Notes

Outline

Simulation and Modeling: Under the hood of The Sims™ CS 395 Game Design Spring 2002

Overview The Sims as storytelling medium Modeling the world with objects Modeling people Programming The Sims Thanks to Will Wright for material on The Sims

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AI Design Requirements Robust (graceful failure) User defined environments Understandable (to the player) Expandable (code not just data) machine independent drop-in components Eventual end user programming

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Interaction Types Normal (90% of the Interactions) Advertised (Autonomous) Manual (Player Selected) Pushed (High Priority, Immediate) Carpool Fire Functional (Goal oriented, outside needs) Clean Repair Cook Etc.

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Invisible Objects Social Interactions Job Phone Line Visitor Generator Burglar Portal Sickness

Room Structure / Room Motive Architecture Score (baseline) Room size Lighting / Windows / Doors Negatives Trash Broken/Dirty Objects Positive Art / Fireplace / Wallpaper / Floor Uses Privacy Routing Jealousy, Etc.

Routing (sucks) A-star (2 modes) Room-to-room (Room Map) Within room (variable-res quad trees)

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Customization Skins / Faces Wallpaper / Floor Music Stories / Web pages Objects (soon)

Behavior Expansion Incremental patches Sickness Party mode Drop-in NPC’s

Programming objects with EDITH Visual programming language Let’s look at an object…