The Sims 4's Dave Miotke and Morgan Henry on Life and Death and Whether They Make Good Reapers

By my Sim's front door stands a statue of Moppy the goat, a beloved animal that was instrumental in the founding of Ravenwood. It is unusual for a goat to found a village, but this place is just as strange. Walking around the neighborhood, you will see traditional rural areas: forests, river and bay, town square and wonderful architecture. Only when you look closer will you see the secrets that lie beneath.

Ghosts roam the playground near the town square, often joined by full-fledged ghosts of long-dead Sims playing chess or relaxing by the fountain. Down dirt paths you'll find a crypt, an ominous well, and a pulpit with a tome that tells the story of an ancient society bound together by a common and holy mission. Next to the town hall there are two houses where interesting and uninvited residents live. And that's just one of three different areas of Ravenwood.

The Sims 4: Life & Death is one of the most immersive expansions we've seen in a long time. I've been playing for a week now and I'm still discovering tiny secrets in this world. To learn more about what the expansion has to offer, I sat down with production director Dave Miotke and producer Morgan Henry to talk life, death, and whether or not the Vicious Swamp is truly scarier than the Underworld's rifts and many dungeons.

“We really wanted to play with death.” Miyotke explains. “Our tagline is 'Play with life' and on the side of death we really wanted to do something interesting with the Grim Reaper. We knew that the funeral was a space that was missing from The Sims and could be added, so [the initial idea] there was just a general concept of death, and then we kind of built several parts around that.”

Funerals have never been covered in the series before, so I had to ask why now? Miyotke says the team felt the time was right. “We knew we were going to have a starter pack for Halloween. So, we wanted to give this spooky season a little tie-in. And we had all the pieces. We thought it was a package we could do on a technical level.”

After exploring the package on my terms, this direction makes sense, as Life & Death expands on several existing features. The Reaper career is based on the existing active career engine, while the funeral is based on the holiday and wedding systems. Crypt Exploration uses the choose-your-own-adventure text system we already see in many existing hidden locations, while the Souls Journey mechanic is an extension of Wishes, Whims, and Aspirations.

Getting to know Death himself, also known as the Grim Reaper, is often a staple of The Sims, and this set gives him his time to shine, as your Sims can now join the Reaper career and bring their clients into the afterlife. It's a fully active career that gives you a lot of options, and it appears to be no different than Mijotke and his team working on The Sims 4.

“I would say probably our own work lives,” Miotke says of the influences on the new career. “There's a lot of good office humor and office shenanigans. I ended up being Morgan's boss. So when she jokes about how dark her boss is, it always makes me laugh.”

Given the similarities, I asked if the pair felt they would be able to shine in a new career, if it were available in real life, of course. They decided to comment on each other's fitness.

You'd be terrible at it [the reaper career] because you have such a big heart and you have to meet your quotas – Morgan Henry

“And then it would be like, Dave, again, you didn't meet your quota. You have not taken a single soul.'

“I'm a bit anti-authority, so I'll probably be against quotas,” Miotke agrees. “I think you'd do great, Morgan. The only thing you won't do is burn them all down.”

You have fire, so you won't have a problem with the harvest, but it will always be fire. – Dave Miotke

Henry's penchant for starting fires, especially during live streams, is well-known in The Sims community and was only highlighted during the live press build-up, leading to two more fire deaths. In case you were wondering, she decided to roll with it.

“At first I was very upset,” admits Henry. “Because I was like that, I can't remember the last time I saved. I'll have to restart. And then I thought: no, we will do it. I think people think I do it on purpose, but I really don't. I was just unlucky.”

Going back to the contents of the package, Miotke explains that they had three main features: the Grim Reaper career, the world of Ravenwood, and the Souls Journey system. They form the pillars of expansion, in particular the world is the true center.

“We wanted to make the best in the world in its class. Not only the size and number of lots, but [also with] there is a lot to do there. Lots of activity, fun festivals, interesting NPCs and interesting places to interact with. The world was very, very important to us.” Miyotke explains.

“Our world is somewhat inspired by Romania.” Henry continues. “We have three neighborhoods. The first two are a bit more realistic and you probably see more Romanian influence there. A village for one, a village for another. Then the third is the afterlife. It's really scary with the vines, and with the sounds, and with the swamp. It's a little more fancy. I think they drew inspiration from different fields and media for that.”

“Also, we were inspired by previous Sims games,” adds Miottke. “It's a heavy body of lore, and I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but the deeper you dig into it, the more interesting links you'll find from the past.”

While playing, I was mostly in the countryside, which is my natural home, but both Miottke and Henry told me they would settle elsewhere if given the chance. “Voranov Crossroads”. Henry says without hesitation. “I don't want to live in a scary haunted district. I think it might be a bit much for me. [While] the countryside is lovely, I like some amenities so the countryside is a happy environment. Just a little haunted, so it's still a little fun, and beautiful.”

Miyotke, meanwhile, is much more willing to settle down. “I'm going to move every couple of weeks,” he tells me. “I don't want anyone to know where I'm resting. I will continue to chase them.”

The world also has some unique spooky features, including crypts with dark secrets to explore, an eerie swamp where a quick dip can temporarily turn you into a ghost, and underground rifts that hide all sorts of things. But what would you rather face? It's a tough decision, but since Mijotke and Henry aren't horror fanatics, both are cautious about their choices.

“I saw this question ahead and I gave it a lot of serious thought,” Henry informs me, to my great satisfaction. “Not a cellar. I'd be too scared to do that, and I think I'd be too smart to put my hand in the crack. I would probably make a horrible swamp. If I knew I could do it once and be safe, it would be a lot of fun to be a ghost for a while.”

Miyotke disagrees. “I put my hand in the crack,” he decides. “It's natural, as if nothing will happen. The dungeon is too scary, because no, it's a trap. And the awful swamp, one thought of something beneath the surface, like to brush my foot. I can't see the bottom. I don't want to swim in it. In no case.”

Personally, I'm on the Miotke team for this. It took a while to bravely let my Sim stick his hand into the cracks, but it was worth it. So far, the rewards outweigh the risks, so it's cracks all the way. Now I will go in search of these secrets of knowledge. I will let you know what or who I have uncovered.

All images in this article are taken from the Alpha version of Life & Death and are subject to change.