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In mid-November, the Sims Online team was hard at work on the game. |
It's November 14, and the Maxis office is filled with hundreds of employees working around the clock on The Sims Online. The sign on Chris Trottier's door says it all: "Think Alpha" is crossed out, followed by the line "Think Beta," which is also scratched out. The remaining message summarizes what everyone inside the office is saying behind closed doors: "Think Stability."
Two weeks ago, it was expected that the game would be finished by November 15 and on store shelves by December 3. But now, the team has revised that schedule: The game will be delayed by two weeks and will be available on December 17.
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Wright knows that this is the most complicated game he has ever made. |
While the beta test is going well, the team desperately wants to continue testing the game's stability and add a few additional features before the product ships. In addition, there are still complicated server issues to work out. "You see this curve?" Will Wright asks as he calls up a Web page on his black Dell computer monitor. "Well, it should be a sine curve showing how players come and go into the game. But it's not quite there yet. Those jaggy lines mean that players are being kicked off the game servers."
But even when the jaggy lines turn into a smooth curve, the concept of "finishing" an online game will still be an oxymoron. "Online games are released, but they are never finished," says community manager Kyle Brink. Indeed, The Sims Online will constantly be patched and updated as it evolves over time. Simply put, there are no final hours of development on this game. That means there will be no euphoric moment when the game is finished and the team can jet off on monthlong vacations. "It's a big mental shift for us," suggests Brink. "For us, the end of the boxed product development isn't the finish line--it's the starting line." Brink knows things are just going to get busier. "Christmas day is going to be huge for us," he says. "There will be tens of thousands of new people moving into the Sims world on that day. We have to be ready to help them." For his part, Wright will be in Tahoe with his family over the holidays. But he knows January will be filled with more patches and work on a game that seemingly has no end in sight for its development.
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From Concept to Reality: The Art of The Sims Online
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Here's a look at how Maxis' Bob King develops objects for The Sims Online. You can see the initial concept sketch and then the finished product for a wedding sign and a bed.
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Throughout the rest of the office, team members are making frantic last-minute changes. In one corner, artist Bob King is working on some new character skins that will appeal to teenage girls, an audience that has really taken to the play test. Flipping through the latest issues of InStyle and Marie Claire, King tries to pick outfits that will appeal to the teen demographic. "I'm just looking to see what someone like Christina Aguilera might be wearing these days--or not wearing, as the case may be."
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While looking at two recent fashion magazines for inspiration, three team members discuss which new character skins to add into the game. |
As King looks for new outfits, Will Wright walks the halls of Maxis, floating around like he always does. "I pride myself on not being on the organizational chart here," he says as he walks past the front lobby, which has an eclectic set of books on the table, such as Godzilla Compendium, a picture book titled Passage to Vietnam, and an encyclopedia on the history of DC Comics. As Wright walks the halls, you get the sense that he is just beginning to realize that The Sims Online is a project that may never be done. Ask him whether the official release of the game is just the starting point, and he smiles. "Yep, that's right," he says. "Welcome to my hell. I'll be observing and working on this game for the rest of my life."
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