Tamagotchis came and Tamagotchis went (didn't they?) but the idea of virtual pets remains appealing. The logical extension to the genre has surely got to be virtual people. EA certainly think so and are readying a whole town of little people for you to play God to in The Sims...
Andy Smith

Little computer people? We know a game about that...
So do we. Activision can rightly claim credit as being the first to give us the chance to look after little people in our machines with Little Computer People back in the mid '80s.

Creatures did it too...
Sort of. In Creatures you were looking after little characters and encouraged them to develop their artificial intelligence through experience. You're not really doing the same thing in The Sims.

Aren't you?
Not really. You're controlling a whole neighbourhood of lil' peeps, you see. You can build houses for them and furnish them as you see fit in an effort to make 'em happy (or utterly morose, if that suits your sadistic mentality). And if you don't fancy dealing with that level of detail you can just plonk 'off the shelf' housing down for the little uns to inhabit.

And what do I get them to do?
The Sims will all go about their daily business quite happily without your interference - they don't just stand around waiting for you to tell them what to do - but with your guidance you can make their lives happier and more fulfilling.

Yeah, but what sort of things?
Well, you can help them get jobs, for example. With the money they earn you can buy them bits and bobs for their house, or you can organise parties for them and hopefully pair them up so virtual love can bloom. As mentioned before, the Sims will go about their lives without your intervention, but won't be as happy as they could be unless you give them a guiding hand, and the object of the game is to make as many of them as happy as you can.