Latest / The Plumbob Report / Lovestruck Chaos, Sims 4 Legacy Hype, and Petit Planet’s Cozy Galaxy

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Lovestruck Chaos, Sims 4 Legacy Hype, and Petit Planet’s Cozy Galaxy · The Plumbob Report

• 0:12
  [Becca Hartwell] So Sul, everyone,
• 0:13
  [Becca Hartwell] and welcome back to the Plumbob Report.
• 0:16
  [Danny Reyes] So Sul and also what the heck,
• 0:19
  [Danny Reyes] we have a lot of romance chaos today.
• 0:21
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 0:22
  [Becca Hartwell] we really do.
• 0:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Today we're starting with Lovestruck's new structured dating events,
• 0:27
  [Becca Hartwell] the way they nudge your stories into reality show territory and how that actually changes challenge gameplay.
• 0:34
  [Danny Reyes] So basically the game said,
• 0:36
  [Danny Reyes] what if Love Island but your Sims still pee themselves on a first date?
• 0:40
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 0:41
  [Becca Hartwell] And then we're going full cartoon shader mode.
• 0:44
  [Becca Hartwell] Because this wild cell-shaded look is low-key exposing how Sims 4's art style works under the hood.
• 0:51
  [Danny Reyes] I saw screenshots and my brain went,
• 0:54
  [Danny Reyes] that Sim is absolutely not okay in the best way.
• 0:59
  [Becca Hartwell] From there,
• 1:00
  [Becca Hartwell] quick builder corner; romantic lots,
• 1:03
  [Becca Hartwell] wedding venues,
• 1:04
  [Becca Hartwell] date night bars,
• 1:05
  [Becca Hartwell] and why Sims 4 is still the default stage for love stories and those iconic Gallery builds.
• 1:12
  [Danny Reyes] And zooming out a bit,
• 1:13
  [Danny Reyes] we're talking why people keep recreating things like the Resident Evil Spencer Mansion here instead of in builder games that are supposed to be better at it.
• 1:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Right,
• 1:23
  [Becca Hartwell] which brings us to something I've been WAITING to talk about.
• 1:26
  [Becca Hartwell] about this tiny moon-like Sim, Petit Planet,
• 1:29
  [Becca Hartwell] and what it means for decorators and storytellers.
• 1:33
  [Danny Reyes] Plus, later,
• 1:34
  [Danny Reyes] we're comparing Tomodachi-style soap operas to pure Sims chaos and asking for your most cursed relationship stories.
• 1:41
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 1:42
  [Becca Hartwell] I need to nerd out for a second about Lovestruck, so let's jump straight into our Pack Spotlight.
• 1:47
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 1:48
  [Danny Reyes] yeah, let's load in.
• 1:49
  [Danny Reyes] Pack Spotlight, here we go.
• 1:56
  [Becca Hartwell] We want to hear from you! Submit questions via the web form in the description or give us a call at 747-677-1037 and leave your question.
• 2:07
  [Becca Hartwell] Don't be shy!
• 2:08
  [Becca Hartwell] Our AI assistant makes it super easy.
• 2:16
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 2:16
  [Becca Hartwell] so we need to talk about how my game basically turned into Tinder on hard mode this week.
• 2:23
  [Danny Reyes] Sul,
• 2:24
  [Danny Reyes] sul,
• 2:24
  [Danny Reyes] and also what the heck happened in your save?
• 2:26
  [Becca Hartwell] Lovestruck dating events happened.
• 2:29
  [Becca Hartwell] I finally sent my legacy heir on one,
• 2:31
  [Becca Hartwell] and it felt like the game handed me a mini reality show.
• 2:35
  [Danny Reyes] Right. Break it down.
• 2:36
  [Danny Reyes] What's the actual structure for people who just saw pink icons and panicked?
• 2:41
  [Becca Hartwell] So you get an event with goals, like talk to your date.
• 2:44
  [Becca Hartwell] Flirt X times,
• 2:46
  [Becca Hartwell] maybe order drinks or dance.
• 2:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Think social event,
• 2:49
  [Becca Hartwell] but focused.
• 2:51
  [Becca Hartwell] Finish well,
• 2:52
  [Becca Hartwell] you get relationship boosts, Simoleons, and those cute little keepsake objects.
• 2:57
  [Danny Reyes] Those souvenirs are wild.
• 2:59
  [Danny Reyes] My Sim came home with like a cheesy photo cube and immediately put it next to her urn collection.
• 3:06
  [Becca Hartwell] That is peak Sims, honestly.
• 3:08
  [Becca Hartwell] And for storytellers, that structure is so nice.
• 3:12
  [Becca Hartwell] You can plan episode one,
• 3:14
  [Becca Hartwell] disastrous bar date,
• 3:15
  [Becca Hartwell] silver medal,
• 3:16
  [Becca Hartwell] awkward photo,
• 3:17
  [Becca Hartwell] then level up to gold medal proposal night.
• 3:20
  [Danny Reyes] Challenge players too!
• 3:21
  [Danny Reyes] I already saw a no free dates rags to riches rule set.
• 3:25
  [Danny Reyes] You only earn money through date rewards.
• 3:28
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, that's evil.
• 3:30
  [Becca Hartwell] I love it.
• 3:31
  [Danny Reyes] And okay,
• 3:32
  [Danny Reyes] who in your worlds would absolutely embarrass-
• 3:34
  [Danny Reyes] They embarrassed themselves at these.
• 3:36
  [Becca Hartwell] Easy,
• 3:37
  [Becca Hartwell] my clumsy non committal painter!" She tripped,
• 3:40
  [Becca Hartwell] spilled her drink,
• 3:41
  [Becca Hartwell] and still got a bronze medal because she flirted through the chaos.
• 3:45
  [Danny Reyes] Relatable.
• 3:47
  [Danny Reyes] My hot headed Jim bro autonomously insulted his date's outfit mid event.
• 3:52
  [Danny Reyes] The autonomy said no thoughts,
• 3:54
  [Danny Reyes] head empty.
• 3:55
  [Becca Hartwell] Of course he did.
• 3:57
  [Danny Reyes] So while all that was happening,
• 3:59
  [Danny Reyes] my timeline got taken over by
• 4:01
  [Danny Reyes] Or by Cartoon Shader screenshots.
• 4:03
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh my gosh, yes!
• 4:05
  [Becca Hartwell] The first one I saw,
• 4:07
  [Becca Hartwell] I honestly thought it was a different game.
• 4:09
  [Danny Reyes] Same.
• 4:10
  [Danny Reyes] Hard cell shading,
• 4:12
  [Danny Reyes] thick outlines,
• 4:13
  [Danny Reyes] super flat colors.
• 4:14
  [Danny Reyes] Sims 4 suddenly looked like an animated series.
• 4:17
  [Becca Hartwell] It almost felt like Sims 2 promo art came to life,
• 4:21
  [Becca Hartwell] and it shows how flexible the art style actually is under all the bloom and blur.
• 4:27
  [Becca Hartwell] I
• 4:27
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 4:27
  [Danny Reyes] like when modders can flip a couple of settings and suddenly people are saying, I'd played this version forever,
• 4:33
  [Danny Reyes] that says a lot.
• 4:35
  [Becca Hartwell] I mean,
• 4:35
  [Becca Hartwell] I get why folks are obsessed.
• 4:37
  [Becca Hartwell] For storytellers, having that consistent cartoon look makes screenshots read like panels from a comic.
• 4:44
  [Danny Reyes] And for mean people like me,
• 4:46
  [Danny Reyes] the reaction image is off the charts.
• 4:48
  [Danny Reyes] Every confused Sim face looks 10 times funnier in outline mode.
• 4:53
  [Becca Hartwell] Absolutely.
• 4:55
  [Danny Reyes] Where do you land, though?
• 4:56
  [Danny Reyes] Because some builders are like,
• 4:58
  [Danny Reyes] love it for CAS and storytelling,
• 5:00
  [Danny Reyes] hate it for actually decorating.
• 5:03
  [Becca Hartwell] I'm kind of in between.
• 5:04
  [Becca Hartwell] For day-to-day play,
• 5:05
  [Becca Hartwell] I still want my usual shaders.
• 5:07
  [Becca Hartwell] But okay,
• 5:08
  [Becca Hartwell] I need to nerd out for a second about builder brainrot.
• 5:11
  [Danny Reyes] Please, builder corner,
• 5:13
  [Danny Reyes] inject it straight into my veins.
• 5:15
  [Becca Hartwell] Lovestruck plus creative shaders is a dream for romantic lots.
• 5:19
  [Becca Hartwell] I did a rooftop lounge with warm lighting,
• 5:22
  [Becca Hartwell] fairy lights everywhere,
• 5:24
  [Becca Hartwell] then flipped on the cartoon look and it felt like a graphic novel date scene.
• 5:28
  [Danny Reyes] That's so good!
• 5:30
  [Becca Hartwell] Quick build tip of the week. If you're staging dates, use those tiny table lamps and candles at different heights,
• 5:37
  [Becca Hartwell] then lower the overall lighting in live mode.
• 5:39
  [Becca Hartwell] The faces pop,
• 5:40
  [Becca Hartwell] especially if you're using any shader that cuts the haze.
• 5:44
  [Danny Reyes] And throw in some darker corners for the inevitable bathroom crying break.
• 5:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Obviously, you need a dramatic hallway for the ran out mid-date screenshot.
• 5:52
  [Danny Reyes] Okay,
• 5:53
  [Danny Reyes] but wild pivot here.
• 5:55
  [Danny Reyes] Do you think stuff like this is why people
• 5:57
  [Danny Reyes] still default to this game when they want to tell a love story or recreate like an entire horror mansion?
• 6:04
  [Becca Hartwell] Hmm.
• 6:05
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah.
• 6:06
  [Becca Hartwell] Because even when we're breaking it with shaders and challenge rules,
• 6:10
  [Becca Hartwell] the tools bend with us.
• 6:12
  [Danny Reyes] So the question is,
• 6:14
  [Danny Reyes] how did we get to the point where this slightly unhinged decade-old game is still the place you go to build your dream wedding venue and also your cursed crossover builds?
• 6:30
  [Becca Hartwell] With that in mind, I want to talk about how we ended up in this reality where The Sims 4 is just the default stage for everyone.
• 6:38
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 6:39
  [Danny Reyes] like if you say Life Sim online,
• 6:41
  [Danny Reyes] people assume you mean The Sims 4 first,
• 6:44
  [Danny Reyes] then anything else.
• 6:46
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 6:47
  [Becca Hartwell] And especially if you say you're a builder or a storyteller,
• 6:50
  [Becca Hartwell] the assumption is you're in Sims 4 unless you specify otherwise.
• 6:54
  [Danny Reyes] As someone who mostly yoinks other people's lots from the Gallery and then destroy-
• 6:58
  [Danny Reyes] Destroys them with cursed gain.
• 7:00
  [Becca Hartwell] Gameplay I can confirm.
• 7:03
  [Danny Reyes] But that is part of it. The Gallery changed the culture.
• 7:07
  [Danny Reyes] Builders became this whole class of creators whose work is the foundation for storytellers and challenge players.
• 7:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Right,
• 7:14
  [Becca Hartwell] and the challenges themselves live there too,
• 7:17
  [Becca Hartwell] in a way, like Rags to Riches shells,
• 7:19
  [Becca Hartwell] Legacy starter homes,
• 7:21
  [Becca Hartwell] Black and White horror mansions.
• 7:23
  [Danny Reyes] Speaking of horror mansions, the Spencer Mansion Resident Evil rebuild in Sims
• 7:28
  [Danny Reyes] Sims 4 still blow my mind.
• 7:30
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh my god,
• 7:31
  [Becca Hartwell] yes.
• 7:32
  [Becca Hartwell] The one with working puzzle rooms and the plant monster greenhouse?
• 7:35
  [Becca Hartwell] That thing feels illegal.
• 7:37
  [Danny Reyes] I watched a tour of that and I was like, this is giving main menu music energy in terms of nostalgia.
• 7:44
  [Danny Reyes] You can feel both fandoms at once.
• 7:46
  [Becca Hartwell] And it is so specific, too,
• 7:48
  [Becca Hartwell] like they use debug clutter to fake those little item pickup spots and combined rugs to get the exact-
• 7:55
  [Becca Hartwell] Zach checkered floors.
• 7:56
  [Danny Reyes] And that is why,
• 7:57
  [Danny Reyes] OK,
• 7:58
  [Danny Reyes] I need to nerd out for a second about build mode.
• 8:00
  [Becca Hartwell] Please go full architect brain,
• 8:03
  [Becca Hartwell] I'm ready.
• 8:04
  [Danny Reyes] Sims 4 build is still king because of that layering.
• 8:07
  [Danny Reyes] You have free placement,
• 8:09
  [Danny Reyes] you have multi-height windows,
• 8:11
  [Danny Reyes] you can play with foundations without breaking routing,
• 8:14
  [Danny Reyes] you have terrain,
• 8:15
  [Danny Reyes] you can clone patterns.
• 8:16
  [Danny Reyes] It is flexible,
• 8:18
  [Danny Reyes] but readable.
• 8:19
  [Becca Hartwell] And forgiving.
• 8:20
  [Becca Hartwell] I can absolutely misdrag a wall.
• 8:22
  [Becca Hartwell] Delete half the house,
• 8:24
  [Becca Hartwell] hit Undo,
• 8:25
  [Becca Hartwell] and the game goes,
• 8:26
  [Becca Hartwell] you meant nothing happened.
• 8:28
  [Becca Hartwell] Thank you.
• 8:29
  [Danny Reyes] Undo is doing emotional labor,
• 8:31
  [Danny Reyes] but also the way walls,
• 8:34
  [Danny Reyes] roofs,
• 8:34
  [Danny Reyes] and rooms are modular makes it really easy to copy stuff from reference images or other games.
• 8:40
  [Becca Hartwell] That's the Cross-Game Chaos secret sauce, right?
• 8:43
  [Becca Hartwell] People see a screenshot from some other fandom and go,
• 8:46
  [Becca Hartwell] I can block that out in squares.
• 8:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Then three days later they've recreated a whole JRPG town.
• 8:53
  [Danny Reyes] Or entire TV shows.
• 8:55
  [Danny Reyes] The number of Gilmore Girls town squares and Stranger Things lots,
• 8:59
  [Danny Reyes] it's wild.
• 9:00
  [Becca Hartwell] And then gremlins like me download them and say,
• 9:03
  [Becca Hartwell] what if I put eight vampires in here and no sinks?
• 9:07
  [Danny Reyes] The symbiosis.
• 9:09
  [Danny Reyes] Builders get their work stress tested by chaos players.
• 9:13
  [Becca Hartwell] The chaos is user testing.
• 9:15
  [Becca Hartwell] If a house survives my 100 baby challenge,
• 9:18
  [Becca Hartwell] that floor plan is functional.
• 9:19
  [Danny Reyes] Another piece is how The Sims 4 fits into the broader builder game world.
• 9:25
  [Danny Reyes] Steam just had that House and Home Fest,
• 9:27
  [Danny Reyes] right?
• 9:27
  [Danny Reyes] All these decorating and renovation games front and center.
• 9:31
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 9:32
  [Becca Hartwell] I saw like 10 different clean the abandoned house games in a row.
• 9:36
  [Becca Hartwell] My algorithm is concerned.
• 9:38
  [Danny Reyes] They are cute.
• 9:39
  [Danny Reyes] Some of them have gorgeous visuals and really smart tools.
• 9:43
  [Danny Reyes] But they are usually room by room or mission-based: you finish a level and that space is done.
• 9:49
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 9:50
  [Becca Hartwell] it's like power wash,
• 9:51
  [Becca Hartwell] paint,
• 9:52
  [Becca Hartwell] flip,
• 9:52
  [Becca Hartwell] next.
• 9:53
  [Becca Hartwell] Very satisfying,
• 9:54
  [Becca Hartwell] but your character doesn't live there. They don't pee in that bathroom.
• 9:58
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly.
• 9:59
  [Danny Reyes] In Sims,
• 10:01
  [Danny Reyes] the build is the stage for years of gameplay,
• 10:03
  [Danny Reyes] so builders think about storytelling flow.
• 10:06
  [Danny Reyes] Where does the camera set,
• 10:08
  [Danny Reyes] where do Sims route for screenshots,
• 10:10
  [Danny Reyes] where will the inevitable kitchen fire look funniest?
• 10:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Very targeted question there.
• 10:16
  [Danny Reyes] I have experience.
• 10:20
  [Becca Hartwell] But you're right, even when other games nail the renovation fantasy,
• 10:24
  [Becca Hartwell] they rarely combine it with the live chaos of autonomy and long-term saves.
• 10:29
  [Danny Reyes] And that's why Sims 4 keeps holding that default spot.
• 10:33
  [Danny Reyes] If you want a build that can also host a Big Brother challenge,
• 10:37
  [Danny Reyes] a decade-long legacy,
• 10:38
  [Danny Reyes] and a Resident Evil crossover,
• 10:40
  [Danny Reyes] it's still the easiest option.
• 10:42
  [Becca Hartwell] I do think that grip is starting to get poked a bit, though.
• 10:46
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 10:46
  [Danny Reyes] same.
• 10:47
  [Becca Hartwell] Like new life sims are very much looking at builders,
• 10:50
  [Becca Hartwell] storytellers, social players and going,
• 10:53
  [Becca Hartwell] hey,
• 10:53
  [Becca Hartwell] what if we gave you something different?
• 10:56
  [Danny Reyes] Which brings us to something I've been waiting to talk about because there's this new Cozy Galactic Life Sim poking at that exact crowd.
• 11:04
  [Becca Hartwell] Petit Planet,
• 11:05
  [Becca Hartwell] the HoYoverse one.
• 11:06
  [Becca Hartwell] I have thoughts.
• 11:08
  [Becca Hartwell] Many messy thoughts.
• 11:10
  [Danny Reyes] Teasing!
• 11:11
  [Danny Reyes] Save them,
• 11:12
  [Danny Reyes] because next I want to get into what that pitch even means.
• 11:15
  [Danny Reyes] compared to our beloved suburban chaos.
• 11:17
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, I'm ready.
• 11:19
  [Becca Hartwell] Space HOA Emma,
• 11:20
  [Becca Hartwell] here we come.
• 11:26
  [Danny Reyes] Shifting gears really fast, can we talk about Petit Planet for a second?
• 11:31
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, yes,
• 11:32
  [Becca Hartwell] Petit Planet is literally Genshin,
• 11:34
  [Becca Hartwell] but make it soft space IKEA.
• 11:36
  [Danny Reyes] That is exactly the pitch.
• 11:39
  [Danny Reyes] So, quick baseline,
• 11:41
  [Danny Reyes] this is HoYoverse, the Genshin and Honkai people doing a cozy galactic life sim.
• 11:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Which sounds like what if your sim lived on a tiny moon that looks like a diorama.
• 11:53
  [Becca Hartwell] OMAHA!
• 11:53
  [Danny Reyes] Right!
• 11:54
  [Danny Reyes] These little round planets,
• 11:56
  [Danny Reyes] very Mario Galaxy,
• 11:58
  [Danny Reyes] very dollhouse!
• 11:59
  [Danny Reyes] You decorate the whole sphere,
• 12:01
  [Danny Reyes] then your character toddles around on it.
• 12:04
  [Becca Hartwell] And you are not alone up there.
• 12:06
  [Becca Hartwell] All the beta clips are like hanging out in cafes and space stations.
• 12:09
  [Becca Hartwell] Little social hubs,
• 12:11
  [Becca Hartwell] lots of emotes.
• 12:12
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah,
• 12:13
  [Danny Reyes] socially it looks closer to an MMO lobby than a single player save.
• 12:17
  [Becca Hartwell] Mm hmm.
• 12:17
  [Danny Reyes] You have friends dropping into your world,
• 12:19
  [Danny Reyes] visiting your
• 12:20
  [Speaker 3] planet, or at least your character.
• 12:20
  [Danny Reyes] your planets.
• 12:20
  [Becca Hartwell] So basically,
• 12:22
  [Becca Hartwell] HoYoverse looked at visiting other people's Sims builds and went,
• 12:25
  [Becca Hartwell] what if that was the whole thing?
• 12:27
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly.
• 12:28
  [Danny Reyes] And because it is HoYoverse,
• 12:30
  [Danny Reyes] the art direction is very polished.
• 12:33
  [Danny Reyes] Soft gradients, sparkly sky boxes,
• 12:36
  [Danny Reyes] tiny furniture that looks like gotcha prizes in the best and worst way.
• 12:41
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh yes,
• 12:42
  [Becca Hartwell] the couches absolutely look like they come with a .6% pull rate.
• 12:46
  [Danny Reyes] Oh my god, yes.
• 12:48
  [Danny Reyes] Now the new thing this week is they opened global beta signups on their site.
• 12:53
  [Danny Reyes] You pick platform,
• 12:55
  [Danny Reyes] fill a quick survey,
• 12:56
  [Danny Reyes] and cross your fingers.
• 12:57
  [Speaker 4] People are already theory crafting builds of a 30-second trailer.
• 13:01
  [Speaker 4] I've seen mood boards labeled space bakery cottagecore,
• 13:05
  [Speaker 4] but make it alien.
• 13:07
  [Danny Reyes] Same. And I get why builders are eyeing it.
• 13:10
  [Danny Reyes] The planets are basically pre-made shells.
• 13:13
  [Danny Reyes] You're working around a curve,
• 13:15
  [Danny Reyes] playing with elevation in this weird vertical way.
• 13:18
  [Speaker 4] But you can't bulldoze the whole thing into a flat sixty four by sixty four lot.
• 13:22
  [Speaker 4] That's the tradeoff.
• 13:24
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah, it's more like decorating a very fancy snow globe.
• 13:28
  [Danny Reyes] Great for vibes and screenshots,
• 13:30
  [Danny Reyes] maybe less
• 13:30
  [Speaker 3] so for gameplay.
• 13:30
  [Danny Reyes] Maybe less for hardcore,
• 13:32
  [Danny Reyes] structural builds.
• 13:33
  [Speaker 4] Story players,
• 13:34
  [Speaker 4] though,
• 13:35
  [Speaker 4] I think they're the main target.
• 13:36
  [Speaker 4] Those social hubs,
• 13:37
  [Speaker 4] the little NPCs, the implied quests,
• 13:40
  [Speaker 4] it screams screenshot comic about your alien barista crush.
• 13:45
  [Danny Reyes] And because it's always online,
• 13:47
  [Danny Reyes] you get instant audience.
• 13:49
  [Danny Reyes] Your friends literally standing next to your character reacting in real time.
• 13:54
  [Speaker 4] Which is wild compared to my offline Sims save,
• 13:57
  [Speaker 4] where no one sees my drama unless I-
• 13:58
  [Speaker 4] Unless I tweet forty screens.
• 14:00
  [Becca Hartwell] shot.
• 14:00
  [Danny Reyes] So here is the contrast.
• 14:02
  [Danny Reyes] The Sims is grounded suburban disaster.
• 14:05
  [Danny Reyes] Petit Planet says,
• 14:07
  [Danny Reyes] what if your slice of life was on a tiny moon with a public transit space station?
• 14:12
  [Becca Hartwell] And the question is,
• 14:14
  [Becca Hartwell] does that pull Sims people away or just sit next to it as vibe game?
• 14:19
  [Danny Reyes] For me,
• 14:20
  [Danny Reyes] it sits next to,
• 14:21
  [Danny Reyes] but I think it might poke EA a bit.
• 14:24
  [Danny Reyes] Like, hey, people want social spaces where their OCs can hang together without mods.
• 14:28
  [Danny Reyes] Mods.
• 14:29
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 14:30
  [Becca Hartwell] EA keeps flirting with that with Gallery comments and scenarios,
• 14:34
  [Becca Hartwell] but this is full meet your friends in game.
• 14:37
  [Danny Reyes] Also visually,
• 14:39
  [Danny Reyes] seeing Petit Planet's soft lighting makes me wish The Sims would push their skyboxes and ambient light more.
• 14:45
  [Danny Reyes] Not realism; just more mood.
• 14:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Same,
• 14:49
  [Becca Hartwell] and not to be that person,
• 14:51
  [Becca Hartwell] but if HoYoverse ships smooth multiplayer hack
• 14:54
  [Speaker 3] n' slash on the same engine, why can't the Sims?
• 14:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Where hangouts before Sims gets basic stable online,
• 14:58
  [Becca Hartwell] people will notice.
• 14:59
  [Danny Reyes] They absolutely will.
• 15:01
  [Danny Reyes] On the flip side,
• 15:02
  [Danny Reyes] Petit Planet is not simulating needs and messy AI in the same way, at least from what we've seen.
• 15:09
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 15:09
  [Becca Hartwell] your alien is not wetting themselves because they queued chat twelve times instead of using the bathroom.
• 15:16
  [Danny Reyes] So it might nail cute decor and social vibes,
• 15:19
  [Danny Reyes] but miss that.
• 15:20
  [Danny Reyes] It's that unhinged domestic chaos that makes long saves so funny.
• 15:25
  [Becca Hartwell] Which is kind of the theme with all these new life sims, right?
• 15:28
  [Becca Hartwell] Everybody's trying to bottle a specific flavor of drama.
• 15:32
  [Danny Reyes] Exactly.
• 15:34
  [Danny Reyes] Petit Planet wants wholesome social drama.
• 15:37
  [Danny Reyes] Who's sitting with who at the space cafe.
• 15:39
  [Danny Reyes] Sims is like,
• 15:40
  [Danny Reyes] your ex just walked by while your kitchen is on fire.
• 15:43
  [Becca Hartwell] And then you have games that go full "we're a soap opera.
• 15:46
  [Becca Hartwell] Brr!--no subtlety,
• 15:48
  [Becca Hartwell] only drama.
• 15:49
  [Danny Reyes] Yes,
• 15:50
  [Danny Reyes] and speaking of that contrast pivot
• 15:52
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh,
• 15:52
  [Becca Hartwell] you mean the one that literally markets itself with like reality TV breakup clips?
• 15:57
  [Danny Reyes] That one,
• 15:58
  [Danny Reyes] the Tomodachi Life spiritual successor that lives for mess.
• 16:03
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 16:03
  [Becca Hartwell] yeah,
• 16:03
  [Becca Hartwell] next up we need to talk about those viral "Not Hugh friend zoning Angie on live TV" style moments,
• 16:10
  [Becca Hartwell] because that is chaos on purpose.
• 16:12
  [Becca Hartwell] This
• 16:12
  [Danny Reyes] And then compare how that staged drama feels next to the accidental disasters in our Sim saves.
• 16:19
  [Becca Hartwell] So,
• 16:19
  [Becca Hartwell] uh,
• 16:20
  [Becca Hartwell] grab your popcorn.
• 16:21
  [Becca Hartwell] Soap Opera Life Sim Universe coming up.
• 16:28
  [Danny Reyes] Shifting gears,
• 16:29
  [Danny Reyes] for Cross-Game Chaos,
• 16:31
  [Danny Reyes] we have to talk about Tomodachi Life living the dream.
• 16:35
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, absolutely.
• 16:36
  [Becca Hartwell] The minute I saw that not Hugh friend-zoning Angie on live TV clip,
• 16:41
  [Becca Hartwell] I ascended.
• 16:42
  [Danny Reyes] That clip feels like someone took Tumblr text posts and turned them into a Nintendo Direct.
• 16:47
  [Becca Hartwell] Yes,
• 16:47
  [Becca Hartwell] and the devs are like, welcome to our game where your Miis publicly reject each other during a news broadcast.
• 16:54
  [Becca Hartwell] Enjoy!
• 16:55
  [Danny Reyes] Meanwhile, Sims is over here like, your Sim got left at the altar because autonomy decided to go grill hot dogs.
• 17:02
  [Danny Reyes] Same energy,
• 17:03
  [Danny Reyes] different format.
• 17:04
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly.
• 17:05
  [Becca Hartwell] Tomodachi is drama as a feature.
• 17:07
  [Becca Hartwell] Sims is drama as a bug report.
• 17:10
  [Danny Reyes] And the marketing leans into it hard.
• 17:12
  [Danny Reyes] Every trailer is basically, what if your island was a reality show you cannot stop?
• 17:17
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay, but hearing the Mii say in that weird robot voice.
• 17:21
  [Becca Hartwell] Robot voice:
• 17:21
  [Becca Hartwell] "I only see Angie as a friend!" while confetti falls?
• 17:26
  [Becca Hartwell] That is art.
• 17:27
  [Danny Reyes] It is performance art,
• 17:29
  [Danny Reyes] and it makes me think about how curated that chaos is.
• 17:33
  [Danny Reyes] They script the beats,
• 17:34
  [Danny Reyes] but your cast makes it feel personal.
• 17:36
  [Becca Hartwell] Where in Sims we script almost nothing.
• 17:39
  [Becca Hartwell] We just hit three times speed and wait to see which relationship bar self destructs first.
• 17:44
  [Danny Reyes] Right.
• 17:45
  [Danny Reyes] Our chaos is like improv theater.
• 17:47
  [Danny Reyes] Tomodachi is more telenovela t--
• 17:49
  [Danny Reyes] A table read.
• 17:50
  [Becca Hartwell] Speaking of soap operas,
• 17:51
  [Becca Hartwell] quick lightning round:
• 17:52
  [Becca Hartwell] Disney Dreamlight Valley hinting at Star Wars?
• 17:56
  [Becca Hartwell] That is pure crossover drama bait.
• 17:58
  [Danny Reyes] Oh,
• 17:58
  [Danny Reyes] yeah.
• 17:59
  [Danny Reyes] Imagine Goofy calmly fishing while Darth Vader strolls past Anna.
• 18:03
  [Danny Reyes] That is fanfic waiting to happen.
• 18:06
  [Becca Hartwell] And then Petit Planet giving us curated space cafe breakups.
• 18:10
  [Becca Hartwell] So we have Nintendo scripted drama,
• 18:13
  [Becca Hartwell] Disney brand drama.
• 18:14
  [Becca Hartwell] HoYoverse Cozy Drama
• 18:17
  [Danny Reyes] But Sims is still the messy cousin,
• 18:19
  [Danny Reyes] where the worst thing that happens is entirely your fault.
• 18:22
  [Danny Reyes] And somehow that hits different.
• 18:25
  [Becca Hartwell] Yeah,
• 18:25
  [Becca Hartwell] the heartbreak stories that go viral from Sims are always like,
• 18:29
  [Becca Hartwell] So I cheated as a joke and now Grim is here.
• 18:32
  [Becca Hartwell] No dev wrote that.
• 18:34
  [Danny Reyes] That's the magic-the system just quietly gives you enough tools to ruin lives.
• 18:40
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 18:40
  [Becca Hartwell] now I need to hear from people.
• 18:41
  [Becca Hartwell] People like listeners,
• 18:42
  [Becca Hartwell] what is your most dramatic Sims relationship moment,
• 18:46
  [Becca Hartwell] the one you still think about in the shower?
• 18:48
  [Danny Reyes] Yes.
• 18:49
  [Danny Reyes] Did your soulmate Sim woohoo with the wrong person on Love Day?
• 18:53
  [Danny Reyes] Did your legacy heir elope with the mail carrier in their hot dog costume?
• 18:57
  [Becca Hartwell] Or did you have the classic "I locked them in a room together to see what happened"
• 19:01
  [Becca Hartwell] social experiment that went off the rails?
• 19:04
  [Danny Reyes] Send them all.
• 19:05
  [Danny Reyes] Drop them in the comments,
• 19:06
  [Danny Reyes] tweet at us.
• 19:07
  [Danny Reyes] Yes, voice notes,
• 19:08
  [Danny Reyes] whatever.
• 19:08
  [Danny Reyes] I want full telenovela recaps.
• 19:11
  [Becca Hartwell] And I want screenshots.
• 19:12
  [Becca Hartwell] If there's not an angry screenshot,
• 19:15
  [Becca Hartwell] did the drama even happen?
• 19:17
  [Danny Reyes] Now imagine EA went full Soap Opera with the marketing.
• 19:20
  [Danny Reyes] How would you sell Sims if you leaned all the way in?
• 19:23
  [Becca Hartwell] Oh, easy.
• 19:24
  [Becca Hartwell] You open on a romantic arch,
• 19:26
  [Becca Hartwell] slow zoom,
• 19:28
  [Becca Hartwell] then the groom suddenly cues Throw Drink instead of Exchange Vows.
• 19:33
  [Danny Reyes] And the voice over is like,
• 19:35
  [Danny Reyes] in this neighborhood,
• 19:36
  [Danny Reyes] happily ever after is a suggestion.
• 19:39
  [Becca Hartwell] Cut to the Grim Reaper dancing at the reception while the caterer starts a fire.
• 19:43
  [Danny Reyes] Then big text,
• 19:45
  [Danny Reyes] no script,
• 19:46
  [Danny Reyes] no safety net,
• 19:47
  [Danny Reyes] just your bad decisions.
• 19:49
  [Becca Hartwell] See,
• 19:49
  [Becca Hartwell] why are we not in the meeting for that?
• 19:51
  [Danny Reyes] EA,
• 19:52
  [Danny Reyes] if you are listening,
• 19:54
  [Danny Reyes] that one is free.
• 19:55
  [Becca Hartwell] Okay,
• 19:55
  [Becca Hartwell] okay,
• 19:56
  [Becca Hartwell] I promised dramatic reading time,
• 19:58
  [Becca Hartwell] announcer voice engaged.
• 20:00
  [Danny Reyes] Oh,
• 20:00
  [Danny Reyes] no,
• 20:01
  [Danny Reyes] I am not ready.
• 20:02
  [Becca Hartwell] announcer voice:
• 20:03
  [Becca Hartwell] Tonight on Tomodachi Island,
• 20:06
  [Becca Hartwell] Hugh takes the stage.
• 20:08
  [Becca Hartwell] (normal voice)
• 20:09
  [Becca Hartwell] Cue gasps.
• 20:11
  [Danny Reyes] Gasps! the ratings!
• 20:12
  [Becca Hartwell] announcer voice:
• 20:14
  [Becca Hartwell] Angie confesses her love,
• 20:16
  [Becca Hartwell] but Hugh says-
• 20:18
  [Becca Hartwell] "Let's just be friends." (Normal voice,
• 20:21
  [Becca Hartwell] giggling.)
• 20:22
  [Danny Reyes] The way my soul left my body hearing that!
• 20:25
  [Becca Hartwell] Now Sims Version-Announcer voice:
• 20:28
  [Becca Hartwell] "Tonight in Willow Creek Eliza invites Bob to a romantic dinner." (Normal voice,
• 20:35
  [Becca Hartwell] cute,
• 20:35
  [Becca Hartwell] right?)
• 20:35
  [Danny Reyes] So far?
• 20:36
  [Becca Hartwell] Announcer voice:
• 20:38
  [Becca Hartwell] But Bob cancels because free food spawned at the Humor and Hijinks.
• 20:43
  [Becca Hartwell] Rings Festival (normal voice)
• 20:45
  [Becca Hartwell] 'Credits roll!'
• 20:47
  [Danny Reyes] That is painfully accurate.
• 20:49
  [Becca Hartwell] (One more-announcer voice)
• 20:51
  [Becca Hartwell] 'She thought they were soul mates.' (Beat.) 'He thought it was just a flirty introduction for aspiration points.'
• 21:00
  [Becca Hartwell] Out-called out!
• 21:02
  [Danny Reyes] Listeners,
• 21:03
  [Danny Reyes] send us lines like that about your own Sims; we'll read the messiest ones next episode full dramatic voice!
• 21:11
  [Becca Hartwell] Yes,
• 21:12
  [Becca Hartwell] give us your angriest love triangles and pettiest divorces.
• 21:16
  [Becca Hartwell] That unscripted chaos is still peak Sims,
• 21:19
  [Becca Hartwell] and I want to celebrate every disaster second.
• 21:22
  [Danny Reyes] The more unhinged the better.
• 21:30
  [Becca Hartwell] OK,
• 21:30
  [Becca Hartwell] so if Lovestruck taught us anything today,
• 21:34
  [Becca Hartwell] it's that The Sims 4 turns every structured date into a full-on reality show,
• 21:39
  [Becca Hartwell] whether you're Sim cooperatives or not.
• 21:41
  [Danny Reyes] Yeah.
• 21:41
  [Danny Reyes] When your romantic event turns into,
• 21:43
  [Danny Reyes] why did you insult my outfit on main?
• 21:46
  [Danny Reyes] That is peak chaos.
• 21:48
  [Becca Hartwell] Exactly. And the big takeaway is this.
• 21:51
  [Becca Hartwell] The Sims 4 is still our default life sim because the tools plus the chaos make stories we could never script.
• 21:58
  [Becca Hartwell] First script on purpose.
• 22:00
  [Danny Reyes] So,
• 22:01
  [Danny Reyes] um,
• 22:01
  [Danny Reyes] send us your wildest date night disasters,
• 22:04
  [Danny Reyes] makeover flops, all of it, for that dramatic reading episode.
• 22:07
  [Danny Reyes] I want receipts.
• 22:09
  [Becca Hartwell] Please,
• 22:09
  [Becca Hartwell] screenshots,
• 22:10
  [Becca Hartwell] clips,
• 22:11
  [Becca Hartwell] whatever,
• 22:11
  [Becca Hartwell] tag us at Plumbob Report everywhere.
• 22:14
  [Becca Hartwell] And, still simmers, make sure you follow,
• 22:17
  [Becca Hartwell] hit subscribe,
• 22:18
  [Becca Hartwell] and drop a quick review so other Sims nerds can find us.
• 22:22
  [Danny Reyes] And back up your saves before you load into that next-
• 22:25
  [Danny Reyes] Next romantic lot.
• 22:27
  [Becca Hartwell] Yes,
• 22:27
  [Becca Hartwell] do that; thank you for hanging out with us and we will see you next time on the Plumbob Report.