Sims 3 offers more customization to create unique Sims, more animated emotion and more virtual drama, as well as online and movie-making components. All images © Electronic Arts.

If you're stressed about your life and feel you have no control over what happens to you, consider the "lives" of the Sims. In this now-classic life-simulation game, the Sims virtual characters have all the problems of you and me -- except they're created and controlled by you and me.

That's the appeal of Will Wright's award-winning game. Since it was first released in 2000, The Sims has become a gaming and cultural phenomenon. More than 100 million units have been sold since its launch in February 2000, and the game has been translated into 22 different languages and is available in 60 different countries -- with more than 6.3 million copies selling worldwide.

In The Sims 3, which streets today from The Sims Studio and Electronic Arts, new goal-oriented game play enables players to choose the Sims' destinies in life.

This third incarnation of The Sims franchise offers more customization to create unique Sims, more animated emotion and more virtual drama, as well as online and movie-making components.

"The Sims 3 Create-A-Sim, or CAS, is a deeper level of customization than ever before," says MJ Chun, associate producer, The Sims 3.

"You can create a rail-skinny Sim or athletic and heavy Sims," Chun says. "You can control the color of the Sims' roots and pick a different color for their highlights or the tips of their hair. You can sculpt their features with sliders, as well as use Create-A-Style to customize the color and patterns of their clothing."

From rock stars or world leaders to expert thieves, players create one-of-a-kind Sims and also choose whether or not they will pursue their Lifetime Wish. Players determine whether to fulfill this destiny, giving the Sim a lifetime of happiness and rewards -- or not.

From rock stars to world leaders to expert thieves, players create one-of-a-kind Sims and also choose whether or not they will pursue their Lifetime Wish.

"For the first time, you start playing the game before you leave CAS," Chun explains. "Players can choose up to five Personality Traits that influence the Sim's Lifetime Wish—the long-term goal of your Sim," she says.

Chun notes that Personality Traits also influence how Sims interact with each other and with other objects in the Sims world. "Sims with a Good Sense of Humor will find it harder to get along with Sims who have No Sense of Humor," Chun adds. "Evil Sims will be able to Steal Candy from a Baby, while a Computer Whiz can use their skills to hack on the computer. Some Personality Traits can help or hinder game play. Loner Sims do not like going to work with lots of other Sims, as it stresses them out."

Jazzed Emotions
Stressed or happy, this new generation of Sims will show their emotions more. "The animations in The Sims 3 convey much more emotion, especially the facial animations," Chun continues. "The Sims are unique, and this means that how they move in the world or how they animate in social situations is often reflective of their Personality Traits. We also allow for a greater variation in animations as Sims can range from the super-skinny to the overweight."

Artists working on The Sims 3 had to be mindful of the "Uncanny Valley" aspect of creating computer-animated humans.

"We have an amazing team of talented, passionate, and patient artists and engineers as they worked together to make it the best-looking game as possible," Chun suggests. "There was a lot of concept and modeling art work that went into making sure that the Sims were alive and based on reality, but not creepy.

"There were a lot of sketches and prototypes to hit the right visual target. Then all the pieces had to come together, and there were a lot of iterations."

The Sims 3 team used different programs to achieve the facial and body visualizations. "We primarily use Maya to deliver on animations that are realistic but also humorous," Chun offers, adding, "we also create a lot of internal tools for our artists, and for our animators, they had jazz."

In addition to people in The Sims 3 game, there are ambient birds, insects and fish, but no pets.

While the customized Sims humans are unique, there is a structure upon which the game play is based. "Each family in Sunset Valley and in Riverview (the free downloadable town) has their own back stories for the players to discover," Chun adds.

"The future of Sunset Valley is in the hands of the players, as The Sims 3 does not have a linear plot. Each decision and action of the player can change the town."

The Sims game runs on an agent-based artificial life program. The presentation of the game's artificial intelligence is advanced, and the Sims respond to outside conditions on their own -- although often with the player's intervention to keep them on the right track.

As for The Sims 3, Chun notes, "The Sims 3 engine is new and created by our internal team. The town is simulating in realtime. "

While the new game was being developed, The Sims 3 team peeked in on another Will Wright-originated virtual world creation game: Spore.