In this featured blog, we take a walk down memory lane with some members of The Sims 3 development team and use The Sims 3 University Life and The Sims 3 70s, 80s, and 90s games as inspiration.

MEET THE SIMS 3 DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Inspired by the recent expansion and stuff pack releases for The Sims 3 , we thought we’d ask some of the development team members from The Sims 3 University Life and The Sims 3 70s, 80s, and 90s Stuff some questions about their high school and college days as well as share screenshots of game features or objects they personally worked on that are most memorable to them. We hope you enjoy this new featured blog.

GRAHAM NARDONE, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER (@SimGuruGraham)
EA REDWOOD SHORES


Graham at his EA desk, in college, and Graham’s favorite contribution to The Sims 3 franchise – tombs from The Sims 3 World Adventures. These are the cavernous chambers that lay deep beneath the Temple of Heaven, one of the major landmarks in Shang Simla.

If you could be any icon from the 70s, 80s or 90s, who would you be and why?
I'd have to go with Dan Marino. Growing up as a kid in Miami I could actually see Joe Robbie Stadium in the distance from my bedroom window, so it only stood to reason that I became a huge Miami Dolphins fan. There was no bigger name in Miami for a near 20-year span then “Dan the Man.”

Did you have a favorite poster on your bedroom wall in high school or college and if so, what was it?
When I was a bit younger I had this awesome Green Day poster from the Kerplunk album. It was neon green, yellow and pink which made it really pop visually. It probably represented the last dying gasps of the style of the 80s, but I loved the way it looked on my wall. I tried to find a picture of it online after thinking about this question, but my search turned up nothing... I wonder if it's actually a rare one? When I got a bit older and really into videogames, I started putting more game posters on my walls. My prized possession there had to be a Battlezone poster signed by the developers, which they sent to me for making such positive contributions to the game's community back then.

My favorite TV Show growing up was…
Growing up I think I was always so intrigued by videogames that I never spent too much time watching TV. Kids around me would really get into things like the Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers, but I can't say any of the shows growing up really interested me. If anything, my guilty pleasure was some of the sitcoms of the 90s. Things like Seinfeld (of course), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and NewsRadio.

My college mascot and team colors were…
My college mascot was the Dolphins, a happy coincidence considering my allegiance to my favorite NFL team. And when I say our mascot was a dolphin, I mean that quite literally. No goofy guys in a costume, there's a dolphin named Nellie who was born in 1953 that students and alumni can still visit at Marineland in St. Augustine, FL. Our school colors were forest green and white. It made for a pretty classy combination, although I'll admit I like the aqua and orange of my Miami team more.

My favorite memory from college was…
As I was getting closer to graduating, I still needed to complete an internship to actually earn my degree. The internship I ended up with wasn't exactly what you'd consider a typical experience... Rather than going to a company and learning beneath someone, I was temporarily brought on-board by an amusement park in the Florida panhandle who wanted to completely re-design their laser tag experience and build a new arena for players to complete in. Being a student who worked with 3D modeling as well as someone with a great interest in first person shooter videogames, they entrusted me with coming up with the layout that they would ultimately build. I spent a few nights on location, working throughout the night while the park was closed to take measurements, as it'd be important to create a very accurate depiction of their space. I took what had been a jungle setting and transformed it into a modern Tokyo inspired setting in the midst of an alien invasion. There were some really cool design elements to make you feel like you were in ruined streets of crumbling concrete buildings, while still retaining a safety area for visitors. When I submitted the final design to them, they were so pleased with it that it was in-fact built, although I've unfortunately never had the chance to see it in person once they completed construction.

In college, instead of studying, you’d catch me doing…
Playing videogames, what else! I was also a manager in the arcade at a local amusement park back then, so be it work or my own free time, I always had some sort of electronic gadget around that was keeping me occupied.