De Sims 3 Jaargetijden: producers blog

Op de Amerikaanse De Sims 3 site is een leuk blog online gekomen over De Sims 3 Jaargetijden. Waarschijnlijk is het de eerste in een serie blogs over deze nieuwe uitbreiding.

We hopen snel een vertaling te kunnen melden, bij het blog zitten ook wat nieuwe screens.

April Showers Bring May Flowers in Seasons!

Hi Everyone!

I’m excited to introduce to you today the first deep dive into one of the four seasons in The Sims 3 Seasons – SPRING! As we were initially designing the themes for The Sims 3 Seasons Expansion Pack, spring became the season of rain, bright colors and of course, love!

Weather is one of the new additions to this expansion and a great way to distinguish one season from another. Those familiar with The Sims 3 have most likely become accustomed to sunny weather, but spring time not only brings blue skies, but, occasional drizzle, fog, heavy showers and even lighting. Although rain can soak your Sims, there are quite a few benefits to having a few wet days. Sims can splash in puddles for a little fun, it can help put out fires in your town or it can water your plants. Also, no longer will inclement weather prevent your Sims from enjoying the outdoors. For the first time in The Sims franchise, we have umbrellas! With water-proof umbrellas in hand, Sims can walk, chat and even run outside without getting wet.

Not only can you change the color and patterns on the umbrella, you can even upgrade them to glow!

In additional to weather, colors also play a large part in seeing the changing seasons. Through the thick of winter snowstorms, spring is welcomed with a fresh burst of color. The trees will start to re-grow their leaves, and you’ll see our new collectable wild flowers sprouting throughout the town. Sims can pick and gather these wildflowers to add an extra pop of color to their homes. Although be warned, they may be susceptible to seasonal allergies. Don’t worry though, a quick trip to the hospital to get an allergy shot will clear your Sims’ symptoms quickly.

To celebrate each season, a festival will arrive to your town! Each festival is unique to the season will transform completely with new objects and decorations throughout the year. Not only will festivals appear in Sunset Valley, but they’ll appear in other worlds too. You can be living it up in The Sims 3 Late Night’s Bridgeport, or be enjoying the dry heat of The Sims 3 Store’s Lucky Palms while participating in seasonal festivities.

But back to spring. With spring being the season of color, it was fitting to have an egg hunt held at the spring festival. Every day, new eggs are scattered throughout the grounds. Finding these colorful eggs can net your Sims some valuable festival tickets that can then be redeemed for prizes. You might even find some other surprises during your hunt as well!

In The Sims 3 Seasons we created a lot of new ways to meet other Sims. Sims can hold parties, send love letters by mail or even find a date online. Once you’ve found a potential match, the spring festival has plenty of activities for new lovebirds to enjoy. They can skate on the roller rink,

Test their knowledge of one another on the lover tester machine, dance and compete for the title of Spring King and Queen or challenge each other to a round of horseshoes.

Or if your Sim is alone (or willing to sneak a peck), they can ask for a kiss at the kissing booth. Your Sim can also work a kissing booth too! If you see an open, unmanned booth, you can send your Sims to offer kisses of their own. With a little charm and appeal, your Sims may make a few Simoleons stealing a few smooches.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into The Sims 3 Seasons. Stay tuned for more information about the other seasons, additional weather effects and other exciting features.

-Charles Murakami, Associate Producer, The Sims 3 Seasons