Fan Interview - VitaSims

MaxoidMoonBelly: How did you first hear of the Sims, and what got you into playing the game at first?

Janna: I first found out about the game when there was only Sims 1. My friend told me about the game and I thought it sounded interesting so I went out and bought it for myself. Being an architect, I found building Sims houses and furnishing them very interesting. After a while I joined some Sims communities and found out about custom content, which I started downloading to make my houses look different and more interesting.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What do you like about The Sims game?

Janna: I like the fact that I can carry out the most unreal projects and build houses that probably wouldn't be built in real life. I love building houses that are out of this century, for example Victorian buildings. Also I also like the ability to make matching furniture to furnish my houses to make them look complete.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What is a memory you have of a fun or favorite moment in the game with your Sims?

Janna: I like how they seem so real and their animations and actions will seem that way, but sometimes they will do the most unreal thing ever, like jump off the body-builder and straight away become fit. I also really like the facial expressions on The Sims as they seem so real but at the same time really funny.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What inspired you to start making your own creations?

Janna: When I built my houses I didn't always find the furniture that would fit in with the theme the way I imagined it and so I tried to make something myself. So many people were making custom content and so I tried to make it myself to see what I came out with. I started making my first objects in Sims 1 and at first my objects weren't very good and I had to retry a lot, but my wish to make objects was so strong that I didn't stop and carried on trying until I got it right.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What would you say is the biggest challenge to making things for the game?

Janna: The hardest thing to me is to make the objects look as real as possible but at the same time try to keep them low-poly so the game will run smoothly. Another challenge is when I want to make an object with new functions that aren't present in the game, but I always get help from a good friend Jasana that is more familiar with coding than me.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What programs do you use (modeling and texturing)?

Janna: For modeling I use 3D Max and MilkShape 3D, and for texturing I use textures from real furniture edited in Adobe Photoshop 7.0. I also use the SimPe tool to create package files for the game.

MaxoidMoonBelly: Had you any knowledge of these programs before you started making items for The Sims?

Janna: Before I started making custom content for the game I had no idea how to use any of the programs. So thanks to the game I have learned how to use these hard but interesting programs and now I can create any idea that I ever have and import them into the game.

MaxoidMoonBelly: Where did you go to learn how to do modeling and texturing?

Janna: I learned how to use the programs myself. Sometimes I would look on online tutorials but sometimes I would just try out different tools to see what they did and what they are for. Even now I cannot say that I know everything there is to know about the programs I use but every time I make something I learn new things and my knowledge on the program grows further.

MaxoidMoonBelly: What are the most requested items you get asked to make?

Janna: Most of all people request classic and Victorian furniture as many sites contain a lot of modern furniture and so not many have furniture in Classic and Victorian styles. And I like to make furniture in these styles and I always look on many pictures to make sure it looks as real as possible. Also my site partner Vita likes to make furniture in these themes, but she cannot make things very often as she is still a student and is very busy with her education. Lately I have been making furniture in Moroccan style, I like making this a lot and people also like this and write me to make many different rooms in this style. I have also made a few children's rooms which my youngest daughter has asked me to make as she also likes to play the game as well and likes to decorate a lot in the children's rooms.