The Sims 4 developer has explained why bunk beds don't feature in the Tiny Living Stuff Pack, which launches next week.
As the title suggests, Tiny Living is designed with small houses in mind and has a range of suitable build objects that includes a folding 'Murphy' bed. However, some Simmers have been suggesting that bunk beds, a popular request for the game, would have also fit with the theme of the pack.
On Friday (January 17), producer Dave Miotke openly addressed these comments during the Tiny Living live stream, sharing the reasons that led to the Murphy bed being prioritised over bunk beds and ladders.
Basically, the resources for a Stuff Pack are such that only one "meaty gameplay object" makes it in most of the time alongside a number of Create-a-Sim assets and build objects. The Laundry Day Stuff Pack added washing machines/tumble dryers, for example.
And a large factor when it came to the beds was that the Murphy bed added better value and more gameplay.
Tiny Living's Murphy beds can break and be repaired or upgraded, and they come with a new death in which Sims are crushed to death if they're not careful. Sims killed by Murphy beds can possess a living Sim and suck their energy as a ghost.
"The first thing that we're looking at with a Stuff Pack is, we're probably going to get one meaty gameplay object. We call it the 'hero object'. What's our hero object for this Stuff Pack," Miotke shared.
"We start discussing bunk beds. That would really fit in with the Tiny Living theme, absolutely. We start talking about ladders. That would absolutely fit in with the Tiny Living theme. And we talk about Murphy beds.
"What it comes down to is, when we start doing investigations – and in the case of the bunk beds, we've done these investigations before because we were interested in them – we start comparing the costs.
"Bunk beds are more expensive than Murphy beds. They are harder for us to do. Not only are they harder for us to do and they will take longer, but you will also get less functionality out of it. We will end up spending a large amount of time to make bunk beds the hero object and you're just going to get bed functionality out of them.
"Murphy bed, on the other hand, we're actually going to do a bit of combinatory functionality so you can get that two in one. Bunk beds would not have that."
Miotke added that Murphy beds – which have appeared in previous games through The Sims 2: Apartment Life and The Sims 3: University Life – have also been a popular request among the community.
"We can't do more than one [hero object], unless you wanted us to turn Tiny Living into a game pack or an expansion pack, which maybe that's something you would like to see more of in the future," he continued.
"But for the Stuff Pack we had to make some very, very hard decisions on what is in and what is out, and I am very pleased with the end results of what we've made. I think the Murphy bed is an iconic Sims bed, and I think it works really well in this Stuff Pack."
The fact that bunk beds – which previously featured in The Sims 3: Generations – were discussed during development seems to indicate that there's a possibility it will be considered again in the future.
Elsewhere, small houses can receive bonuses with Tiny Living – such as bill reduction, skills and relationship gain, and comfort bonus. New hairstyles, clothing (including cashmere sweaters), and a few pieces of accessories are also included in the pack.
Not much is known about what else is coming up in 2020 aside from a community-voted knitting Stuff Pack, but a recent official survey has hinted at the possibility of hotels and more snow activities.
The Sims 4: Tiny Living Stuff Pack will be released on January 21, 2020 on PC and Mac and on February 4, 2020 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
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EA The Sims 4: Get Famous Expansion Pack (PC Download - Origin Code)
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EA The Sims 4 £15 Gift Card
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