Hi everyone, here's the latest blog. It's Assistant Producer Mike Zamora talking all about The Sims 3 Seasons...Enjoy!

Hi Simmers!
Up until now entire seasons such as spring and summer were featured in previous dev blogs and demos. But today I’m thrilled to finally talk in detail about one of the holidays that we’ve added to the game. Before I get started I wanted to clear up some common confusion regarding seasons and holidays that I’ve seen on Twitter and message boards. By default the game has four seasons, each transitioning seamlessly into one another. Within each season there is a single day that the game designates as a special holiday. These are days where Sims all over town are drawn together to congregate and participate in the day’s spirit and activities just as in real life.
I’m really excited to tell you all about the fall exclusive holiday in The Sims 3 Seasons that we call Spooky Day. What’s not to like about a day where you’re encouraged to dress up in a costume and ask for free candy?


Spooky Day has arrived!

While playing in the fall season it will be tough not to notice the visual transformation of your once familiar town. The weather will begin to cool down and rain and fog will often blanket the skies. Red, orange, and yellow becomes a more dominant color in town as deciduous trees begin their transformation for the colder climate. This dark and eerie feel really sets the stage for Spooky Day.

You can expect holidays to occur close to the end of each season. This gives you time to prepare your Sims and decorate your house for the upcoming celebration. Once Spooky Day arrives, more Sims will gather at the town festival. You will notice that Sims in general will be more mischievous; choosing to scare one another over a simple greeting or “hello”.



Go for it, carve that pumpkin!

Pumpkins have been added to The Sims 3 Seasons and it’s the most versatile harvestable to appear in The Sims 3 yet. Pumpkins  can be used to make the delicious new pumpkin pie recipe, used as an ingredient in other meals, or even be used as a fancy home decoration. As mentioned in the fall dev blog, pumpkins can be planted in your garden, picked from the festival’s pumpkin patch or picked up from the town’s store.  But what really sets pumpkins apart from other harvestables is that your Sims will be able to carve them into Jack-O-Lanterns. Whether you fail or succeed in carving out the desired pattern you can choose to light it and put it on display for everyone to see. You’ve always been told to never play with your food but for pumpkins it’s perfectly fine. Unfortunately once you’ve carved up a pumpkin it is no longer valid as food. However, the seeds pulled out of your pumpkin can be planted and used to grow more pumpkins.  Now that you’ve decorated your house let’s move over to get your Sims dressed and ready for Spooky Day’s festivities.



Costumes

Ah yes, we’ve added new costumes to The Sims 3 Seasons for Sims to dress up in during Spooky Day or any time of year. Costumes are available in the “everyday” category in Create A Sim so if wearing a hot dog suit year-round is what you’re looking to do, you can do it!

Costume Parties

We’ve added four new parties to this pack but there’s one that’s closely tied to the fall season and Spooky Day which are costume parties. With so many fun, new activities to do in fall there’s a chance that you may forget to throw your own party. Don’t worry because there’s usually something going on in town. If you’re lucky you might be invited to a neighbor’s costume party. Accept the invite and go but it’s never too late to arrange your own Spooky Day themed get-together.



Costume parties are like house parties except that your guests will arrive in randomly chosen costumes. There are a good number of costumes available so every party always looks unique and is quick to offer some instant laughs. I threw a party once and saw a chef dancing with a hot dog.



Trick or Treating

The ability to go Trick or Treating is unlocked one day prior to the official start of Spooky Day. For children and teens there will also be an available interaction to quickly switch into a preset costume. You may also go into Create A Sim if you would rather choose your Sim’s costume. Now that you’re dressed for success let’s get to work. To begin, click on a residential lot anywhere in your town. You will have the option to go by yourself or in a group by choosing Sims on your lot. Your Sim or group will now go from house to house gathering treats until they’re too exhausted to continue or until curfew strikes.  Here’s a little tip of advice, have an adult join your group if you want to bypass curfew restrictions.



If you’re lucky enough to visit a house where people are home, you or your group will be greeted at the door and handed a treat. Most of the time your treat will come in the form of candy but there’s always a chance of getting an item such as the ultra-rare and seasonal specific Cracklin Nackerbell gnome.

For not-so-nice Sims, visiting an unoccupied house can spark up their inner rage. Lawn decorations, garbage cans, and Jack-O-Lanterns beware when these Sims leave empty handed.



Now that you’ve conquered Spooky Day it’s time to go home to reflect and enjoy the fruits of your labor. After a long night of Trick or Treating you’ll likely have a fair amount of tasty candy to enjoy. Candy is quite irresistible but make sure to practice self-control as eating more than your fair share is likely to end badly. That amount of sugar will have you running around the house for sure.

“Hey quit eating all the candy!”



That wraps up Spooky Day and the fun, new activities your Sims will be able to do. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog and keep a look out for more updates on The Sims 3 Seasons to follow shortly!

-Mike Zamora, Assistant Producer, The Sims 3 Seasons