SimsVille

SimsVille is a cancelled simulation video game game developed by Maxis. The game was conceived as a hybrid between the gameplay of The Sims and SimCity. Development of SimsVille was undertaken over two years by the Maxis development team for SimCity as an opportunity for expansion of The Sims franchise. Following delays to the game's release window, Maxis discontinued development of SimsVille in September 2001, citing the studio's concerns with the quality of the gameplay experience. Despite its cancellation, design elements of SimsVille would influence later Maxis products, particularly the community features of The Sims: Hot Date and the integration of Sims into SimCity 4.

Gameplay


Players of SimsVille were tasked with populating and managing a town. In contrast to gameplay in SimCity, homes are inhabited by households of Sims, who move between and interact with buildings in the city. Players would be required to build and manage a city that meets the needs of individual Sims by satisfying their 'Energy', 'Fun', 'Environment', 'Social' and 'Hunger' moods, as well as individual interests, that would affect the environment and character of the city. Similar to The Sims, the game's gameplay modes would have been separated by a 'Build Mode', allowing players to construct buildings and infrastructure, a 'Buy Mode', in which players can purchase items that affect Sim needs and interests, and a 'Live Mode' to indirectly control Sims. The game supported a three-dimensional engine, allowing players to freely rotate and zoom into details in their town. Whilst players would not have direct control over individual Sims, it was intended that players would be able to design families or import households from The Sims to appear in the game.

Development
Developed over a two-year period to its cancellation in September 2001, SimsVille was conceived out of early conceptual work during development by the Maxis team responsible for the SimCity series, and The Sims codesigners Claire Curtain and Roxy Wolosenko, with minor input from franchise creator Will Wright. SimsVille was intended as a hybrid between the simulation gameplay of The Sims and the city-building mechanics of the Sim City series. The development team aimed to bridge these gameplay approaches through expressing the impact of Sims and communities on the character of the environment. SimsVille was developed in parallel with other products that aimed to innovate and expand upon The Sims franchise, including The Sims Online. SimsVille was developed from the ground-up using entirely new code. Originally slated for a May 2001 release, publishers later expected the release of the game to occur as early as January or February 2002. In May 2001, Electronic Arts showcased previews of gameplay of SimsVille from multiple booths at E3, with its content observed by PC PowerPlay to have "progressed considerably" from the previous year.

Cancellation
On 21 September 2001, development of SimsVille was cancelled, with staff redeployed to progress The Sims Online and SimCity 4. Maxis stated the cancellation was made by the studio due to quality control issues, citing team and studio concerns with the "less compelling" play experience once cities were constructed. Maxis denied the cancellation related to conflicts with projects with The Sims Online and Hot Date, although the studio recognised Hot Date provided a "more fun" manifestation of the design objectives of SimsVille. The cancellation announcement was met with mixed reception. Some outlets expressed skepticism for Maxis' reasons for abandoning the game due to the abundance of "commercial and critical flops" in the studio's history, with others speculating that the game was "too closely positioned" to ongoing projects for SimCity and The Sims Online. Maxis director Patrick Buechner estimated that SimsVille was "about 60 percent compete" and anticipating a March 2002 release at the time of cancellation.

Legacy
Despite its cancellation, staff involved with SimsVille embedded the design of the game into future projects. The focus on the broader neighborhood was introduced into The Sims with The Sims: Hot Date expansion pack in 2001, and later iterations of The Sims mainline games. In a retrospective assessment, Computer Gaming World noted that the Hot Date expansion better accomplished the primary goal of allowing sims to leave their homes, a likely reason for the cancellation of SimsVille. Several of the concepts in SimsVille also appeared in the 2003 Maxis game SimCity 4, including the interface design, the integration of Sims in cities with simplified personality features, and the changing appearance of lots to reflect the character of a neighborhood. Comparisons were also raised between SimsVille and the design of the 2007 game SimCity Societies, a title that similarly attempted to innovate on the formula of the SimCity franchise.