IGN.com Interviews Lucy Bradshaw

"I just can't think of a single moment that has not been fun."

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The Sims 2

The game's almost done and here's a movie to prove it!

Fans have been anxiously awaiting The Sims 2 since it was first announced over a year ago. As the first full sequel to one of the greatest game franchises ever created, The Sims 2 will definitely be one of the biggest launches we've seen in a long time. According to our sources over at Maxis, you can go ahead and start clearing your calendar because The Sims 2 is "very close to going gold" which puts them "right on target" for a September 17 release. To celebrate (and whet your appetite a bit), they've given us a brand new exclusive trailer and some thoughts from producer Lucy Bradshaw.

Take it away, Lucy:

"I just can't think of a single moment that has not been fun. One very fun moment that I can remember was when we introduced this concept of player awareness in our Sims. I was playing and had the camera in really close and my Sim turned around, looked at me, and smiled. I knew that the experience of playing The Sims 2 was going to be engaging in a completely new way.

"A large team of very creative people have worked on making The Sims 2. At this stage of the project, when we have a full QA staff as well as development team. We have 120 people working on the game: producers, artists, animators, engineers, audio staff, managers, translators, language testers, development testers, quality assurance staff and our marketing team who is hard at work completing the box and ads, etc. At its smallest it was a group of about ten people who started the core engine work and design.

"During the development there have been some really funny moments that are all due to a little bug getting introduced here or there. I think one funny instance was when we had a problem where our Sims lost their heads. They were an adult couple and the female Sim was pregnant. There they were, walking around with no heads. Well, she gave birth and strangely enough the baby had no body, just a head. It just seemed so fitting. Of course, we have fixed this for the shipping game, but they did make such a cute little family.

"For a while, we had our personality traits showing up on the toddlers. The Sims with outgoing personalities have a move where they point both fingers at another Sim moving thru the room. Well, we did not think of what it would look like to have the toddlers doing this. So, there they were, toddlers doing a 'hey there' move! Very funny.

"In The Sims 2, your Sims do age. At intervals throughout the game, you'll see a notice that your Sim is about to age. You have the option of throwing them a birthday party or just making it a quiet event between you and your Sim. It's so much fun to see what they look like as they go from baby to toddler, toddler to child, child to teen, teen to adult and adult to elder. At each age, you'll find that your Sim has a different sense of their own needs. For example, Teens just love to socialize, while Elders, well they want a bit more rest.

"As they age, you'll find yourself thinking, hey, I want to re-decorate their room, the pink bunnies just don't cut it for my hip teenager. You can do this now with the design mode feature. You'll also want to change their style as they grow and you can do that too -- just skip off to one of the community lots and buy some new clothes for your Sim, download them from our community of content creators or check out their appearance in any mirror in the game and be able to apply makeup and accessories to fit the scene.

"You can record movie footage of your Sims by clicking a single button in the user interface. The fun part is that these movies are stored in your game data, and you can use any movie editing software to create your own Sims Home Movies. We've been using this feature during the creation of The Sims 2, and have been having a blast telling the stories of our Sims in such an entirely new way. We still have the album feature but making movies really rocks.

"And is there ever a lot new about "Create A Sim." Not only can you select the age of the Sim you want to create from Toddler to Elder but you can create the kids of Sims. These kids will have the genetic traits of their parents, so not only will they look like their parents but they also inherit some of their personality traits as well. Beyond that the possibilities are almost endless, because now you can shape the facial features of your Sims; decide if they will have bushy or nicely trim eyebrows, a pointy chin or a pug nose. It is entirely up to you. There are a vast number of options to choose from, from hair styles to casual outfits to formal wear and even your Sims' undies. But one of the most important things you can do for your Sim in Create A Sim is help make them who they are by deciding upon their personality and their lifetime aspiration."

We'll have more information on The Sims 2 as it nears release.