'The Sims Spark'd' Episode 1 Highlights: Gnome comes out on top while Llama needs to get their act together
The premiere episode of 'The Sims Spark'd' set the stakes up high, especially with the announcement of the $100,000 cash prize for the winning team. That kind of money isn't going to come easy, however, as each of the assembled contestants are made to put up with randomized teams, crunch time pressure and their own social anxieties — and not everyone fared well under the pressure.
Team Gnome definitely came out on top, time and time again. Consisting of Simproved, Plumbella and The English Simmer, they were the winners of the first challenge, giving them an advantage in the next round — one they graciously used to help, not hinder, their competitors. This act of kindness did nothing to harm Team Gnome's chances, however, as the team won the second round as well, earning their unconventional found family united by Marion Blossom a place in the actual 'The Sims' game.
Other teams, however, struggled to find that same winning dynamic. On Team Llama, player Xmiramira was repeatedly frustrated by the controlling nature of DrGluon, who was far from receptive to ideas that were not his own. This ended up costing Team Llama big as, in both rounds, the judges were unimpressed with the team's storytelling.
Team Freezerbunny had problems of their own, however, as SpringSim found it both hard to cope with the pressure, the time limits and the voices of two more confident contestants in his ear urging him to hurry up. SpringSim spoke of finding it difficult to raise his own voice and his building cost Team Freezerbunny vital time needed to tell the story they needed to tell. This cost the team a lot in the second round where they were unable to complete the voiceovers for their video story.
Though the judges were impressed with the story that they managed to tell in partial silence, the incomplete video was not enough to save them from elimination, narrowly keeping team Llama from going home. This leaves Team Gnome, Team Llama and Team Cowplant in the running. Team Llama is going to have to learn to work together quickly if they want to have any chance of staying in the competition.
The next episode of 'The Sims Spark'd' airs on July 24 on TBS with a repeat broadcast on Buzzfeed's Multiplayer YouTube channel on July 27.