We’ve taken great pains to design, implement, and test an assortment of solutions and content to make sure that isn’t the case. In a nutshell, you won’t be frustrated by a lack of control. When you need your cat to sleep in a certain bed, you can call them to do so. If you want your dog to breed with another dog, you can instruct them to do so. But, like all good dogs and cats, there is a good chance they’ll be at your feet, walking along side you, or snoring on the couch next to your Sims already. When you want them by your side, you can call them immediately over to you. When they act badly, you can train them to stop. When your Pets need your attention to solve their needs, they’ll animate, act in certain behaviors, communicate with your Sims, and yes, the UI will tell you what they need. I’m going to give some examples, but before that, let me ask: How do you control your dog or cat in real life? How do you get them by your side when you want to pet them, or get them to sit when they’re misbehaving? The answer in your mind, it’s how it works in the game too. This doesn’t mean they’re wild and without control. When we made this decision, it fundamentally opened up things we could do with cats and dogs that we can’t do with Sims even! When we compared all the options, we knew that our game would be the most fun if we didn’t let players select cats and dogs, but instead gave you other ways to interact with them. There are many factors at play here, some technical, some design, but in a nutshell, if players could see and control every aspect of their cat or dog, it made it difficult for us to make them do surprising, fun, and unexpected things. We were guided by the idea that cats and dogs would be like Sims for your Sims. We also knew we wanted them to be surprising, to act in unexpected and delightful ways, and to be living creatures. We knew our cats and dogs in The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs needed to be responsive, observant, and obsessed with the Sims. How they listen for the crinkle of a plastic bag as they know it’s a walk. How they always bark at a certain person. We found out that we were all drawn to what made our pets special. When discussing this pack, we tried to really dive deep into the essence of our pets and why we love them. I’m not alone in being obsessed with my dog or cat on the team. My wife and I take her to the beach, throw her in the car to shop, and we read in the backyard so she can enjoy the sun. My corgi, Peaches, is often the focus for my weekends. I’m a dog owner and have been almost my entire life. The question isn’t control or not control? It's what can we do with either solution, and why is one solution superior? What do we gain? What do we lose?īefore we continue this, let’s take a step back and examine other aspects. We went back and forth, and finally our creative director made a very important point. We went back and played the old games, read the forums, and conducted survey research on this topic specifically to fully consider every angle.
In The Sims 2, you couldn’t directly control pets.
Folks (me included!) had (and have) VERY strong opinions on this topic.
Early on our team was almost evenly split and gearing for a creative fight. It’s one of the most important design questions for the entire pack, so we want to dive a little deeper into what it means. This is appropriate, because it was one of the first questions we asked ourselves long before we started working on the game itself. One of the first questions the community asked after our big reveal: Can I control my cats and dogs? It’s a huge relief to finally get it out in the open. Hi Simmers! We were thrilled to finally announce The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs*.
WHY IS SIMS 4 CATS AND DOGS UNAVAILABLE HOW TO
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