Will Wright on why TSO is socially engaging

                   Taken from the Internet

Forget half of what you know about The Sims. Forget the part about
interacting with simple, predictable, simulated people. In The
Sims Online everyone you interact with is real and the
consequences of these interactions are far more complex and
unpredictable as a result. At the same time, we've tried very hard
to carry as much of the existing Sims interface and concepts into
the new online game as we can. We want you to feel comfortable
with the game from the beginning so that you're immediately moving
through and living in the world.

The emphasis of the Sim and Sims games has always been more on
creativity than conquest and The Sims Online is no different. You
are encouraged to create cool places, businesses and houses that
will appeal to other players in the game. The primary reward
structures of the game are built around this concept. Rather than
rewarding you for killing each other, TSO rewards you for
entertaining each other. You can group together with other players
as roommates and pool your resources to build a business or go it
alone.

That's not to say that there's no competition in The Sims Online.
The competitive aspects now occur at a somewhat higher level --
geographically and socio-economically speaking.  Your Sims will
now live in a large, diverse city. As a result many of the
dynamics from SimCity will come into play. You may manage to open
the trendiest restaurant in town but that's not going to prevent
other enterprising entrepreneurs from setting up shop down the
street from you and stealing your best customers. Other city-level
dynamics in the game will include real estate development and
speculation, neighborhood development and transportation issues.

To give players the ability to build diverse cities, neighborhoods
and districts will require a huge variety of objects, skins and
house elements. The Sims Online will ship with virtually all of
the objects from all of the expansion packs released to date
(including Sims Vacation) plus several hundred new objects
specifically designed for the online version. To put these numbers
in perspective, the original Sims (and each expansion pack)
shipped with about 150 objects in the catalog. The Sims Online
will ship with over 1000.

The core of this game, however, will still be about social
dynamics, interactions and relationships. Since your Sim now is a
direct representation of you in the world, you'll have much more
control over it. Every animation, action and decision it makes
will be under your control. The social interactions (as well as
your Sims' responses to events) have been expanded to give the
players as much expressive potential as possible.

I'm really looking forward to playing this game in its final form.
I'm especially curious to see what happens when the creative fans,
which have made The Sims such a tremendous success, get their
hands on it. There's no telling what will happen!

Will Wright                       Creator of SimCity and The Sims
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