Simsville
Encyclopedia
SimsVille is a cancelled 2001 game by Maxis
. The game was to offer the user control of a multitude of houses in a neighborhood in a fashion similar to The Sims. The cancellation came as Maxis decided to apply more of its staff to development of The Sims products. Many aspects of the game, such as a communal "downtown
" area, were incorporated into the third expansion pack for The Sims, Hot Date
. Also, several elements of SimsVille, such as obtaining feedback from citizens, were used in Maxis' next city simulation game, SimCity 4
. The ability to control many households at once and the fully 3D neighborhood view format was also used in The Sims 2
. Finally, the concept of a fully open world without loading screens features in The Sims 3
and MySims
The trailer can be seen on the SimCity 3000 Unlimited installation CD, as well as The Sims: Livin' Large
CD and on the internet.
In March 2001, Maxis held a reception for the release of The Sims: House Party in San Francisco, California. During this reception, several of the Maxis developers demonstrated Simsville which was expected at that time to be released later that year. It received tepid response in comparison to the demonstration of House Party. One significant difference between the gameplay of The Sims and SimsVille was that where in The Sims, a player would push Sims by giving them commands to follow, in SimsVille, a player could only pull Sims by the placement of objects with different degrees of attraction to the Sims. Objects with insufficient attraction would be ignored by sims. This new gameplay style did not allow as much player control in SimsVille as exists in The Sims and contributed to its poor reception by those in attendance.
Additional in-game screenshots of the game are available at GameSpot's preview of Simsville.
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
. The game was to offer the user control of a multitude of houses in a neighborhood in a fashion similar to The Sims. The cancellation came as Maxis decided to apply more of its staff to development of The Sims products. Many aspects of the game, such as a communal "downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
" area, were incorporated into the third expansion pack for The Sims, Hot Date
The Sims: Hot Date
The Sims: Hot Date is the third expansion pack released for the strategic life-simulation computer game The Sims developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts...
. Also, several elements of SimsVille, such as obtaining feedback from citizens, were used in Maxis' next city simulation game, SimCity 4
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 is a city-building/urban planning simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game...
. The ability to control many households at once and the fully 3D neighborhood view format was also used in The Sims 2
The Sims 2
The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X...
. Finally, the concept of a fully open world without loading screens features in The Sims 3
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
and MySims
MySims
MySims, formerly The Sims Wii and Nintendo Sims, is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spinoff to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2007, then re-released for Microsoft Windows and Mobile phone in 2008.It is the first game in the...
The trailer can be seen on the SimCity 3000 Unlimited installation CD, as well as The Sims: Livin' Large
The Sims: Livin' Large
The Sims: Livin' Large is the first expansion pack released for the computer simulation game, The Sims. The pack includes new characters, careers, items, and features...
CD and on the internet.
In March 2001, Maxis held a reception for the release of The Sims: House Party in San Francisco, California. During this reception, several of the Maxis developers demonstrated Simsville which was expected at that time to be released later that year. It received tepid response in comparison to the demonstration of House Party. One significant difference between the gameplay of The Sims and SimsVille was that where in The Sims, a player would push Sims by giving them commands to follow, in SimsVille, a player could only pull Sims by the placement of objects with different degrees of attraction to the Sims. Objects with insufficient attraction would be ignored by sims. This new gameplay style did not allow as much player control in SimsVille as exists in The Sims and contributed to its poor reception by those in attendance.
Gallery
Additional in-game screenshots of the game are available at GameSpot's preview of Simsville.