14 DAY TRIAL // I fell out of love with The Sims as a series around the time Electronic Arts began to launch a lot of downloadable content packs for the second full title in the franchise that added little to the core game, but the coming installment might just convince me to take another stab at life simulation.
At E3 2014, the development team at Maxis is aiming to show how they are using an entirely new engine and a lot of tech advancements to bring back the classic experience associated with The Sims.
The characters are easier to create than ever, with the sliders and values of the past replaced with a simple system that allows players to drag and move in order to shape their sim.
The aspiration and trait system has also been overhauled and allows gamers to create sims that are more clearly defined, while also choosing a clear path for them in the game.
The big new element of The Sims 4 is the focus on emotions, which means that characters will be directly affected by all their interactions with those around them and the environment, with changes reflected in their posture and the way they act in the game.
Maxis says that even a supposedly negative emotion, like rage, can be harnessed by the player, for example to unlock special new fitness activities and then level up their sim, and that regardless of how they feel, the characters will always have interesting ways of interacting with the world.
Another major feature of the new title is the Interactive Gallery, which is designed to make it very easy for players to download items and even entire houses from a list of creations that other gamers uploaded.
The developers at Maxis are showing how easy it is to design a new room, raise the foundations of a house or the height of the walls.
The E3 2014 demo for The Sims 4 ends with a massive house party which involves both Chuck Norris and the leader of North Korea, who in the world of the game apparently has a passion for making cupcakes using a rather complicated machine.
The Sims 4 will be launched on September 2 in North America and on September 4 in Europe and can be played exclusively on the PC, although Electronic Arts has suggested that it might also try to bring it to home consoles at some point.