Sims 3 Gameplay

= Macro Objective =


 * What : Lifetime wish
 * How :
 * Path (macro-loop) :

= Abilities, Resources, Attributes, Ennemies =

Abilities (actions) of the player

 * The list of abilities for the player is too large to list, but the rest of the document uncovers a large part of them. They mainly revolve around the daily actions of a normal person, and encompass a variety of domains such as:
 * Physical needs (hygiene, hunger, sleeping...)
 * Socializing, building a family
 * Practicing activities such as sports, cooking, fishing, gardening, playing music, repairing, playing chess, painting, writing...
 * Having fun and going to events (theater, swimming pool...)
 * Shopping
 * Arranging a nice environment (building and furnishing a house, housekeeping)
 * Working and earning money
 * Walking and driving around in a city
 * Learning

Chosen during sim creation
Tend to create yourself as a character


 * Name, age, gender
 * Physical
 * Body shape (muscles &amp; fat)
 * Skin color and tone
 * Head: shape, hair (style &amp; color), ears, eyes (color &amp; form), nose, mouth, freckles, beauty marks, makeup, eyebrows, eyelashes
 * Outfits (every day, formal, sleepwear, athletic, swimwear)
 * Top
 * Bottom
 * Accessories (glasses, hat/cap, ring, bracelet, ear rings)
 * Outfits (select the bove, but pre-made)
 * Favorites (music, color) &amp; voice tone
 * Traits : choose 5 caracterists which will define the personality of the sim (ambitious, artistic, absent-minded...)
 * Lifetime wish : choose 1 out of 5 suggestions based on traits. Three categories of wishes: career, skill and misc.
 * Ex: Master of the arts (master two art skills), become a superstar athlete (reach lvl 9 in athletic career track), Perfect aquarium (15 species of perfect fishes)... 
 * Details: overview, basic controls, personality controls

Skills developped during the game

 * A sim starts without skills. They can be learned by reading books, going to classes or using related object:
 * Athletic (Develop by: take class, read book, use equipment, workout with TV or stereo, swim)
 * Charisma (Develop by: friend developement (required), take class, read book, practice speech In mirror)
 * Cooking (Develop by: take class, read book, prepare meals, watch TV)
 * Fishing (Develop by: take class, read book, fish, watch TV)
 * Gardening (Develop by: take class, read book, garden, watch TV)
 * Guitar (Develop by: take class, play, learn songs)
 * Handiness (Develop by: take class, read book, repair an object)
 * Logic (Develop by: take class, read book, play chess, use telescope)
 * Painting (Develop by: take class, practice at easel)
 * Writing (Develop by: take class, read book, practice writing at computer)
 * Skills have levels, that unlock new or improved abilities (jogging, recovering faster, teaching...) and challenges (trophies with a bonus).
 * Some can only be acquired after childhood (starting at teenager)

Resources

 * Money
 * Household &amp; furnitures (one at a time)
 * Car


 * Cell phone (part of the interface)
 * Books &amp; newspapers
 * Groceries
 * Music instruments
 * Collectibles

Ennemies

 * Generally there isn't a lot of focus on ennemies, except:
 * Sims you have a negative relationship with
 * Mission-specific context
 * Fights with other sims

= Mid-level objectives =

The mid-level loops are intermediate elements that give the player some mid term perspective.

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective: Make the sim happy by promising wishes to him and fullfilling them afterwards
 * Challenge: Chose a set of promised wishes that the player will be able to get for the sim
 * Reward: Lifetime happiness points and increase in mood meter

Examples

 * Take a class in the Logic skill
 * Buy a videogame console
 * Become friend with Matt
 * List of wishes

Steps

 * 1) Wishes are generated randomly, but based on the traits of the sim and the context of the current situation.
 * 2) When a sim wishes something, the player can then chose to promise him to fullfill that wish (up to 4 simultaneously)
 * 3) When the wish is fullfilled, the sim gets the reward
 * 4) A promised wish can be cancelled without penalty at any time, usually to leave room for another promised wish

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective: Completing a mission, usually related to the sim's career or skills
 * Challenge: Being able to complete the described mission
 * Reward: Career or skill advancement, Lifetime happiness points and positive moodlet

Examples

 * In the Law enforcement career track, you get an opportunity to go and spy on a local activist group. You go there, your sim automatically asks questions inside of a building where you don't see it, and the next day when he arrives at work you get the reward.
 * List of opportunities

Steps

 * Opportunities happen at random times, but depend on the context (being at work, type of career...)
 * A window shows up, describing the opportunity and asking you if you want to accept it
 * If you accept it, you have to complete it within a certain time
 * Upon successful completion, you get the reward

Getting lifetime rewards

 * Use Lifetime happiness points to purchase . They usually provide a way to ease micromanagement tasks required from the player, or achieve goals more quickly.

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective: Obtain bonuses or attributes for the sim that remove some of the micromanagement
 * Challenge: Get enough Lifetime happiness points to buy a given lifetime reward. Lifetime happiness points are obtained by: fullfilling wishes, seizing opportunities or maintaining a high mood for the sim.
 * Reward: The bonus or attribute

Examples

 * Vacationer (ability to miss a few days from work without consequences)
 * Speedy cleaner (clean the house more quickly)
 * Legendary host (everyone shows up at your parties and have a good time)
 * List of lifetime rewards

Steps

 * Obtain Lifetime happiness points
 * Spend them to acquire the desired bonus or attribute

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective: Obtaining career advancement (increasing the level within a given career track)
 * Challenge: Attaining a high work mood meter, maintaining good relationships with boss, and (depending on the career track and promotion) maintaining good relationship with coworkers, having the right skills at the right level
 * Reward: Increased pay rate, better job, Lifetime happiness points and positive moodlet

Examples

 * Full-time careers:
 * Business
 * Crime
 * Culinary
 * Journalism
 * Law Enforcement
 * Medical
 * Military
 * Music
 * Political
 * Professional Sports
 * Science
 * Part-time: Bookstore Clerk, Grocery Store Clerk,Day Spa Receptionist, Day Spa Specialist,Mausoleum

Steps

 * Find a job using the newspaper, the computer or by going directly to the workplace.
 * Repeated successful completion of the Going to work loop
 * Depending on the prerequisites for the promotion, you then may need to:
 * Socialize with coworkers - either at work, or by inviting them at home outside of work hours (colleagues become contacts with whom you have relationship statuses. See Socializing loop.
 * Increase skills. See Learning loop.
 * Successfully complete opportunities. See Opportunities loop.
 * When you have all the prerequisites, obtaining the promotion is still a random event

= Low level objectives (loops) =

The low level loops are the basic mechanisms that let the player achieve direct objectives.

For each one, we describe at least 1) the loop, 2) the objective/challenge/reward, 3) and we give exemples when it's relevant.

Handling mood and needs

 * Measured by mood meter. When it is very high it gives Lifetime happiness and skills build faster, when it is low the sim stops responding to orders and takes care of his basic needs.
 * The mood meter varies according to the presence of modifiers called "moodlets" (ex: comfortable, having fun, offended...). They increase or lower the mood for a certain time. Modifiers can be positive, negative or neutral (the later are simply warnings).
 * Moodlets are generated by:
 * Needs (see below)
 * Traits (doing something corresponding to a personality trait of the sim, like being alone for a loner)
 * Places (theaters, stadiums, schools...)
 * Environment (comfortable house, stinky place...)
 * Misc (ex: sugar rush, reading a masterpiece, pregnancy...)
 * Needs are symbolized by progressively decreasing bars that need to be refilled by performing a related action. When the bar is low it creates negative moodlets, when it is high it creates positive moodlets:
 * Hunger
 * Bladder (toilets)
 * Energy (sleeping)
 * Social
 * Hygiene (shower/brushing teeth/washing hands)
 * Fun (games/television/party/...)

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Socializing

 * Meter - positive/negative (starts at 0 - "acquaintance")
 * First contact: nice/rude introduction, kicking out, invite in
 * Known:
 * Shoo
 * Invite in / invite everyone in
 * Ask to leave / ask everyone to leave
 * Friendly: get to know, chat, ask about career + context-specific discussions (surroundings, recent events - ex: criticize loosy book, enthuse about new house...)
 * Funny: make silly face, tell funny story
 * Mean: insult
 * Romantic: ask if single, pick up line, flirt, compliment personality, compliment appearance
 * Special: specific to the sim personality (evil: talk about masterplan, athletic: express need for exercise

Loop:


 * Meet people (work, social place like swimming pool, street)
 * Start conversation
 * Chose topic
 * See if it matches (increases or decreases meter, and discover traits/career)
 * Start over or end conversation
 * Rewards: friendship, career advancement, social networking, more opportunities, better parties (more people and more fun)
 * XXX: find stages of friendship and consequences
 * http://wiki.thesimsresource.com/index.php?title=Socialization

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Going to work

 * Work hours (ex: mon-fri 9am-3pm) and pay per hour. The sim goes to work and you don't see the interaction - however, you can chose the general approach the sim will have (take it easy, suck up to boss...) and you can monitor his status (moodlets, needs...).

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Throwing a party

 * Steps for a party:*Chosing guests &amp; location
 * Preparing the party
 * Welcoming and interacting with guests
 * Getting the result

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Aging

 * Aging happens at each birthday, or by ordering birthday cakes. They go through the following phases: newborn, toddler, child, teen, young adult &amp; adult, elder.

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Building/expanding/furnishing

 * Empty terrain / Unfurnished / furnished
 * Building &amp; decorating
 * +link to wiki

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Investments
http://wiki.thesimsresource.com/index.php?title=Investments

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Objective, challenge and rewards

 * Objective:
 * Challenge:
 * Reward:

Steps


= Context (macro-storyline) =


 * an AI went bad and turned into a virus that is infecting the web
 * humans/AI (in discussion on the ml)

= Learning curve =


 * We should use the missions as much as possible to teach the player :
 * During the first minutes of gameplay, a few missions can teach the basic features of the game
 * Each time a new feature is introduced for the player, a mission could be in charge of explaining the feature and helping the player use it.

= Pace of gaming =


 * There are three ways of maintaining a pace of gaming at around 15-20mn per day (or whatever number we want) :
 * time necessary for a mission to be completed.
 * When a player accomplishes his part of a mission (for instance retrieve an information from a web site), we can imagine that the AI needs a few hours in order to perform other tasks and complete the mission.
 * money :
 * given that consumables are necessary to launch missions, and that money is necessary to buy consumables, the money can be used as a limitator for the number of concurrent missions the player takes
 * number of hack points :
 * the limited number of hack points prevents the player from hacking too many web sites per day.

= Supporting Means =

Interface

 * Map view / sim view


 * Journal: find a job, find classes, check weekly events


 * Can adjust game speed &amp; pause
 * Possibility to queue orders given to the sim


 * Details: http://wiki.thesimsresource.com/index.php?title=Controls

Places

 * Home
 * Grocery shop
 * Book shop
 * Theater
 * Swimming pool
 * Science facility
 * Town hall
 * Business center
 * http://wiki.thesimsresource.com/index.php?title=Community_Lots_and_Rabbit_Holes
 * http://wiki.thesimsresource.com/index.php?title=Employment_Lots

Other

 * To ease micromanagement tasks, the sim can call to get services (maid, repairman, babysitter)
 * A sim can get arrested in the criminal career track
 * A fire can start in a house - the fire department then intervenes, but damage is cause to the house
 * Sims have free will - without orders, they will perform actions corresponding to their needs, envy and environment. It's a setting that can be adjusted (high/medium/low) or even switched off.
 * A lot of players create their first and main sim alike to them, and the identification is strong
 * Some sims, with the right traits or career path, can hack using a computer. The activity continuously generates cash, but there is a chance to get caught (the police comes and fines the sim)
 * Sims can be non-human, such as the zombies or the SimBots (robots)
 * Sims can have nightmares if the player doesn't properly take care of them

CGU

 * Maps
 * Objects
 * Houses
 * Machinima

+ check in-game tutorial, see if anything was missed