EA’s The Sims Studio is looking to lure traditional gamers to the next installment in the franchise, The Sims 3, with more ‘goal-orientated’ gameplay.

Speaking exclusively to MCV, the division’s creative director Rod Humble also revealed that his MMO background would help the franchise move away from its simulation past.

“I think there is a lot more ‘gamer-ness’ in The Sims 3,” said Humble. “The team has added a lot more challenge and depth for gamers.

“I have become obsessed with book collecting with my sims, and you can do things like fishing and gardening: there’s a lot more of that goal-orientated gameplay. I also think that the flexibility of the new Sims character system is a massive deal.

“I brought a mandate to the project, which was: ‘No more hamster cage.’ In The Sims 2, the Sims were referred to as hamsters with jobs. I always thought that was incredibly limiting and we needed an open world.

“You’re not going to get where this game can go unless you can walk across the street and see the neighbour’s kids playing in the opposite yard, or you can buy a house at the top of a mountain and look down on a town.”

Humble was speaking as part of MCV’s Franchise Focus on The Sims, which you can see here.