Post by Morreion on Jul 15, 2010 8:40:21 GMT -5
The Sims Online (Wikipedia)
EA-Land (formerly known as The Sims Online) was a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) variation on Maxis' highly popular computer game The Sims. It was published by Electronic Arts and released on December 17, 2002 for Microsoft Windows. In March 2007, EA announced that the product would be re-branded as EA-Land and major enhancements would be made. About a year later, Electronic Arts announced the game would shut down all activity on August 1, 2008.
The Game Archaeologist and the Legend of the Sims: The history (Massively)
Add "Online" to the end of the title, advance to Go and collect $2 billion
When The Sims hit the retail shelves in 2000, even the most ardent Will Wright fans had no idea that they'd just witnessed the birth of the biggest selling PC franchise in history. It blindsided the entire gaming population, offering creation instead of destruction, voyeurism instead of direct control, and an appealing face to female gamers not just male gamers. There was just something addictive about the combination of creating a home and plopping down computer people to see what would happen.
With two sequels and approximately 16,100 expansion packs to follow, The Sims spread like a peppy plague over the entire planet. The only thing that was missing was the ability to interact with other people and their creations, as a multiplayer component wasn't packaged into the first game. At the same time, online gaming was taking off and everyone wanted a piece of the EverQuest pie... so why not The Sims?
It actually made sense, in a way. Smash hit PC game, online gaming craze, cross-demographic appeal -- what's not to love? So after a period of beta testing, The Sims Online launched in December 2002.
When The Sims hit the retail shelves in 2000, even the most ardent Will Wright fans had no idea that they'd just witnessed the birth of the biggest selling PC franchise in history. It blindsided the entire gaming population, offering creation instead of destruction, voyeurism instead of direct control, and an appealing face to female gamers not just male gamers. There was just something addictive about the combination of creating a home and plopping down computer people to see what would happen.
With two sequels and approximately 16,100 expansion packs to follow, The Sims spread like a peppy plague over the entire planet. The only thing that was missing was the ability to interact with other people and their creations, as a multiplayer component wasn't packaged into the first game. At the same time, online gaming was taking off and everyone wanted a piece of the EverQuest pie... so why not The Sims?
It actually made sense, in a way. Smash hit PC game, online gaming craze, cross-demographic appeal -- what's not to love? So after a period of beta testing, The Sims Online launched in December 2002.
"Uh... so what do I do here?"
The game was divided into 13 cities, each with its own feel and a few with special rules (such as one with a "hardcore" mode, or one that tested new features). Players created a Sim avatar and moved into the city, staking out a plot of land on which to build their dream home.
Even though TSO had The Sims' look and feel, players quickly realized that there were a few key differences between the single-player and online games. The first was that you only controlled one character in TSO, and did so directly; this was in stark contrast to The Sims, where you could create a whole family of Sims who had a certain amount of free will. Because you controlled an avatar in TSO instead of letting that character "live" on its own, there was little reason to dally around your house by yourself.
The second was that your avatar didn't get a job, but instead trained up skills and then used various devices (such as the "Core Business Unit") to earn money. Unfortunately, both skill-leveling and device-using were boring activities that largely consisted of watching a progress bar creep up slowly while players twiddled their thumbs. A small handful of jobs were added later, although these paid even less than the devices. Soon enough, players were asking, "Uh... so what do I do here?"
The game was divided into 13 cities, each with its own feel and a few with special rules (such as one with a "hardcore" mode, or one that tested new features). Players created a Sim avatar and moved into the city, staking out a plot of land on which to build their dream home.
Even though TSO had The Sims' look and feel, players quickly realized that there were a few key differences between the single-player and online games. The first was that you only controlled one character in TSO, and did so directly; this was in stark contrast to The Sims, where you could create a whole family of Sims who had a certain amount of free will. Because you controlled an avatar in TSO instead of letting that character "live" on its own, there was little reason to dally around your house by yourself.
The second was that your avatar didn't get a job, but instead trained up skills and then used various devices (such as the "Core Business Unit") to earn money. Unfortunately, both skill-leveling and device-using were boring activities that largely consisted of watching a progress bar creep up slowly while players twiddled their thumbs. A small handful of jobs were added later, although these paid even less than the devices. Soon enough, players were asking, "Uh... so what do I do here?"
The Game Archaeologist and the Legend of the Sims: Our memories (Massively)
What bothered me the most was that the best part of The Sims was seeing what your virtual creations would do when left to their own methods -- and The Sims Online had none of that. Sure, you could prompt them to do things, but they always had some measure of free will that would struggle to exert itself, even if it wasn't most beneficial for the character. The Sims was a little fishbowl of people milling about, doing their own thing, with you occasionally sprinkling food flakes and placing down a new castle for them to explore.
It was a crucial miscalculation on EA's part to eliminate that free will from all of TSO's avatars, forcing us to take control for every mundane task. If you enjoyed roleplaying, then sure, I could see you having fun walking around a house and clapping with glee at a new radio or plant -- but that's a vast difference from seeing computer characters do it on their own.
Once everyone more or less came to this realization, there was a subtle rebellion in the game as players tried to come up with alternative activities that were certainly outside of the developers' vision. While it would've made a great sandbox game, TSO really wasn't, because it lacked the tools to let players do anything other than create homes and perform a small set of tasks within them. Even so, enterprising players whipped up amusement parks, started organized crime syndicates, and -- yes -- a vast swath of Sims bordellos. It was, as our editor Bree put it, "creepy."
Cybersex has always been one of those frowned-upon and rarely-mentioned aspects of MMOs, mostly because people are either wise enough to keep it on the down low, or take it out of the game altogether. Unfortunately, when you're creating a business in game that revolves around it, it literally pays to broadcast your illicit deeds to the world. About that time, I realized that The Sims Online wasn't heading in any direction I'd want to be a part of, and I quietly uninstalled it shortly after launch.
It was a crucial miscalculation on EA's part to eliminate that free will from all of TSO's avatars, forcing us to take control for every mundane task. If you enjoyed roleplaying, then sure, I could see you having fun walking around a house and clapping with glee at a new radio or plant -- but that's a vast difference from seeing computer characters do it on their own.
Once everyone more or less came to this realization, there was a subtle rebellion in the game as players tried to come up with alternative activities that were certainly outside of the developers' vision. While it would've made a great sandbox game, TSO really wasn't, because it lacked the tools to let players do anything other than create homes and perform a small set of tasks within them. Even so, enterprising players whipped up amusement parks, started organized crime syndicates, and -- yes -- a vast swath of Sims bordellos. It was, as our editor Bree put it, "creepy."
Cybersex has always been one of those frowned-upon and rarely-mentioned aspects of MMOs, mostly because people are either wise enough to keep it on the down low, or take it out of the game altogether. Unfortunately, when you're creating a business in game that revolves around it, it literally pays to broadcast your illicit deeds to the world. About that time, I realized that The Sims Online wasn't heading in any direction I'd want to be a part of, and I quietly uninstalled it shortly after launch.
The Sims Online was pretty boring, I'll be honest. It was a lot of skill grinding, and arranging for parties of skill grinding. The great part (for me at least) came from what players did with the resources available. There were online radio stations hosted by numerous players, with in-game promotions to try to earn listeners. I happened to come across one such station that was looking for online DJs, and as luck would have it, my application was accepted. I trained with the program used (I have no idea what program it was now, but it was amazing, giving you all the basics of a real station like the ability to take requests and play commecials) and I went by the DJ name "April Love". I had a morning show 6 days a week from 5-7am EST and had on average 100-500 listeners.
I'd log into game, announce where I was, and broadcast the show 'live' on location. Over time other places in Sims Online would request the DJs come to their location for an hour or so, and we gained a lot more listeners. It was better than listening to the drab music play in game, and it was entertaining (or at least I thought so). We would also accept requests to play commercials during our shows ("Come on out to Chubby's Crab Shack! The best skills for learning are here!") and so on.
I'd log into game, announce where I was, and broadcast the show 'live' on location. Over time other places in Sims Online would request the DJs come to their location for an hour or so, and we gained a lot more listeners. It was better than listening to the drab music play in game, and it was entertaining (or at least I thought so). We would also accept requests to play commercials during our shows ("Come on out to Chubby's Crab Shack! The best skills for learning are here!") and so on.
