"OMG! The Wii is so cool," an enthusiastic female developer screams during a GDC session. That developer is Robin Hunicke, designer of the upcoming Wii-exclusive MySims. Designing the title began long before the team had a chance to get their hands on the system, so they had to rely on the "aesthetic" of Nintendo's advertising. "We wanted to bring The Sims to the Wii in a way that we could say we were at home on the Wii," she said, trying to find a unique look, style and feel for the Wii version.
Converting a game for play on Wii doesn't necessarily mean changing everything. What the team focused on was how it feels to touch the characters on screen with the Wiimote: wild, flailing actions probably wouldn't be appropriate for a title such as this. One of the biggest changes that needed to be made was how the game was managed: there was a great deal of opposition to focusing on a single character (rather than a large family), and there was an even greater uproar against the loss of urination, and other micromanagement features.
Streamlining The Sims process was key to moving the franchise to the Wii, and that's where the character designs came from. Although they look strangely like Mii, the look wasn't based on Nintendo's character creation system. The lead character designer, when showing off her simplified look for Wii Sims, was told: "it's perfect."
See also:
Joystiq: Moving The Sims from PC to Wii
Gallery: MySims design process
Gallery: MySims
_thumbnail.jpg "Mega Man 9")
_thumbnail.jpg "Smash Bros. Brawl Snapshots")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-11-2007 @ 6:36PM
boot said...
This really pisses me off! I was hoping for miis to be used but I guess its to late for that! Nice job nintendo you fucked up again!!
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 6:47PM
AndrewNeo said...
Yeah, because this was totally Nintendo's decision or Nintendo has anything to do with it.
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 6:52PM
silence said...
Hey Andrew,
As a matter of fact Nintendo did NOT allow EA to use the Miis. If you read this blog more ofthen you might have a clue...
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/03/01/nintendo-raining-on-eas-mii-parade/
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 7:41PM
ZenGaijin said...
Actually I do think Nintendo does has something to do with it. They don't allow 3rd party developers the software that allows them to use Mii's in their titles.
So again, smooth move Nintendo
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 7:42PM
karuko said...
I like the Sims more than the Miis, I wish my Miis looked more like these Sims.
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 7:55PM
CD said...
The more I hear about this game the more it sounds like Animal Crossing than anything else. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I like AC. But I might wait for Wii AC since it should have wi-fi support.
Reply
3-11-2007 @ 8:09PM
Miranda said...
ITA with Karuko -- I think the Sims characters in the screenshot are much cuter than Miis.
Reply
3-12-2007 @ 4:03AM
MysticX said...
I think it would have been much more cool to use your own Miis
Reply
3-12-2007 @ 5:23AM
BPM said...
ZenGaijin, I think you missed out on this:
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/03/08/fist-of-the-north-star-pachinko-uses-miis/
Reply
3-12-2007 @ 10:18AM
Nick said...
I would be more prone to wanting to see Mii integration if there was a firmware update allowing for more options in Mii creation. For the most part you can get Mii's pretty close to your intended target, but there have been several times when I've not been able to get a Mii to look anything like what I'm shooting for. Until Ninty gives us more flexibility in Mii creation, Mii integration is not that important to me.
As for MySims vs Animal Crossing Wii, I'm going to end up buying both regardless, because my wife is an addict of both franchises. Oh well...
Reply
3-12-2007 @ 10:37AM
James said...
Gotta say, I'm relieved they decided to cut some of the micro-managing. I quit playing Sims 2 after about the 10th time one of my guys wet himself because he needed me to *tell him* to go to the toilet, that was like 10 feet away, rather than piss his pants. I want them to need a little guidance, not have Downs Syndrome. Seriously.
Reply
3-12-2007 @ 10:51AM
Naruhodou said...
Looking forward to this. Something tells me I'll enjoy it more than Animal Crossing.
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 2:36PM
Hunter said...
EA specifically may have been denied Miis because the next AC is rumored to use them as such a My Sims using them could hurt their own product. Still kind of crappy, but if I were CEO I would likely do the same.
Reply