Sims 3 Comics - Untapped Potential

And when you go a little deeper and by that I mean, once you start ‘thinking’ about the game’s mechanism of action- How does it hold our interests for hours together without an actual goal to complete?, you will begin to realize the amazing potential of this game, the potential to bring out your ‘stories’ not just to the notice of other Sims players, but to a much larger audience, like how comics do.

The Sims came out to PC consoles in the year 2000 and has come a long way since then. Sims 2 a sequel released in 2004 that beefed up the 2D game with an impressive 3D engine and better customization. Eight delectable Expansions that followed added to the joy of the game play. Then in 2009 there was the Sims 3 and graphically it is Sims 2 on steroids. Game play wise, it expands the open ended ‘sandbox’ system. Previously it wasn’t possible to explore the town to the fullest by visiting your neighbors or taking part in your Sims’ profession, but now the Sims 3 with its expansion allows you to do these and more. So the Sims has indeed come a long way, but there are many people like me who, no matter how interesting they try to make the game, cannot actually play the game itself for long. It simply lacks a goal or a solid game play. However we are hooked to it for hours, simply because of its amazing story telling capacity.

Machinima, or short films made by modifying the in-game animation is a popular internet phenomenon. There are many gamers with some programming skills and a creative bent of mind who has dedicated their expertise to bring about some very inspiring films and for them, The Sims is a dream platform with a plethora of malleable animations and settings. However it is to be noted that not all people with a creative edge have the knowledge of game programming (Me being one of them) and the latest in the Sims series (The Sims 3) does not allow easy modifying of animations. So one day as I was reading a marvel comic, I realized why is isn’t there a comic version of Sims? I did search for them. I found a lot of ‘picture stories’ in the official Sims website and in several fansites, but such stories aren’t appealing to large number of people. I also found a couple of comic versions of the stories, but they were very few and mostly incomplete.

Sims 3 Comics -DIY

The next time I played The Sims 3; I took several screenshots, framed a rough plot and bought a comic editor online. Within a few minutes, I began making comic strips. Every now and then I went back to the game to take a few more screenshots to extend a plot. Now I have the entire plot roughly typed out while the actual comic processing is making very good progress. I have just realized that this amazing potential of the Sims 3, has been underused or ignored for some reason.

With websites offering several mods (in-game modifications), I am sure in a few months varied genre of comics ranging from romance to action, can easily be made and showcased, much like those serialized picture stories made by creative gamers.

Sims 3 Comics - Untapped Potential