The Sims Spark'd is a new reality show based around video gamer series The Sims in which high-level players are pitted against each other.
Esports and playing video games competitively is a huge business. Whether it be Fortnite, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros., or any number of other games that have very active communities. Not just those who are good enough to play those games at a competitive level, but the thousands and sometimes millions of people who want to watch them do it.
Whether entrenched in one or more of these communities or not, most would assume that the most intriguing games to watch unfold at a competitive level are the ones that feature the most action. Fortnite requires 100 players to land on an island and eliminate one another until only one remains, so pretty entertaining to watch. The Sims, which allows players to make a person, build a home, and live out a second life, maybe not so much.
Or so you'd think. Turns out TBS and Buzzfeed believe watching people play The Sims 4 is entertaining enough to base a brand new reality show around it. Announced this week, The Sims Spark'd will feature 12 contestants all competing for a grand prize of $100,000. Contestants will not just be judged on their ability to create something magnificent in-game, but also on how well they can tell a story.
The Sims Spark'd will follow a fairly traditional reality show format in that it will feature three judges who will determine whose work is the best throughout each episode. Contestants will not merely be left to their own devices either. They will be given tasks to complete and how effectively they complete those tasks will determine if they remain on the show, and ultimately if they become $100,000 richer at the end of it.
The Sims GM Lyndsay Pearson explained to The Verge that the show will not simply be viewers watching contestants sat at their computers the entire time. "You do get a lot of surprising drama out of ‘Oh gosh, how am I going to make this thing do what I want? And how am I going to do it in time?" she explains. The Sims Spark'd will air on TBS starting on July 17, 2020. Online versions of each episode will air on Buzzfeed's Multiplayer YouTube channel the following Monday.
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