that that happen because of the circumstances that you're in, contextual goals that are suggested to you.

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