Introduction

Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: Late 1999
Official Website: http://www.simcity.com/thesims/

Personal Planning

Well it was only a matter of time, now wasn't it? The original Sim City is a gaming classic; a hit among games of all ages, genders, and across platforms as well. With Maxis' new game, called The Sims, you won't be controlling the macro states of a city anymore. This time, you're in charge of actual people's lives! The easiest way to describe the Sims is that it's an interactive soap opera. Instead of tweaking roads, water pipes, and school funding to improve a city, you'll be directing a person's actions to improve his or her life. In fact, as you get better you'll be able to control and manipulate an entire neighborhood of people!

Flirting with the ladies

Building a person

So how does it work? It all starts with creating your own characters, complete with looks, clothes, personality traits, etc. From there you can design your Sim's house, including the layout and all of the furniture, from couches to stereos to fishtanks to appliances, and more. You'll see your characters carrying about the normal business of a house, from relaxing to eating to bathing and cleaning (or maybe they don't clean - some characters can be slobs!). A lot of the bits in the environment are interactive as well. If you give your character lots of plants, you better make sure he/she waters them or they'll die. If that's not something they can handle, then you may have to hire a maid to pick up after your Sim.

Multiroom mansion