The Sims™ 3 Community Blog
: March 2013
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In this featured blog, we take a walk down memory lane with some members of The Sims 3 development team and use The Sims 3 University Life and The Sims 3 70s, 80s, and 90s games as inspiration.

MEET THE SIMS 3 DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Inspired by the recent expansion and stuff pack releases for The Sims 3 , we thought we’d ask some of the development team members from The Sims 3 University Life and The Sims 3 70s, 80s, and 90s Stuff some questions about their high school and college days as well as share screenshots of game features or objects they personally worked on that are most memorable to them. We hope you enjoy this new featured blog.

GRAHAM NARDONE, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER (@SimGuruGraham)
EA REDWOOD SHORES



Graham at his EA desk, in college, and Graham’s favorite contribution to The Sims 3 franchise – tombs from The Sims 3 World Adventures. These are the cavernous chambers that lay deep beneath the Temple of Heaven, one of the major landmarks in Shang Simla.

If you could be any icon from the 70s, 80s or 90s, who would you be and why?
I'd have to go with Dan Marino. Growing up as a kid in Miami I could actually see Joe Robbie Stadium in the distance from my bedroom window, so it only stood to reason that I became a huge Miami Dolphins fan. There was no bigger name in Miami for a near 20-year span then “Dan the Man.”

Did you have a favorite poster on your bedroom wall in high school or college and if so, what was it?
When I was a bit younger I had this awesome Green Day poster from the Kerplunk album. It was neon green, yellow and pink which made it really pop visually. It probably represented the last dying gasps of the style of the 80s, but I loved the way it looked on my wall. I tried to find a picture of it online after thinking about this question, but my search turned up nothing... I wonder if it's actually a rare one? When I got a bit older and really into videogames, I started putting more game posters on my walls. My prized possession there had to be a Battlezone poster signed by the developers, which they sent to me for making such positive contributions to the game's community back then.

My favorite TV Show growing up was…
Growing up I think I was always so intrigued by videogames that I never spent too much time watching TV. Kids around me would really get into things like the Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers, but I can't say any of the shows growing up really interested me. If anything, my guilty pleasure was some of the sitcoms of the 90s. Things like Seinfeld (of course), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and NewsRadio.

My college mascot and team colors were…
My college mascot was the Dolphins, a happy coincidence considering my allegiance to my favorite NFL team. And when I say our mascot was a dolphin, I mean that quite literally. No goofy guys in a costume, there's a dolphin named Nellie who was born in 1953 that students and alumni can still visit at Marineland in St. Augustine, FL. Our school colors were forest green and white. It made for a pretty classy combination, although I'll admit I like the aqua and orange of my Miami team more.

My favorite memory from college was…
As I was getting closer to graduating, I still needed to complete an internship to actually earn my degree. The internship I ended up with wasn't exactly what you'd consider a typical experience... Rather than going to a company and learning beneath someone, I was temporarily brought on-board by an amusement park in the Florida panhandle who wanted to completely re-design their laser tag experience and build a new arena for players to complete in. Being a student who worked with 3D modeling as well as someone with a great interest in first person shooter videogames, they entrusted me with coming up with the layout that they would ultimately build. I spent a few nights on location, working throughout the night while the park was closed to take measurements, as it'd be important to create a very accurate depiction of their space. I took what had been a jungle setting and transformed it into a modern Tokyo inspired setting in the midst of an alien invasion. There were some really cool design elements to make you feel like you were in ruined streets of crumbling concrete buildings, while still retaining a safety area for visitors. When I submitted the final design to them, they were so pleased with it that it was in-fact built, although I've unfortunately never had the chance to see it in person once they completed construction.

In college, instead of studying, you’d catch me doing…
Playing videogames, what else! I was also a manager in the arcade at a local amusement park back then, so be it work or my own free time, I always had some sort of electronic gadget around that was keeping me occupied.


AMY UNGER, SOFTWARE ENGINEER
EA REDWOOD SHORES
Amy at her EA desk with all her stuffed animals, in college, and a screenshot of some of Amy’s favorite objects that she worked on including a foosball table and hot tub!

If you could be any icon from the 70s, 80s or 90s, who would you be and why?
Jennifer Aniston.  I totally loved her hairstyles and she always seemed like the nicest person.

Did you have a favorite poster on your bedroom wall in high school or college and if so, what was it?
No posters just tons of stuffed animals everywhere.  Wait I still have tons of stuffed animals everywhere. 

My favorite TV Show growing up was…
She-Ra.  I’m a huge fan of female super heroes.

My college mascot and team colors were…
Michigan Wolverines. I bleed Maze and Blue!

My High school mascot & team colors were…
My high school had an unusual mascot.  We were the River Rats!  When the school first opened in 1969 our rival school called us “River Rats” as an attempt at insulting the students.  But the students took pride in their school and petitioned to make our mascot be the River Rat over other suggested mascots by the school board.

My favorite memory from college was…
Working the student bagel stand in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building on campus.  Even though I had to wake up super early, I had so much fun greeting fellow students as they stopped in to grab a quick breakfast (and more importantly an extra strong coffee) on their way to class.  I used to open the stand at 7am with my friend Rob who is now my husband.

Second favorite memory was hanging out with my computer engineering friends at a house they shared.  We used to have a BBQ every week called “seared flesh” where we pretty much tried to BBQ anything and everything including marshmallow peeps.

In college, instead of studying, you’d catch me doing…
Hanging out with friends.
Playing video games
Taking a nap. I love naps.

CONNIE BEATY, SENIOR QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTER
EA SALT LAKE
Connie today, in college and a screenshot of a Townie in The Sims 3 University Life she submitted named Garrison Fort.

If you could be any icon from the 70s, 80s or 90s, who would you be and why? 
Princess Leia! I love Star Wars more than most things and who wouldn’t want to date Han Solo?! 

Did you have a favorite poster on your bedroom wall in high school or college and if so, what was it?
 When I lived with my roommate and best friend Liz, we had an epic Jonny Depp Wall, which included posters of Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean, Willy Wonka and Corpse Bride. 

My favorite TV Show growing up was…
Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Watched it every day after school. 

My college mascot and team colors were…
Our colors were Blue and White, and our mascot was a giant blue bull affectionately known as Big Blue. Best thing about Big Blue was at basketball games he would repel down from the roof onto the court and then crowd surf through the student section. He was hardcore! 

My favorite memory from college was…
Being a part of my comedy improv troupe. Everyone in the group came from different backgrounds and were very different people but we all got along so well and became our own little college family.

In college, instead of studying, you’d catch me…
Playing Xbox, Playing Munchkin with Friends, or watching the latest episode of Adventure Time. 

05:37 PM
03/06/13
Posted by: SimGuruHydra

Launch day has finally arrived! This is an extremely exciting time because we finally get to see how you’ll play University Life and hear the new stories that you’ll tell with all the exciting content in this pack. We enjoyed reading all of your submissions for the Inspiring Creativity Contests and we hope this pack will be just as inspiring as previous expansions. Last month, we hosted a sneak peek for some community members and we were really excited to see their positive reactions to the game – now it’s your turn. 

One thing that really excites me about the launch of University Life is that this expansion pack has a little something for everyone. The new university  world provides lots of objects, venues, skills, and gameplay to reveal untold stories. Your Sim can be an academic genius or a social butterfly. They can live in a variety of different housing options – dorms, apartments or a sorority or fraternity house and be a member of different social groups, from jocks, to nerds to rebels. Dabble a little bit in each social group or gain top influence with one, it’s up to you. 

For the studious Sims – the entire campus is their classroom. Sims will have to balance their lives and work hard for good grades. To advance through the educational process, Sims will have to attend classes, take notes and try not to fall asleep during lectures. Maybe your Sim will cheat to pass a test? Outside of the classroom, Sims will participate in study groups, and interact with special major-specific objects. Being an artistic person myself and always doodling, one of my favorite additions is the new sketchbook for Fine Arts majors!


For those Sims who are more focused on making their University Life a social experience, there are lots of new things to do. Your Sims can build influence with one or all of the social groups, play kicky bag in the quad, flirt or fall in love, and use their new smartphones to tap into all the latest activities going on around campus. The smartphone allows your Sims to build their Social Networking skills by blogging, texting, taking photos and streaming videos. Sims can also use their smartphone to check their influence among the new social groups. 


For Sims who want to explore the campus there are new venues like the bowling alley, Student Union and Keith’s Komics. Rebellious Sims may find their niche at the Grotto where the rebels like to hang out. Here they can gain special Street Art skills by  painting walls, ground murals and spray painting graffiti.  

For Sims that are really ambitious, there is an opportunity to join my favorite new career - Video Game Developer. I began creating computer animated short films and video games while I was attending university and I quickly learned that making fun interactive experiences for people to play and explore was what I really wanted to do for my career. I am really excited that players will now be able to create a similar story in their game. Sims that love to play video games and have an interest in the arts will thrive in this new career.
In The Sims 3 University Life, your Sims are sure to meet new Sims and experience the ups and downs of college, like choosing a roommate, throwing amazing parties like a juice kegger or bonfire or even spearheading a protest on campus. Maybe your Sim will have their first kiss? See what happens when you experiment with the new dare system in the game! 

All of these stories and more are possible! We hope you love The Sims 3 University Life as much as we do! Share your stories with us on the forums, Facebook and Twitter! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures in this game! The Sims 3 University Life will be available worldwide across retailers and on Origin.com this week.

Happy Simming!
-Sarah Emily Nelson, Lead Producer for The Sims 3 University Life 

05:05 PM
03/04/13
Posted by: SimGuruSNelson