The Simpsons Tapped out - Analysis and Proposed Events Overview

The Simpsons Tapped Out - Analysis and Proposed Events Overview Players like myself have faithfully enjoyed The Simpsons Tapped Out (TSTO) for several years. The developers have continued to expand the game and provide updates in response to player feedback. This has been evident in tools such as the IRS Building tap radius, the Introduction Unemployment Office Job Manager and the Cut & Paste feature, all of which are greatly appreciated by players and have extended the playability of TSTO for many of us who would have otherwise found the game too tedious to continue once their Springfields grew so large. Notably, as respects Events, positive reactive efforts were identifiable in the 2017 Winter Event and the modified use of craft currency. As evident from the forums, many dedicated and heavily-invested players have grown tired with some of TSTO's stale mechanics and gameplay, as well as the proliferation of uninspired content, much of which has little to no place in Springfield, if even the world of "The Simpsons." This Premise player attitude is often displayed in the later stages of major Events as players begin to sense monotony due to a lack in changes throughout an Event, resulting in a feeling that one is merely grinding through the game to stock up on largely unwanted Items. Content-driven major Events geared toward "The Simpsons" version of Springfield with changes of pace, more like mini-Events, and the Solution addition of new Effects, enabling a variety of looks while injecting a new degree of both familiarity and customization for players. The proposed Events and gameplay changes are steeped in canonical content rather than original content. With all the creative and fantastical additions to TSTO there has long been some neglect toward the many trying to recreate a version of Springfield as a a real-world town, one more like the show they love, i.e. Anytown, USA. The game encourages design creativity and the proposed Effects, features, gameplay and Items enable players to create these Springfields--robust, dynamic and seemingly livable towns--adding new dimensions and creativity to the Reason game, drawing them closer to their own Springfields, therein increasing investment of emotion, time and money. The lasting value of many of these additions and augmentations may have gone underestimated by the developers, perhaps because some of it could seem superficially mundane. Further, TSTO is in need of some gameplay changes and a fresh perspective to the game. The proposed Effects outlined in the Events help satisfy this need without sacrificing appreciated elements. The Events are consistent with established TSTO format, including the use of three (3) Acts with a common identity. However, to ease the feeling of monotony at the root of player complaints regarding the length of such Events, slight shifts occur in each of the Acts without losing sight of the central themes. (This is identifiable in the frequent changing of tappable Characters.) New and returning Items are carefully selected to contribute to the themes with footnotes, i.e. origins. A basic storyline is provided but as my imagination lay more in the structural and analytical than the creative realm I leave the details of the story, triggers, quests and dialog to more artistic minds. Content is designed to flow in a manner that fits the themes while drawing on the Springfield we all know. Although several Events are high in new Building façades, particularly for the holidays, as well as Costumes, largely as I believe they have been underutilized in the past, the total volume of content is fairly consistent with recent Events--see Appendix I. (By taking advantage of façades, there is more to draw upon without exhausting canon.) Further, keeping with TSTO's pattern, there is a mixture of frequently requested, less desired, and simply complimentary content. Tappables are strategically selected from Characters unlikely to enter TSTO as playable, entirely sourced from episodes--primarily cameos--and would be Events quality additions as non-playable Characters (NPC) following the Events. (As has been done in the past, i.e. Santa's Little Helper, if so desired in the future, developers can always convert NPCs to playable Characters.) Effort was made to distribute Prizes evenly by type, i.e. one (1) of each of the following: a playable Character, Costume, NPC, Building and Decoration. Reference images and full sets of Jobs have been provided for the new playable Characters and Costumes, along with an image and Job for most new Buildings and several Decorations. Jobs, which have been distributed evenly over the various hours rather than the recent standard set of 4- and 8-hour animations, are based on actual occurrences in "The Simpsons," where appropriate. The first trilogy of major Events is proposed under the over-arching storyline entitled "Three Cheers for Springfield"--"Springfield City," "The Night Cometh" and "Red, White & Blue Dawn"--wherein there is an emphasis on rebuilding Springfield as we have come to know it. The second trilogy, more lighthearted and featuring the seasonal differences, is simply entitled "Changing of the Seasons"--"Summer Break," "Yesteryears" and "The Krampus Corruption." The six (6) Events are built to work in succession, constituting a hypothetical year, i.e. 2019--see Appendix II. Three Cheers for Springfield, Chapter I: Springfield City Concept Making Springfield more like Springfield: Civic and cultural investment, improvement and involvement Although clearly a town, Springfield has grown larger over the years, like a bustling city. Our own Springfields should have the opportunity to Basis & Purpose reflect this. Emphasis City-building & Urban Planning Item enhancements: Moving on-road Vehicles, including new NPC Vehicles, placement of select Items on sidewalks, placement of watercraft on New Effect(s) River and optional size alteration of select Items Recognizing that something is slightly off in Springfield--a hangover from the town explosion perhaps--this Event triggers with players given Sanitation Commissioner Homer [8], who begins to assert himself publicly, putting Springfield into action, an effort to right things...as he sees it. Professor Frink joins in with the announcement of his latest invention, the Debigulator, permitting players to 'right-size' Items by altering the scale of certain classes and Items, should they choose--"We can now park our cars in the driveways and parking spaces!"--and enabling 'Debigulated' on-road Vehicles placed on Roads to move. Entitled "Springfield City," the Event begins with Act I: The Public Works, where Story & Content Sanitation Workers [8] arrive and civic improvements are made. Best intentions, however, only expose the town's underbelly as, in Act II: The Mean Streets of Springfield, Homer strikes a deals with Fat Tony as rival Mobsters [52, 78, 79], seeing recent investments as nothing more than criminal opportunity, have become empowered. Nonetheless, the town holds strong and sends them back into the shadows. With the seedy side of Springfield dispatched, the story concludes with the alternative to crime in Act III: A Noble Spirit Embiggens, where the well-intentioned but misguided Homer is removed from office by Gov. Bailey and there is a triumph of higher culture and education, symbolized by the presence of Grad Students [65]. The Event is heavily loaded with Vehicles to help players take advantage of the new moving on-road Vehicle Effect. By use of the Debigulator, Characters and a limited class of Vehicles can, by player option, be down-sized to common Building scale. [31] Certain Items that are vastly undersized can be independently upsized. [32, 47] Additionally, certain Items, i.e. lamps, streetlights and signs, can now be placed on sidewalks and certain Vehicles, i.e. cars, trucks, vans, can be placed on Roads. When placed on Roads, subject on-road Vehicles--not decorative Vehicles like Perfect Beer Truck, Truckasaurus, Collector's Car, etc.--move like Street Cleaner, including the use of opaque windows, Gameplay Mechanics but stop at stop signs/lights that are placed on sidewalks. New Buses also stop at bus shelters/stops placed on sidewalks. Additionally, Roads are now coded to populate generic NPC Vehicles based on the number of Road tiles, similar to Krustyland Patrons and the Krust-O-Meter, i.e. one (1) NPC Vehicle for every 20 Road tiles. Character animations that manifest Vehicles now operate on Roads rather than sidewalks. Items that can be placed on Ocean can now be placed on River. 2 Three Cheers for Springfield, Chapter I: Springfield City Title Act I: The Public Works Act II: The Mean Streets of Springfield Act III: A Noble Spirit Embiggens Theme Civic Engagement Crime & Punishment Knowledge Is Power Prize Track Crafting Prize Track Crafting Prize Track Crafting Currency Safety Vests Citations Handcuffs Citations Diplomas Citations Tappables Sanitation Workers [8, 71] Mobsters [52, 71, 78, 79] Grad Students [65, 71] New Returning New Returning New Returning Gov. Mary Bailey [1] Ray Patterson Gloria* [42] Yakuza Boss J. Loren Pryor [5] University Nerds Judge Constance Crusher & Lowblow [2] Don Vittorio* Comptroller Atkins [80] Leopold* Harm* [3] Meathook* Mr. Bergstrom [49] Hollis Hurlbut* Playable Characters Ramrod* Dean Peterson* [6] (PC) Fernando Vidal* Fit Tony Calabresi Bundle Primo Jeremy Jailbird* Sanitation Commissioner Homer Fireman Homer El Barto [10] Armin Tamzarian [14] [8] Costumes Sideshow Bob Fireman Apu Officer Simpson* [11] Homie the Clown [13] Roberts* [9] Fireman Skinner Rory B. Bellows* [12] Fireman Moe Phony McRing-Ring Non-Playable Street Cleaner Agent Malone [18] Grindhouse Assassin Sir Oinks-a-lot [6] Characters (NPC) [76] Crying Indian [8] Linguo [66] 3 Three Cheers for Springfield, Chapter I: Springfield City Springfield Municipal Capital City Plaza Rancho Relaxo Springfield Mystery Bail Bonds [73] Fort Sensible Building [20] (w/Birch Barlow) (w/Vittorio) Spot [29] Springfield Historical Springfield Springfield Fire First Bank of Springfield Box Factory Walnut St.

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