The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs has been making waves ahead of its debut later this year, and it all comes down to one very big change. The expansion has been said to not support “control” of your pets, which is a big change from The Sims 2 and hearkening back to The Sims 3, where you could exercise control over what the animals were doing. Producer Grant Rodiek shed some light on the process in a blog written at the official Sims website recently to address fans’ questions and concerns.
The team worked tirelessly to come to a decision about whether or not pets should be controlled by players, and according to Rodiek there were some very, very strong opinions on how the issue should be handled. After much research and surveying players on the very topic, the idea became one of the strengths of both ideas, on what is gained or lost by selecting one side or the other.
The conversation that ensued revolved around pets in general and why the team loves them, as well as why we all love our pets, when they make us laugh, cry, anger us, and so forth. The spontaneity and surprise of being a pet owner was important to the team to capture, even if it meant changing up the ways players could interact with the pets.
With that said, pets will still be able to be “controlled” within certain parameters. If they need you, they’ll let you know. Just like in real life, you can even ask them what they need and they can “respond” in their own unique ways. You can still direct them to breed with other animals, sleep in certain areas, and have them interact with your Sims in a specific manner.
The idea to retain here with the pets is that they’ll still be able to be “controlled” in ways that make sense while still being given a sense of unpredictability and surprise. So if you were concerned about being unable to control the animals, be assured that there will be plenty of ways you’ll be the master of your pets’ destiny, while they still have plenty of unique ways to interact with you.
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