Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast
Apr 28, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min · 36 segments
Have you ever wished your production tools and process were more like the games you make? Lead gameplay engineer turned lead producer Cory Tsang is here to tell you that configuring JIRA can be like……
Will's family lost their home to the tragic Oakland Hills fire in the '90s, and it was reflections on the process of replacing his home and everything in it in search of happiness that led him to create the game.
Originally, The Sims was more of a dollhouse, but that didn't provide much of a game loop.
It is The Sims that serve as the ultimate barometer of your ability to design a home.
Now, whether your goal is to design a good home or a horrifying death trap, that's on you.
But even then, it was just a simulation of the people's relationship with their home until two additional designers, Roxy Wolosenko and Claire Curtin, joined Will and started pointing out how compelling the relationship between the people could be.As Roxy told Vice, "He showed me the object placement tool one day.
It was cool, but I thought, 'Actually, who are those people? What's their relationship to each other?' You immediately begin to anthropomorphize these little creatures.
That started this whole new line of thinking." Here we not only see the value of drawing inspiration from lived experience, but broadening that initial inspiration to include the perspective of others.
Will's original motivator of play, self-expression, was made more compelling by the layers of companionship and immersion provided by the rich relationships playing out within the dollhouse worlds.
To learn more about the motivators of play, check out my book, The Game Development Strategy Guide, which Will was kind enough to call an amazingly broad and contemporary take on our industry.
The Sims went on to change the industry, from record-breaking sales to equalizing the gender playing field in gaming and becoming one of the first games to depict same-sex relationships.
The Sims has the Guinness World Record for best-selling social simulation series, try saying that five times fast, with over 200 million copies sold across all formats.
The current installment, Sims 4, was called by EA the most widely played game in franchise history with 70 million players.
Will's family lost their home to the tragic Oakland Hills fire in the '90s, and it was reflections on the process of replacing his home and everything in it in search of happiness that led him to create the game.
Originally, The Sims was more of a dollhouse, but that didn't provide much of a game loop.
It is The Sims that serve as the ultimate barometer of your ability to design a home.
Now, whether your goal is to design a good home or a horrifying death trap, that's on you.
But even then, it was just a simulation of the people's relationship with their home until two additional designers, Roxy Wolosenko and Claire Curtin, joined Will and started pointing out how compelling the relationship between the people could be.As Roxy told Vice, "He showed me the object placement tool one day.
It was cool, but I thought, 'Actually, who are those people? What's their relationship to each other?' You immediately begin to anthropomorphize these little creatures.
That started this whole new line of thinking." Here we not only see the value of drawing inspiration from lived experience, but broadening that initial inspiration to include the perspective of others.
Will's original motivator of play, self-expression, was made more compelling by the layers of companionship and immersion provided by the rich relationships playing out within the dollhouse worlds.
To learn more about the motivators of play, check out my book, The Game Development Strategy Guide, which Will was kind enough to call an amazingly broad and contemporary take on our industry.
The Sims went on to change the industry, from record-breaking sales to equalizing the gender playing field in gaming and becoming one of the first games to depict same-sex relationships.
The Sims has the Guinness World Record for best-selling social simulation series, try saying that five times fast, with over 200 million copies sold across all formats.
The current installment, Sims 4, was called by EA the most widely played game in franchise history with 70 million players.
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