Celebrating 25 Years of The Sims: Santiago Salcedo

For the past 25 years, our team has poured its passion into deep, thoughtful, and authentic experiences that reflect life’s many possibilities (as well as a few fantastical possibilities we wish existed). But life, as it turns out, is pretty darn big, which is why we’re constantly introducing new content and features to expand The Sims universe into a story-telling platform that’s representative of its player community. 

As part of our ongoing birthday celebration, we’re talking to our team members about the most meaningful projects they’ve been a part of since joining The Sims family and exploring the ways in which their unique perspectives have informed the features and updates we’ve added over the past 25 years. Today we’re talking to Senior Game Designer Santiago Salcedo about family dynamics and the origin of “goofbumps.”

What was your first role on The Sims, and how has it changed over time?

I joined as a Senior Game Designer in 2021, and though my title hasn’t changed, my responsibilities have shifted and evolved during my time here. I am involved in design mentorship, setting design processes and standards, defining best practices for some of our systems, and so on. I also started as a Game Pack designer and moved on to Expansion Packs, which are much larger projects.

I wanted to work on The Sims because I think it is much more than just a game – it’s a storytelling platform and a medium for self-expression. It has such a profound impact on so many people. Oh, and it’s also fun! So to me, it was an obvious choice. Also, The Sims is a game about life, and as a Venezuelan, I offer a different perspective from a cultural standpoint. I just want to reflect that in The Sims.

What’s the first thing you worked on?

I jumped on board for the early stages of design for Werewolves on The Sims 4. I couldn’t have asked for a better project to start with, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with. The first thing I actually designed was the Lunar Cycle system that came out for base game with the Werewolves release.

What’s the most meaningful thing you’ve worked on and why?

There are lots of features I have worked on in The Sims 4, so it’s very hard to choose one. They all have a place in my heart for different reasons. Lunar Cycle was my first design on Werewolves. Mold was the most fun I’ve ever had in implementing a feature. I poured my heart and soul into the Life & Death world, Ravenwood. But in the end, I think Family Dynamics from the Growing Together Expansion Pack is the most meaningful one, especially the “Jokester” Family Dynamic Sims can get with each other.

Family Dynamics was a feature I inherited from Lakshmi (shout out to her). However, there was still some space on that design to add content and do adjustments due to the constraints we had at the time. The Jokester Dynamic arose from these conditions, and it’s a reflection of my own family dynamic with my daughters, where we can’t stay serious when we are in the same room together. If we could get visible buffs in real life like Sims do, my daughters and I would constantly have “Goofbumps” – the visible buff jokesters get when talking to each other. This feature allowed players to tell stories about family relationships that they may (or may not) have in real life.

How does your personal experience help shape your work?

There are several personal aspects in my life that help me shape my work, but I think these are the most impactful: (1) Being a parent. I reflect this wherever I can in our game, like the Jokester Dynamic I mentioned earlier or the Loving Dynamic. (2) Being Venezuelan. I lived 40 years of my life there. My culture is different in so many ways, which allows me to offer different perspectives on The Sims and in work. (3) Growing up in an environment with a lot of children. My family’s business in Venezuela is a kindergarten, which was also part of my house, so I quite literally grew up in a kindergarten. So whenever I can, I add positive gameplay for children. I don’t know how many players know this, but the scary ghost meanie Edith in Ravenwood can be nice – or rather, less mean – if you approach her as a child Sim!

How important is it for Maxis to allow players to see themselves in The Sims?

I think we have one of the most special games out there. As I said, I think that it’s more than a game – it’s a storytelling platform and a medium for self-expression. This is especially important when you live in an environment where you have trouble being yourself openly in public. In The Sims 4, you can be whoever you want to be really, and I think this has such a profound impact on players. I couldn’t be prouder to be working here.