Question for @ffff0

A major point of the game seems to be going back and exploring different story-routes that you missed in order to get new information so that you may progress. Does the game offer any narrative reason for this to make sense? Obviously limit spoilers if you can, but without a story reason doesn't that create a disconnect between the narrative and gameplay?

Question for @brannox

You mention Dark Aeons in your presentation a couple of times and how you don't like them, but I'm not entirely sure what they are. Would you mind explaining them to me? How intrusive are they?

Question(s) for @JDINCINERATOR

1. In most Rockstar games the narrative is very wishy-washy. I find that often characters just drift from one mission to the next with little through-line connecting them, and as a result I find myself not really caring about the characters or story. Does Bully follow this sort of structure?

2. Are you able to choose which factions to align yourself with, or does the game force you to befriend them all? For instance, if I only wanted to side with the nerds, is that an option, and if so how does it affect the narrative?

Question for @Oscillator

I hold this game close to my heart, but there is a blemish that I think is worth discussing. You've mentioned it already but I feel I have to bring it up: the leveling system is deeply flawed. If you choose an easy skill as one of your main ones, like Acrobatics, you will level up far too fast and the enemies will scale too early, thus making the game insanely difficult. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the game is easier if you choose never to level up at all. Do you agree with my complaints, and if so how negatively does it affect the experience?

Response to @brunojoey's question:

Sure, the expansions are very valuable to the experience I think, however many of them introduced features that would go on to be commonplace in later Sims games, so I can see how they don't seem as impressive now. For instance, Hot Date introduced the concept of community lots, Makin' Magic introduced the supernatural elements of the series, and House Party introduced social gatherings.

I think something that the first Sims has over later games is that at this point I think it's harder to get the game without the expansions than it is to get it with them. The expansions are so ingrained in the game's DNA that most versions you would buy (or more likely, download, as the game is not available on digital storefronts) come with all of the expansions, so there's never the feeling that you have to buy extra stuff in order to have the full experience.

Hey folks I updated the original post with easy links to see all of the presentations and cross-examination questions/responses. I'll continue to update it as more stuff gets in.

Response to @JDINCINERATOR's first question:

I think The Sims is remarkably accessible to newcomers. The controls are quite simple and intuitive, and I think the game's history of attracting a crowd that wouldn't normally play games speaks for itself.

If you don't enjoy the genre, I don't think there's much I can say to convince you to play it. All I can say is I think the game has a little bit for everybody, and hope you give it a try. Ultimately it all comes down to personal preference though, and if your preference doesn't align with what The Sims offers, then there's nothing wrong with that. It's very easy to pick up and play so I encourage those who don't think they'll like it to at least give it a try, but if it's not for you it's not for you.

Response to @JDINCINERATOR's second question:

Yeah so if you just want to watch them without having any sort of input yourself, The Sims will handle most situations pretty well. They'll have interactions with each other and build unique relationships, they'll do an okay enough job at maintaining their needs, though admittedly not as well as if you were in control, and they'll spend a lot of time engaging in their hobbies.

There are, however, a few limitations. For one, A Sim will never opt to leave its home unless you tell them to, so unique lots are inaccessible without your input. Another thing is that they are very inept at handling crises. For instance, in the fire in my video, without your input they will just stand there and panic about the flames without actually doing anything to stop them. Any sort of crisis like that will turn out poorly for the Sims without your help.

I don't think any of the things I just mentioned are a big deal though. The Sims is still a game, and encourages interactivity, I just figured I'd mention that you can sit back and watch if you so desire, that The Sims have a level of autonomy that not even modern AI tend to have. Most people would opt to play the game and control the sims, it's just possible not to.

Absolutely insane news. I guess Xbox is finally trying to do something about being second place. Not even a dig, I've always preferred Xbox to Playstation, but it's only within the last two years or so that it feels like Xbox has been actively trying to correct course. A colossal get.

Response to @ffff0's question

I have never used a mod for the first Sims. I use them all the time for the later games, but I've never felt like the first game needed them. I think it's really cool that the option is there, and I certainly have nothing against modding it, but I think it's an incorrect assertion to say that the first game needs mods to fix anything.

Response to @Brannox's first question:

Great question. Toward the bottom of the screen you can see the pictures of every Sim in your household. You decide which Sim you want to control by clicking on one of those pictures, and from there you click on whatever object you want them to interact with. For instance, you can see at 0:49 in the video that I click on the stage and a circular menu pops up giving me all the options my Sim has to interact with it. The stage only has one option, to sing, so I click that and then my Sim will go over and sing. That's how the system works for every interaction, including movement (as you can see in the clip immediately after, where I click on the floor and the option pops up to have my dog move there) and talking to other Sims.

As for building, the controls are remarkably intuitive. It's really just clicking and dragging. For instance, if you have walls equipped, you just have to click and drag in a straight line to build a wall, as can be seen at 1:55. Painting walls and floors operate in the same way.

And I prefer it to its sequels for a multitude of reasons. The first major factor is the visuals. The Sims 1 is not fully 3D like the others are, instead employing a 2D aesthetic in its environments. The 2D aesthetic is just really cozy to me. It's clear that much more detail goes into the textures because they don't have to be fully modeled, and there is just a crispness to it that I really appreciate. There's also something more expressive about it that gives the game more oomph.

The second major factor is the music. The Sims 1 has one of the greatest soundtracks of all-time, full stop. The Build Mode tracks (the music that plays when you build your house) in particular are excellent, and are basically freeform jazz piano tracks that are so good at setting a tone. Later Sim games have good soundtracks, but there is something fabricated about how upbeat they constantly are. The first Sims game allows for melancholy in its music, creating beautiful soundscapes that can convey so many different emotions.

And then finally, The Sims just has more personality than its successors. Sims piss themselves all the time if their bladder isn't well-managed, they frequently fall asleep on the floor because they didn't make it to the bed in time, and there is something more chaotic about their AI. The sims in this game are kind of dumb, but that's a good thing. They do more interesting stuff because they don't know any better. I also think the game is funnier than the others, and the random events are more interesting. In the course of getting capture for the video, a skunk randomly decided to make our house its home, and all attempts to get rid of it resulted in some very stinky sims. There are also things like burglars, sad clowns that come by if your sim is too sad, genies and more. Other Sims games have stuff like that, but it doesn't feel as fun or as special.

Response to @Brannox's second question:

The Sims is not a game for completionists by its very nature. The variety in what you can see or do is dependent on so many factors, that there is really no way to see everything because every household you have is different. The game is naturally very social. A huge part of the game is seeing how your sims interact with each other and with others, and while you can obviously tell your sim how to interact, you can't determine how the other sim will respond, so the point I'm making is that the social AI is complex enough that seeing everything isn't really a thing, because they can interact in near infinite ways. I think a great example of this is in a very early trailer for the game. It made waves because it featured two women sims kissing. This was not a planned thing by Wright or Maxis, it was just how the relationship between the two sims ended up going. It wasn't intended, but it wasn't a bug either, it was just the AI doing its thing.

Beyond the social aspects, the simulation of the Sims makes things unique every time too. Full disclosure, I had to alter my script for the video after doing game capture because I literally could not recreate what had actually happened. In real life, it wasn't my aunt's character who perished in the fire, but the neighbor. I literally could not get it to happen for the capture because by design the game does not allow for recreation. The game is built to create unique experiences. You can make a hundred households and have a fresh experience every time. The game only ends when you say it does (or all your sims die), as the simulation will go on forever, making new things happen with or without your input.

I think we understate the significance of Wii Sports. I mean the Wii owes so much of its initial success to this game. Families weren't buying the Wii to play Mario or Zelda, they were buying it to play Wii Sports, the free pack-in game that -- and I don't believe I'm being hyperbolic by saying this -- revolutionized the industry. It created a whole new audience for games. People that would never ordinarily play a game were playing this one. Grandparents, great-grandparent, single moms, that one uncle you have who shows up to family gatherings with a six-pack, all of these people were able to come together and have fun. It's the game that made the Wii, and perhaps even greater than that, made motion controls. I mean if you look at the Kinect and the Playstation Move, they were clearly influenced by this game, and tried their best to emulate it without success.

The code-name for the Wii was Revolution, and it's Wii Sports that proves how prescient that title was.

Okay folks, Cross-Examination is now open! As a reminder, everybody can participate in this, even those who did not bring a game. Remember to check the rules one more time before you start. This ends one week from today, after which I will ask for your vote.

My video:

Youtube Video

I'll make an update in a few hours opening the thread for cross-examination. See ya then.