Over the course of a year, our Maxis team of designers, engineers, artists, and producers designed and developed the Horse Ranch Expansion Pack to ship to over 70 million players worldwide. Our creative team added a new world, complex animals, competition, gameplay, skills, traits, furniture, outfits, and more to our life simulation video game DLC.
MY ROLE
UX Designer
Research & User Testing
User Flows & Design Writing
Wireframing & Prototyping
Hi-Fidelity Design & Implementation
UX DESIGN TEAM
Lea Jung, Trisha Wittenbrink, & Yili Lou
Our pack objective and most significant design challenge was adding unique animal species to The Sims 4. Unlike cats & dogs, horses can be ridden by the player, earn skills and accolades, and require special care. We needed to seamlessly integrate horses and mini animals into our game and teach our players how to navigate new gameplay, customization, riding, training, and care.
MY OWNED FEATURES
Horse Customization
Horse Riding
Horse Training & Obstacles
Buying, Adopting, & Selling Horses
Horse Breeding & Birth
Equestrian Skill
.png)
Should horses be selectable and/or playable?
.png)
How might we surface and solve new species' needs?
What activities and animals do players want on a ranch?
.png)
How might we add horse training and competition?
.png)
How might we design horse customization?
How might we design horse breeding & genetics?
Within a large studio with hundreds of people, dozens of disciplines, budgets, and deadlines, prioritizing the most critical problems and highest value add solutions is essential. Compromise is critical in every phase of development.
COMMUNICATE EARLY & OFTEN
Ensuring that teams collaborate early and often in development not only prevents future roadblocks, but improves ideation and execution. Clear communication across disciplines paves the way for exceptional products.
TAKE INITIATIVE AND OWNERSHIP
The quality of final products often comes down to the initiative and execution of individuals. There are infinite opportunities to add ideas and value in a project of this scale, and putting in extra care is what makes our game special for players.
