The Sims 4: Island Life

The addition introduces a new residential game world called Sulani, which is a tropical archipelago with sandy beaches, coral reefs and an active volcano in the center. The archipelago contains many original locations, including a waterfall, a cave and an abandoned ship. The presented plots are partially under water and the player can build houses on stilts. A player-controlled sim can live both on the beach and on the volcano. In the second case, he takes certain risks, since the eruption of a volcano can cause a fire in the house.

The expansion is tied to outdoor activities by the water. Sims have the opportunity to relax at local bars, swim in open waters ^{[K 1]} , or relax on an air mattress. They can also sunbathe on the beach, or build sand castles with children, excessive spending in the open sun is fraught with sunburn. Sims can also ride scooters, canoes, fish in nets or snorkel to explore coral reefs , make friends with dolphins . The supplement adds many species of tropical fish that can be caught. A sim may also encounter sharks ^[3] .

In addition to recreation and entertainment, the characters can explore the local island culture and take part in traditional events, such as kava parties, where you can try kava drinks. The character can also engage in several careers, social activities, or simply interrupt casual earnings. For example, to work as a lifeguard, fisherman or diver, a sim can also act as an ecologist and clean beaches and water from garbage. The ecologist’s activity also affects the island’s appearance, cleaning the coast from dirt, the island becomes brighter, “greener”, more butterflies inhabit it ^[4] . Sometimes the island can be shaken by volcanic eruptions that can provoke stone rain. Among other things, the island is protected by the spirits of the natives who bless those who care about the island and vice versa ruin the life of hooligans and vandals ^[5] .

The addition in addition introduces a new mythical creature - a mermaid , which can change appearance. On land, she looks like a man, but in the water acquires a fish tail. You can create a mermaid in the mode of creating a character of both sexes, it has a number of supernatural abilities, including the ability to attract fish, charm other Sims with its singing and even drown them ^[3] .

Lindsay Pearson and Michael Duke from The Sims 4 development team, answering the question why this particular topic of the supplement was chosen, noticed that the ability to swim in open water and sunbathe on the beach was one of the main desires of game fans in recent years, although before the simulator many game worlds have already been created, in none of them the main focus on water has been made, unlike the new game world of Sulani, where characters for the first time will get the opportunity to "plunge into the ocean environment" ^[6] . A model for the game world was “turquoise oceans near coral reefs in the South Pacific and Polynesia,” while the creators sought to convey collective and familiar images, for example, in the form of a waterfall created in the image of those in northern Europe or the remains of a shipwreck ^[7] . The developers also noticed that they wanted to convey a familiar feeling for those players who live or lived on the southern islands of the Pacific Ocean ^[7] . Also, for the island, with the addition of the " Seasons ", a special type of weather was developed, typical of the tropical monsoon climate , expressed for example in short-term but extremely intense thunderstorms ^[8] .

The key feature of the add-on is the ability to swim in open waters, for which purpose a “game engine of open reservoirs” ^{[K 1]} , as well as many related gameplay elements that formed the basis of the addition, were specially developed. According to the developers, they paid special attention to the fact that the ocean “offered the Sim an abundance of fascinating busy and secrets,” because they did not want the ocean to be simply “a huge pool in which to splash around” ^[7] . Emphasis was also placed on the development of animations for the dolphin, which in fact became the third interacting animal after cats and dogs ^[6] .

In addition, the game world is residential and the creators worked on it, taking into account the fact that the sim could primarily live there, and not go temporarily on vacation, and also that the beaches of Sulani are suitable for families with children. The archipelago itself combines the entourage of a native, Polynesian culture, architecture and a modern resort, designed to become a comfortable home for any sim ^[6] . Despite the fact that beach themes have already appeared in previous additions to The Sims games , the Ecological career was added for the first time in the Life on the Island expansion, where the character must clean the shore and water from garbage, the developers thus wanted to raise awareness among players about problems associated with the threat of extinction of isolated coastal ecosystems, a vivid example of which is the fictional island of Sulani. Michael Duke, one of the developers noticed that many in the development team are worried about environmental pollution and sooner or later wanted to touch on this topic in The Sims 4 . Lindsay Pearson also noted that the theme of the environment is more relevant than ever today and is expressed, for example, in events such as World Oceans Day ^[6] .

The culture of the natives was created in the image of the Polynesian , while the developers noticed that they wanted to give the island a sense of “history” that people had lived on it from time immemorial and formed their own culture and customs. To give credibility, the developers consulted with some EA employees with a certain knowledge of Polynesian culture, asked them about iconography, symbols, or even objects ^[6] . Art director Stephen Edwarts noted that if, as a rule, along with extensions, designers add new clothes following the latest trends, then to complement Life on the Island creators turned to traditional art and cultural images and supported the idea of ​​the participation of native artisans and designers ^{[7 ]} . In general, to complement the collection of clothes and items was created in two main motives, the style of a fashionable resort and handicraft furniture with local flavor ^[7] .

The mythical form of life - mermaids, was added in addition to its popularity with players in the previous The Sims . Although mermaids have a much more limited choice of abilities compared to vampires, many unique animations were prescribed for them, balance also caused a separate problem, in the early versions of the add-on, one mermaid caused chaos in the area and where all the sims in the water lost their clothes or drowned. In addition, the creators took into account the interests of lovers of realism, thus making it so that the player does not notice the presence of mermaids in Sulani, if he does not select the “Ocean Paradise” property for his plot ^[9] .

Among other things, the supplement presents the first official lesbian couple in The Sims 4 , added as part of the 2019 pride month . Leila, consisting of a married couple, is shown in the poster of the add-on on the left ^[10] ; in addition, the base transgender character appears in the supplement for the first time in The Sims history ^[11] .

Even before the official announcement of the add-on, a number of online retailers leaked information about the upcoming add-on and its release date ^[12] , and on June 7 the first images of the upcoming expansion appeared on the Internet ^[13] . The official announcement of the addition took place at the EA Play 2019 exhibition as part of the E3 2019 event on June 8, 2019 ^[14] , where the game trailer ^[15] was also shown.

The game trailer was presented as one of the six main game trailers of the game exhibition ^[17] . The add-on was scheduled for June 21 for personal computers and July 16 for Xbox One and PS4 ^[18] . At the same time, this is the first add-on announced immediately for personal computers and game consoles, Michael Duke, one of the developers noted that the team will try in the future to also announce add-ons for all carriers and with a minimum difference in release dates ^[19] . In particular, after the announcement, the pre-order of the add-on was opened for both computers and game consoles ^[20] . Among other things, this is the latest addition to computers with 32-bit architecture support. The early developers wanted to stop supporting the release of the Strangerville catalog, so Life on the Island would be part of the free edition of The Sims Legacy Edition , designed for 32-bit computers, which should be released in the summer of 2019 ^[21] .

A Gamerant site spokesman called the upcoming expansion “that players have been waiting for so many years” ^[1] , and Screenrant's site editor remarked that The Sims 4, despite criticizing the lack of content, is becoming more complete and complete, including due to upcoming content . The editor also hopes to see in the “Beach Paradise” a darker comedy element typical of The Sims games , which, to the editor’s hope, will not turn the addition into Alex Garland’s “ Beach ” ^[22] .

The day before the add-on was released, the second trailer was published on the Internet with the description of the add-on on behalf of the mermaid Nalani, and Aulia Cravallo , an American actress of Hawaiian descent, who voiced the main character in the Moana from the Disney cartoon about the character, was invited to voice the character. the adventures of a Polynesian princess and a demigod ^[23] .

The add-on was released on June 21 for Windows and Mac OS ^[24] .

To complement their singles on simlisha performed by real musicians. For example, the American singer Snail Mail quailed his hit “Pristine” on the simlish ^[25] , who noticed that she had a lot of fun working with the producer while rewriting a lyric text in an artificial language, the singer noticed that she rewrote her single without any difficulties, as if “it was so natural for her as if she sim ” ^[26] . Revision Vice noted that for those who know this hit and are familiar with the text, it will be a big and funny surprise to hear this song in the game The Sims 4 , rehearsed in "gibberish" ^[27] .

In addition, along with the addition, a new music radio station - “island music” was added to The Sims 4 .

Critics generally favored the addition. Chris Carter from the Destructoid website noted that The Sims 4 is closer to The Sims 3 in terms of content content, if the previous additions, according to the critic, added new funny, stressful situations, new life goals or to create chaos, then “Life on the Island” is moving away from given “ entropy ”, offering a relaxing environment ^[32] . A representative of Polygon left a similar opinion, noting that if the previous additions focused primarily on the new game mechanics, then “Life on the Island” concentrates on “the feeling of life in a new, exotic living space,” and the mechanics of the new gameplay are maximally tied to a certain location, in this regard, the addition is similar to “ Life in the city ” ^[33] . The critic of IGN called the supplement as a whole worthy, although not as large-scale as, for example, the supplement on "The Seasons ", but sufficient to immerse in it for the next few hours ^[29] . A representative of TheGamer, on the contrary, called the extension the largest ever released and an example of a qualitative extension ^[30] . The IGN critic separately praised the new interactions with dolphins, noting that although they cannot be accepted into the family, they are not inferior to cats and dogs in the variety of interactions ^[29] . A representative of the PCgamesn website noted obvious similarities with the expansion to The Sims 3 - “ Paradise Islands ” in the appendix, although she refused to manage the resorts in favor of preserving nature and studying the culture of the natives ^[34] .

Among the main advantages, reviewers noticed the very new and vast game world of Sulani, which will allow the player to plunge into the island atmosphere and distract the sims from their routine and everyday life ^{[35] [32] [30]} . A Destructoid site critic noted Sulani’s clear resemblance to Selvadorada, but the first world feels definitely more homely and down-to-earth than the dangerous jungle of Selvadorada ^[32] . An IGN website critic called Sulani the simplest version of Hawaii ^[29] . A critic at PCgamesn called life and exploration of the islands aesthetic pleasure and noted that the ability to move between the islands on water makes the new game world The Sims 4 more free than ever ^[34] . A reviewer from the Polygon website noted that Sulani feels not just another gaming location, but a unique and vibrant world, an ideal place for escapism ^[33] .

Among other advantages, critics noted the image of local culture, an abundance of thematic decorations inspired by Polynesian motifs ^[35] . A critic at PCgamesn noted that The Sims 4 is taking another step toward cultural diversity. ^[34] Gita Jackson from the Kotaku website separately noted that the addition to Life on the Island for the first time brings certain aspects of the experience and life of a representative of a marginal minority (in particular, an indigenous islander) to The Sims 4 gameplay, and that for ethnic minorities themselves such gaming experience allows them to seek their identity, remember and proud of their heritage, and not imitate the normative, Western way of life ^[36] .

Critics noted that the new game world of Sulani and the gameplay tied to the water are original enough to provide the sim with a large number of new activities, try new social interactions, and generally simulate new life situations ^{[34] [30]} . Holly Greene, a critic of Paste magazine, called the add-on great, allowing the sim to immerse themselves in the new atmosphere of a tropical island, and she noted separately that players who like to test their sims without civilizational benefits will find ideal conditions for survival and food production in special areas ^[35] . A similar opinion was left by a critic of the IGN website, noting that the possibility of "survival" in special areas is the best compromise for players who find the supplement topic too boring for themselves, devoid of dynamics ^[29] . The representative of PCgamesn separately praised the fact that the character can act as an “ecological warrior”, and the results of cleaning the garbage significantly affect the appearance of the island, thus instilling in Greenpeace’s joy the player has the significance of the problem of environmental pollution that is more relevant today than ever ^[34] .

Dave Thiers from the Forbes website, observing the addition from the point of view of the construction player, noted in the new collection of objects that there was a clear similarity with those of the Adventure in the Jungle game set and separately appreciated the introduction of sun loungers and the ability to build a new glass floor and separately noted that to decorate the coastal at home, things of the marine theme with the addition of “ Cats and Dogs ” ^{[37] are also} suitable. An IGN critic pointed out a clearly small number of furniture collections compared to previous additions ^[29] . The TheGamer reviewer noted on the contrary that, despite the small collection of furniture, it is particularly distinguished by its beautiful design and sophisticated detail ^[30] .

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