The Sims 3: Generations enables "bigger, richer and deeper" stories

Assistant producer Ryan Vaughan has explained that the next The Sims 3 expansion pack, Generations, should bring "life stories" to the freeform sandbox title.

"The Sims 3: Generations is all about creating more interesting life stories," Vaughn told Gamespot.

"The Sims 3 base game allowed us to take a Sim from their birth to their death, but The Sims 3 Generations adds tons of new age-specific content and features that make each life phase a unique and fun experience."

Ageing isn't a new mechanic, but having greater than minimal differentiation between your variously aged sims is. Each age tier - Children, Teens, Young Adult and Adult - features specific content inaccessible to older or younger sims.

According to the producer, this allows for "bigger, richer, and deeper stories".

"We wanted to let people truly live their Sims lives to the fullest," he explained. "... With this expansion, we wanted to bring the most fulfilling and rich life experiences to your Sims."

The Sims 3: Generations is due on PC and Mac on June 3. Like previous expansions and recently releases The Sims: Medieval, the new content drives the series in a more goal-oriented direction, as opposed to the anarchic sandboxes of early games.