Building a "world class" character creator in The Sims rival Life by You
Rod Humble knows a thing or two about life sims. The industry veteran previously helped steer development on The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 as EVP and president of The Sims Label at EA (having also worked as an executive producer on the series), and now he wants to help blur the lines between the digital world and our own with Life by You.
Developed by Paradox Tectonic, which is led by Humble, Life by You is unashamedly ambitious. The studio intends to build one of the most moddable and open life-simulation games, placing players in total control of the humans they create, the towns they inhabit, the clothes they wear, the furniture they buy, the cars they drive, the conversations they have, and–well, you get the idea.
Life by You exists in an open world without loading screens, letting players life out one carefully curated life or influence the existence of an entire community. It's an ambitious pitch, and so we sat down for a chat with Humble to learn how he intends to realize his vision of a simulated world that can serve the whims and needs of a kaleidoscopic player base.
As anybody whose played a life-sim will understand, there are a multitude of reasons people are attracted to the genre. Sure, some folks might simply want to direct the lives of their virtual counterparts, but others might spend hours constructing their dream house or tinkering with every single variable in the character creator.
Humble wants to make sure Life by You meets the expectations of all of those player types, explaining–almost in passing–that's why the Paradox team set out create a "world class" character creator. It's a pretty bold claim, so I ask Humble what considerations went into creating a toolset that would feel world class. His
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