Upon release, The Sims garnered widespread critical acclaim and was described by Wright as being successful in attracting casual and female gamers. Seven expansion packs were released from 2000 to 2003, each of which added new items, characters, skins, and features. Wright was inspired to create the game by Christopher Alexander's 1977 book A Pattern Language, and Scott McCloud's 1993 book Understanding Comics later played a role in the game's design. The game's development was led by Will Wright, and the game was a follow-up to Wright's earlier SimCity series. A series of expansion packs were also released that add new content and features to the game, such as new careers, items, locations, and scenarios. The game features an open-ended gameplay, where players can choose their own goals and objectives, and customize their Sims’ appearance, personality, skills, relationships, and environment. The game allows players to create and control virtual people, called “Sims”, and manage their daily lives in a suburban setting.
The Sims is a social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000.
