Aaron Houts

Aaron Houts

Hi, I'm Aaron. I'm currently working at BigBox VR and previously was a game designer at EA/Maxis where I worked on The Sims for over a decade.

My work experience includes designing, implementing, and tuning robust open-ended gameplay systems, along with UX design of mass-market creativity tools and narrative/quest design.

I love creating experiences that empower, amaze, and delight.

Please have a look around to see the published projects I've worked on.

POPULATION: ONE - Sandbox

POPULATION: ONE - Sandbox

VR game for Meta Quest and Steam VR

I worked as a Producer on Sandbox, a new mode for POPULATION: ONE which lets players build, play, and share custom maps in virtual reality!
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The Sims 4

The Sims 4

Best selling PC game of 2014 and 2015
Over 20 million players worldwide.

I worked on Build Mode, powerful creative tools that let players build and customize their Sims' world.
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The Sims 4: StrangerVille

The Sims 4: StrangerVille

I worked on pack concept and design direction, world, narrative, quest, and gameplay design.
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The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs

The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs

I designed the Vet Career, business venue, and gameplay objects as well as the Brindleton Bay world.
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The Sims 4: Realm of Magic

The Sims 4: Realm of Magic

I worked on pack concept and design direction, Magic Familiars, world, and gameplay design.
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The Sims 4: Get to Work

The Sims 4: Get to Work

The first expansion for The Sims 4.
I designed the Detective Career, Police Station gameplay area, and related gameplay objects.
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The Sims 4: Vampires

The Sims 4: Vampires

I worked on pack concept and design direction, gameplay design for Vampire Sims, and world design.
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The Sims 4: Dream Home Decorator

Dream Home Decorator

I designed and implemented the Sim Preferences feature which allows Sims to have opinions about various activities, colors, music, and décor styles.
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The Sims 4: Dine Out

The Sims 4: Dine Out

I designed player-customizable restaurants and the new "Experimental" food dishes.
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The Sims 4: Get Together

The Sims 4: Get Together

I designed the new world of Windenburg and worked on synchronized dancing gameplay in this expansion pack.
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The Sims 4: City Living

The Sims 4: City Living

I designed the Arcade Machine and helped design the city world, apartment building/editing, and general gameplay tuning.
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The Sims 4: Seasons

The Sims 4: Seasons

I worked on the Calendar, Dynamic Holiday Home Decorations, and general gameplay tuning.
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The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu

The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu

A Game Pack that brings the world of Star Wars into The Sims 4. I worked on story and mission design.
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The Sims Medieval

The Sims Medieval

My first shipped game! I concepted, designed, wrote, and scripted quests.
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The Sims Medieval: Pirates & Nobles

The Sims Medieval: Pirates & Nobles

Narrative, quest, and character design, Parrot and Falcon gameplay objects.
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