Gamasutra – Top 12 Games of the decade

John Richardson speaks out about The Sims being one of Gamasutra’s top 12 games of the decade:

“The game turned tasks as simple as sleeping or meeting people into a kind of social experiment, merging the postmodern acknowledgment of fictionalizing reality with the emotional human-computer connection that most game designers strive for. It made addicting gameplay out of something simple — deceptively so, as the mechanics gained complexity as Sims progressed through their lives.

“Everything felt so carefully defined, yet chaotic; the fun came in seeing how far you could (or would) push your little denizens. Beyond the gameplay itself, The Sims ushered in a wave of new gamers into what was in the 90s still a very narrow demographic. For better or worse, it also showed us how a franchise could turn into a genre unto itself, along with a once unique and now much-imitated business model.

“Love it or hate it — and I know very few who weren’t hooked on the original Expansion-less version — The Sims is important, and has left an indelible mark on gaming.”

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