In MTVMultiplayer’s weekly interview series, Developer Pop Quiz, they turn to Sam Player, producer of The Sims 3 for Consoles to get a little history from his background of being in the gaming industry:

Where do you look for inspiration?
The nice thing about working on “The Sims” franchise is we’re dealing with real life. Granted, we try to highlight the ridiculous parts of life, but it’s reality all the same. Therefore, all I have to do is look around for inspiration. Friends, family, crazy neighbors, pop culture… it’s all out in front of us and it’s our job to harness it and make fun out of it for people.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about game development?
Iterate, iterate, iterate. Screw up a lot. You learn more from trying something and failing. Fun doesn’t just happen. You have to try lots to get it to click. And don’t believe your own eyes. Get others to try it early to validate or disprove your assumptions.

more questions & answers here