“The Sims 4:” History and Evolution launched in 2014 and focuses on the emotional and natural aspects of everyday life, which differed from previous Sims games that experimented with multiplayer elements rather than a fully single-player experience. “The Sims 4” is a social simulation game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. A majority of the game’s popularity came from YouTuber content and inspiring new players. “I've always loved Sims since elementary school because my favorite YouTubers would play it. Before I got ‘Sims 4’ I had a mobile version which wasn't as fun so I stuck to watching the YouTubers play. Eventually it was free for a limited time in 2019 or 2020, so I downloaded it then on my mac,” Deja Anderson, a senior at Berkeley High School, said.
Like previous installments in the series, the game allows players to create and customize characters called “Sims,” build and furnish personalized homes, and explore everyday life across different regions of the game’s world. This installment introduced newly developed features that enhanced both character creation and housebuilding, making customization more detailed and intuitive than in earlier Sims games. “When I play it I mostly like to build homes and retail spaces in it using the cool building tools it provides,” Naia Wahrhaftig, a senior at BHS, said.
In the Sims series, gameplay is open-ended, with no primary objectives or required storyline to complete, instead focusing on creativity and experimentation. Players manage the lives of virtual people called Sims by directing their actions, attending to their needs, and helping them reach personal goals and desires. Sims use Simoleons as the in-game currency and communicate in a fictional language known as Simlish. Each Sim has six core needs: hunger, bladder, hygiene, social, fun, and energy, which decrease throughout the in-game day and must be replenished through activities such as cooking, showering, or socializing. Sims typically earn money through jobs and improve their performance by developing skills, such as Cooking or Mixology for Sims in the Culinary career.
Over time, “The Sims 4” has evolved through numerous expansion packs and add-ons that introduce new gameplay systems, careers, and worlds. “My favorite thing to do on ‘Sims 4’ is finding new mods and expansion packs to use. I don't really enjoy customizing the characters with the base game materials,” Anderson said.
While these additions have expanded the game significantly, they have also made the overall cost of the game much more expensive, highlighting how “The Sims 4” has grown and changed since its original release. “We have added some game packs which over the years have cost a fair amount of money, but that makes the game better,” Wahrhaftig said.
Looking ahead, players hope future updates will focus more on improving the base version of the game and making content more accessible without additional purchases. “In the future I'd like for them to add more interesting features in the base game. It sucks that most of the fun content is locked behind paywalls. Even though you can get a lot with mods, a lot of them don't work in the long run.” Anderson said.