Whether you were pissed there were no toddlers in The Sims 4, or you just didn’t care, no player is unhappy that babies don’t just magically become children anymore. The January toddler update boosted enthusiasm for the future of The Sims 4. After two years without the toddler life stage, I think it’s safe to say many fans thought we’d have to wait until the next iteration of the game to see them, but The Sims team proved us wrong. Turns out, they have been listening to the endless forum rants and harsh demands in the comment sections of every DLC trailer. So now we not only have toddlers in the game, but also some answers. Sarah Holding, associate producer on The Sims 4, tells us why the toddlers update took so long.
“Making a fourth generation of Sims game comes with very high expectations,” Holding explains. “With The Sims 4, we set out to build the strongest and most solid foundation for a Sims game yet. For us, that meant focusing on the Sims themselves, their world and their interactions.”
The Sims team had to make difficult choices in the development process and toddlers are one of the features they knew players would expect that they wouldn’t be able to fit in the game.
“We also knew that we were building the foundation and that we would continue expanding and investing in this game for years to come,” Holding said. “Family play is a cornerstone of The Sims and there were very high expectations from our players with the release of Toddlers. We brainstormed, we designed, we discussed, then we brainstormed again.”
Technical challenges also affected the release timeline. Toddlers was in the works at the same time as content for expansion packs, game packs, and big patches like gender customizations.
“Toddlers being a brand new life stage affects every aspect of our game. We needed to create new Animation rigs, update UI, change autonomy, rewrite core gameplay code,” Holding said. “We were constantly juggling code, assets, and resources between multiple teams. This is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done as a studio.”
Holding points out visible progression is the main difference between toddlers in The Sims 4 and in previous iterations of the game. For example, the movement skill. Toddlers start with no ability at all, and you watch them stumble, fall, get frustrated and finally get back up and learn how to climb up and down stairs on their own.
“We took a look at toddlers in The Sims 2, The Sims 3 and in real life. Then we took these learnings and applied them to create a gameplay system where toddlers grow and evolve through the use of skills. These skills drive deep gameplay progression, leading to unexpected and special moments between Sims and toddlers.”
Now that toddlers are a part of The Sims 4, Holding says the team is excited to explore new ways to expand the game. “I think we’re all relieved that toddlers has been released,” Holding added.
Yes, we certainly are.
