How The Sims Developers Made Its Language, Simlish

Simlish, the meaningless language used by the characters of The Sims, has always been one of the most recognizable aspects of its world. The cropped gabion is colorful as well as emotional, and it brings a comedic flair to the popular simulation game.

In one new episode of Twenty thousand Hertz audio file, host Dallas Taylor chats with various developers from the series as they dive into the making of the language. Claire Curtin, who served as designer and voice director of the first Sims game, released by Maxis Studios in 2000, told the story of the creation of Simlish.

Although the language has some commonly used words, like “sul sul”, which means hello, most Simlish is created on the spot by the voice actors. The developers had previously tried to base Simlish on real languages ​​like Estonian or Ukrainian, but they ended up coming up with something completely different: A truly universal language that anyone could understand. okay, made up of pure babble without wisdom. The goal is to create an unstructured language that won’t repeat, so players won’t have to hear the same lines over and over while studying the game.

To create Simlish, Curtin decided to try an improvisation exercise in which one actor performed the poem on the spot in a meaningless language and another actor translated the poem for an audience in English. Curtin brought two voice actors into the studio while recording; they’ll see animations of moving characters, and then they’ll come up with their own ideas about how it sounds. Sometimes the team will do up to 20 reps, going back and forth. In the end it worked, and the result was the Simlish language.

Because of the impromptu nature of language, technically anyone can speak. But the interviews in the podcast highlight the unique challenges that come with speaking Simlish in an engaging and enjoyable way. Jerry Martin, the sound director of The Sims, worked with the celebrities who would later join the series to do the voiceover work. He’s worked with artists like The Flaming Lips, Katy Perry, and Soulja Boy, all of whom have created Simlish versions of some of their songs. Martin has also worked with Drew Carey, a comedian and host Good price, who appeared in The Sims House Party Expansion Pack. According to Martin, Carey “couldn’t do Simlish” and had to see it written instead.

So, what’s its trick? Krizia Bajos, a voice actress who has worked on The Sims for nearly ten years, told the host more about her approach to speaking the language. “I think a lot about that – and I think this is true of most artistic endeavors – is the ability to unleash control over things like this.” “You really just have to be able to be fluid and comfortable about it,” she said.