BB: When you play The Sims 3, you play as one household. However, you can choose to change the household that you are playing. What’s different about The Sims 3 is that when you are playing one household, the other households in your town will develop intelligently: other Sims will age, get married, have children, go to work, et cetera. This means that the world is changing around you and no game will ever feel the same. If one of the Sims in your household moves out, you can choose to follow them and control a different household, or you can continue to play the same household.

Um, hell no! I do not want to be stuck with an either/or situation. I especially don’t want Sims reproducing on their own (and with ugly townies to boot!).

BB: There will still be plenty of ways for devious fans to play in The Sims 3 — including removing the pool ladder! Anything can happen in this new open neighborhood environment; we can’t wait to see what players come up with. [Editor's Note: During GFW's visit to see the game earlier this year, design director Matt Brown dropped this detail: "Though if you do try to drown your Sim in a pool, he can realize what you're trying to do, because it's pretty clear that you've put him in a pool and then taken away the ladder... And now he can just crawl out of the pool, which he couldn't do before."]

So now I can’t drown my Sims. That was the fastest way of killing, and yes Sims were rather stupid to fall for it, but still! It’s a classic Sim-killing technique and you’ve done away with it?! This is why I like my Sims to be semi-stupid!

Don’t get me started on the aging neighborhood thing.

Honestly, I’m afraid Sims 3 will end up another SimCity Societies. I’d probably enjoy it just until the kids move out, at which point my fun factor will drop. Unless I keep everyone in the same house, which, uh, yeah no. Yeah, there are good improvements to the system and the A.I. but that doesn’t change the fact that they seem to be determined to take away a lot of the micromanagement features. On the flip side, Sims 2 EPs and Stuff Packs will be going for cheap!

Speaking of which, they have decided to release an eighth expansion pack, instead of sticking to their guns about only seven. It’s pretty obvious this is for money purposes, because an EP about apartments? Are you kidding me?! They better have something major planned, otherwise it will feel just like it is: a quick chance to make money this fall.

Bon Voyage caused huge amount of issues with players’ computers and CD drives thanks to SecuROM, the Free Time patch was pulled off the site after it made issues worse, not better, and now they are adding another pack onto what is clearly a too buggy game?

On the official BBS there are thread after thread of people debating the future of the Sims. When someone referred to The Sims as an RPG I had to step in, but that right there tells you how far Maxis/EA have changed the gameplay and marketing.

Last night I figured out how to use Windows Movie Maker, and I’m going to make a video of a couple of my Sims and share it with all of you. See? Marie loves you.

Hmm, what else? Oh! On Tuesday I got an email from the supervisor of IQ Fresh, about sitting down and talking about working there. I replied I would like to do that, but didn’t hear anything else. Then I thought “why not check my voicemail?” and lo and behold I had a message about my application. So I set up an interview for 3:30 Friday which gave me enough time to do laundry and take a shower, etc. Well, actually I didn’t pick the time, just said “Friday afternoon” and the time was picked for me. Either way! I start working on Monday.

My roommate is going home for the weekend. I don’t dislike her or anything, but now I can play Sims all day and not feel bad about it. Of course, I can’t really be on a computer all day. I still end up going out and doing something, or roaming around the room cleaning various corners. I always thought I was able to just sit and veg at the comp, but I’ve learned otherwise. Whenever I go to the library to work on their computers, I find myself tired and bored within an hour usually. I realized this is because I’m just at the computer and doing nothing else, which isn’t something I’m used to.