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The ensuing altercations result in a cascade of negative moodlets that impact Nick’s short- and long-term attitude, wrecking his day and potentially ruining his chances at becoming mayor. “Moodlets represent the little things that make you feel good or bad as well as the big things that change your day, your week, or your life,” Bell explains. “Now you can look at your Sims’ moods and really understand what is happening to them.”

Tricky Traits

Nick’s sour moodlets lead to him becoming inconsolable for a short while. His equally vile wife Vita uses her schmoozing trait to smooth ruffled feathers among the Sims in the park, but his daughter Holly registers disgust with her parents. Holly somehow turned out the opposite of Nick and Vita, and she hopes to eventually either alter their traits or move away from their negative influence. (Yes, your Sims’ traits can change over time, but you’ll need to accumulate a lot of Lifetime Happiness points to make that happen.)

Astronomy Domine. A telescope is a good choice for a Sim who has the hopeless romantic trait.

Bell notes: “The addition of traits makes the discussion about genetics more intriguing in The Sims 3. Yes, it’s interesting that two humans can have a child and the child will look like them. However, I think it’s more engaging to discuss how that child’s behavior and development is influenced by their parents. Traits can be inherited, but they can also be developed as a result of the conditions at home. Good parent Sims can even influence their children by assigning traits, which is one way of modeling good parenting.”

“We wanted players to have the same power that our artists have to change things in the game.”
- Ben Bell, executive producer

Traits also play a major role in the game’s Sunset Valley-wide AI, Bell adds: “The entire town is always being simulated. So while you control your Sims, every other Sim in town is making decisions about what to do with their lives based on their personality traits and the situation around them. It’s an incredible simulation of life that reacts to everything you do.”

Whassamattayou? Nick Alto (far right) and some of his associates discuss a sensitive situation.

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Creating Stories

The swirl of relationships and personality dynamics around us points to something The Sims 3 brought forward from previous versions of the game and improved on: storytelling. Pre-created families like the Harts or the Altos serve as the starting point for tales of personal struggles, wishes achieved, dreams denied, family conflicts, redemptive acts, and more.

“[The Sims 3 is] an incredible simulation of life that reacts to everything you do.”
- Ben Bell, executive producer

“The Sims 3 is a game that celebrates the player’s humor, creativity, and imagination,” Bell says. “By playing the game, you’re creating stories. Oftentimes, they’re hilarious stories because of something devious you’re trying to do or something unexpected that happens in the game.”

New tools for story development include Create-a-Movie, which lets you combine your video clips and incorporate transitions, effects, and text captions for narration and dialogue. Share your films through your My Studio space at the Exchange or export them to YouTube. You could also write a story and use screenshots as illustrations.

Having Fun

Now that this game is complete and awaiting an upcoming series of expansion packs, Bell muses on the lessons gleaned from a decade of creating Sims titles. “We’ve learned that it’s really important to have fun while you make games, especially The Sims,” he says. “The Sims are always funny and you can’t be serious about making something funny.”

An Open Neighborhood. Now you can take a stroll and see who you meet.

The perfect moment underscores that point: the Alto and Hart families encounter each other while leaving the park. Nick and Vita Alto sneer at Matthew and Dorie Hart, whose reputation precedes them, while Bebe Hart, who didn’t inherit her parents’ mental instability, makes an instant connection with Holly Alto. As the two teenage girls share frustration with their family situations, the parents find themselves stuck in an awkward moment.

Bell and I stop to see what happens next. It’s sure to be a doozy.

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Living the Sim Life

Learn more on page three, where we also detail what’s new in the Mac version, impart some gameplay tips, and explain why The Sims 3 is actually a prequel to the first two games.