A Charming Control Room
Game Entry
For the first time in the series, The Sims 3 introduced an open world neighborhood, where every Sim carried on with their peculiar little lives, even when no one was watching. The evolving narrative of the entire neighborhood created dynamic experiences for any actively played residents.
Import new creations.
Browse collected prior creations.
Inspect in-world assets
Game Entry served as the game's launchpad and staging area for its customization systems: Create-A-Sim, Build & Buy, and Neighborhood Management. The feature provided players with immediate access to the game's new Story Mode, where they could dive straight into gameplay or craft their perfect world. My job was to combine scattered elements of this feature into a viable player experience with a beta milestone looming three months away.
5 Reasons This Design Was Tricky
Different Kinds of Things Kind of Looked the Same
Some items, like characters or houses, could be temporary, bought from a store, shared online, or saved on a player’s computer. It was hard to show the differences without confusing people.
Complicated Names for Data
Developers used names for things that made sense to them but were too hard for players to understand. We had to make the names simple and easy for players
Players Wanted Easy Saving and Finding
Players wanted a simple way to save and find numerous characters or houses without having to think about where they were stored.
Moving Things Around Was Confusing
Players could move items between different places, like bins, neighborhoods, or the game world. We had to make sure they understood what they could and couldn’t do without making it frustrating.
Lots to Do Before Starting the Game
Before playing, players could set up their neighborhoods and characters. We had to make this part fun and clear, even though there was a lot to manage.
Having a map made it easier to see where to go
Consolidating and chunking the game design
I created visual maps to show how characters, households, and properties moved through the system. These maps made it easier for the team to understand how the feature worked, talk about it clearly, and stay aligned on sprint goals. Mapping the system brought clarity and focus to our work.
This diagram describes how characters and property pass through the application framework. I specified conditions a player must satisfy in order to move things into and out of the game.
A companion diagram zooms out of the feature and shows how it relates to other features and systems in the game, and crucially - on the internet
Shaded areas indicate mandatory conditions for game entry, while white areas represent optional choices. This diagram illustrates how default or previously selected options populate each tier of the content matrix, enabling immediate game launch or scenario selection.
A map’s just a picture until you start moving.
Move the Goth Family out of their 3 bd/2 ba ranch home into a studio apartment. Create them a roommate. Who works the night shift.
Structures
In designing the user interface, I employed progressive disclosure to gather player input in manageable stages.
Components
User interface component overview for organizing and browsing game assets. This design indexes any selections made in the game world or various player collections including purchased items.
Messaging
The variety of information presented in this game ranges from location to aspirations and family relationships. These high fidelity wireframes guided the visual design by providing a unified way to present data across multiple categories
Prototypes
How did these systems address the these pain points?
Different Kinds of Things Kind of Looked the Same
Complicated Names for Data
Players Wanted Easy Saving and Finding
Moving Things Around Was Confusing
Lots to Do Before Starting the Game
Players could jump right in or take their time crafting worlds and stories, right where they left off. Smart defaults remembered last choices, so it was quick and personal.
Millions of players were introduced to The Sims 3 by the Game Entry system.
For many players The Sims 3 was the first computer game they’d ever purchased. 11 Expansion Packs and 9 “Stuff Packs” were sold over the game's 5 year lifecycle, all of which passed through this system.
Why this feature succeded
Easy to use.
The design hid the technical details of neighborhood management, so players could move assets in and out of gameplay scenarios without losing track of their collected creations and purchases.
Encouraged depth.
The feature helped players make up their own stories and add their own ideas to the game, keeping them returning for more while asking, "what if?"
Revealed the big picture.
My experience mapping and prototyping revealed pillars for effectively implementing the Game Entry feature which successfully met requirements for a beta milestone, and the subsequent shipping deliverable