Tag Archives: Rod Humble

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Having confirmed that The Sims 3 will have no online protection yesterday, the company’s now said the policy will only extend to that single game for now.

“We are just looking at this solution for The Sims 3 at the moment,” a rep told Eurogamer.

Maxis boss Rod Humble said on his blog this week that online DRM would skip Sims 3.

Rod Humble’s been promoted. The Sims boss now really is the Sims boss, sporting a new job title of “Executive Vice President and Head of The Sims Label of EA”. Try saying that after a sherry.

The exec’s role means he’s “responsible for The Sims Label, which develops and markets life-simulation games and online communities with an emphasis on creativity, community and humor.”

He’s pleased, obviously.

“The Sims Label creates original entertainment experiences which are unique in the way they bring culture, interactivity and creativity together,” said Rod.

“It is a privilege to lead The Sims Label team as we look forward to new ways of surprising and delighting customers in this rapid growth time for interactive entertainment of all kinds.”

Press release after the break.

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Speaking here, Sims Studio creative director Rod Humble reckons there’ll be enough in the Sims 3 to keep the “gamer” crowd happy.

“I think there is a lot more ‘gamer-ness’ in The Sims 3,” he said. “The team has added a lot more challenge and depth for gamers.

“I have become obsessed with book collecting with my sims, and you can do things like fishing and gardening: there’s a lot more of that goal-orientated gameplay. I also think that the flexibility of the new Sims character system is a massive deal.”

The game’s shipping next year. More through the link.

This is well worth a look. It’s a write-up of a session by EA’s Rod Humble at GDC on The Sims Carnival, the user-game-creation tool announced just before the show. It’s all about one-click game development, apparently. Sounds good to us.

EA just sent word that a closed beta for TheSimsCarnival.com is now open, allowing those selected to be involved to create and share games in a custom-built community.

The initiative has been launched on the back of confirmation that Rod Humble, head of The Sims Studio, will speak at GDC later this week, on Thursday from 12pm-1pm PST in the Moscone Center’s South Hall Esplanade Ballroom.

“In his session titled ‘The Emergent Gamer,’ Mr Humble will discuss the rise of a new kind of game creator, and what this trend means to games as an art form,” EA said this morning. “For the first time, he will share details on a new gaming experience from The Sims Label that makes game creation and sharing more accessible and fun than ever before. The introduction of this new creative endeavor from The Sims is designed to convert players into game designers.”

Sign up for the closed beta, if you’re feeling creative.