The Sims 4 has just made itself known on EA’s stage at Gamescom with a new trailer and words courtesy of Maxis executive vice producer Rachel Franklin.
She began by embarrassing everyone: “We all share the same language – Simlish!”
And then, more substantially: “From angry to flirty, from sad to happy, you can now explore the gamut of human emotions all within the Sims 4.”
Franklin showed off a cross-section of the new build tools that will aid in better homemaking – made “easier and faster” via the option of pre-designed rooms – plus a more granular character creator that allows you to fiddle “like clay” with your Sims’ mushes and conks to your heart’s content – not to mention their stride, if you can believe that.
“Look at that painting,” shouted Franklin at one point, pointing to a ‘risqué’ framed portrayal of a lady riding a rocket. “That’s a little suggestive!”
Nobody knew quite what she was driving at until a couple of seconds later, when another two Sims ogling the painting fell under its lovey-dovey influence. The way players decorate their houses will reportedly help them better engineer the outcomes of their Sims’ relationships, said Franklin. And the emotional osmosis works both ways – Sims can also, for instance, channel their sadness into creating works of art. Nuts.
The Sims 4 will arrive on PC at one point or another along the unknowable stretch of road we call 2014. Will you be playing it, letting your emotions flop disgustingly hither and thither?