25-03-2008, 12:50 AM
For the home-design-oriented players, The Sims 3 offers increased flexibility to make your own patterns (for complex plaids and paisleys, you can have the computer do the color-matching for you) coupled with the ability to apply them to clothing, hair, or any surface of a piece of furniture, from upholstery to the visible supporting framework. Furniture can be laid out at angles, too.
Plusses: Ain't nothing wrong with more options...and The Sims 3 executive producer Ben Bell says the aim is to make it so that players don't have to have a digital arts degree to make their own stuff.
Potential Pitfalls: Sharing content is a huge, huge, huge deal to Sims players -- and to be honest, we were a bit surprised to find it's not as huge a part of The Sims 3's initial blueprint as we would have guessed. EA's plans definitely involve an online item exchange and a way to sort the good from the bad with a rating system (sort of like YouTube), but beyond that, it's nebulous. High-concept ideas like content pollination and podcast-like subscription (so players can, say, constantly receive new clothing designs from favorite Sims 3 creators) is being left to Spore. For now, at least -- the game's far enough away that anything's possible here.
Plusses: Ain't nothing wrong with more options...and The Sims 3 executive producer Ben Bell says the aim is to make it so that players don't have to have a digital arts degree to make their own stuff.
Potential Pitfalls: Sharing content is a huge, huge, huge deal to Sims players -- and to be honest, we were a bit surprised to find it's not as huge a part of The Sims 3's initial blueprint as we would have guessed. EA's plans definitely involve an online item exchange and a way to sort the good from the bad with a rating system (sort of like YouTube), but beyond that, it's nebulous. High-concept ideas like content pollination and podcast-like subscription (so players can, say, constantly receive new clothing designs from favorite Sims 3 creators) is being left to Spore. For now, at least -- the game's far enough away that anything's possible here.