The Sims has been allowing players to act out their architecture and interior design fantasies for more than two decades. Jane Englefield finds out how the makers of the iconic life-simulation video game keep up with shifting trends.
"People laugh when I mention playing The Sims, but it was hugely significant in terms of spatial planning and was a key part of how and why I have ended up in the line of interior design work that I have," interiors stylist and editor Rory Robertson told Dezeen.
"The Sims offered people the opportunity to get a feel for design," he reflected. "You could be as extravagant and outrageous, or as briefed and restricted as you liked."
The Sims was first released in 2000 with three sequels since developed Created in 2000 by American game designer Will Wright, The Sims is a video game where players make human characters ? or "sims" ? and build their virtual houses and lives from scratch, catering to their needs and desires.
With four iterations of the main game and dozens of themed expansion packs focussing on topics such as university, parenthood and cottage living, The Sims is one of the best-selling video-game franchises of all time.
"It's really accessible"
Architecture and interior design has been a major part of The Sims experience from the very beginning.
Having previously created the city-building game SimCity in 1989 ? which itself has been credited with inspiring a generation of urban planner...