The Sims 4 Introduces In-Game Vitiligo Skin Feature With Winnie Harlow

Supermodel Winnie Harlow partners up with The Sims 4 team to bring a Winnie-inspired sim with the new Vitiligo skin feature.

EA and Maxis have announced that a Vitiligo skin feature will be available through a free base game update in The Sims 4, furthering the effort to deliver content that authentically and respectfully mirrors the diversity of its millions of players. The Vitiligo feature can appear in Sims of all ages. Patterns range showing different levels of coverage and symmetry. And, players can choose patches for their Sim’s face, upper torso, lower torso, arms, and legs.

To help commemorate the drop, The Sims 4 is collaborating with supermodel and beauty entrepreneur Winnie Harlow. This includes original content like a Simified version of her Hollywood home and a playable, Winnie-inspired Sim.

SKIN DETAILS IN THE SIMS 4

Skin details are an important area of focus for the dev team. As they remain committed to expanding representation in The Sims 4. Birthmarks, stretch marks, scars, and freckles have empowered the players to tell diverse and authentic stories. The update continues with these efforts. The makers have known for a while they wanted to add Vitiligo to the game. And have spent a lot of time learning about it and considering how to provide it to players authentically.

BRINGING VITILIGO IN-GAME

When it came to Vitiligo in The Sims, they knew they wanted to start by providing a range of patterns showing different levels of coverage and symmetry. The Concept Artist and Art Director collaborated to design a diverse set of patterns. Across faces, torso sections, and limbs. In their research, they found that depigmentation may have clear edges. And some edges may be darker and irregular. Affected skin can be absolutely white, or can be pink or varying shades lighter than the surrounding skin. Since vitiligo affects people of all ethnicities and skin types, the Senior Character Artist intentionally created the first assets to work with a Sim’s skin tone. As you cycle through the shades and change from warm to neutral to cool, the color of your Sim’s Vitiligo will adjust to change with it.

Vitiligo can begin to appear early in infancy. And as you age your patches can expand and change, so they knew they wanted to provide this feature to all ages. From infants to elder Sims. The patterns of patches could warp in shape if they were simply converted for each frame of Sim. The Character Artist who expanded the selection ensured that they stayed consistent across bodies. In all, the artists developed 61 Vitiligo variants across all ages for this first release. The team of developers, dedicated to The Sims 4 Base Game, is beyond grateful for the talent and time provided by the artists. And their dedication to the quality of every asset they create.

HOW IT WORKS

After you download the update, you’ll find the new Vitiligo assets in Create-A-Sim. Go to the Skin Details category for either the Face or Body. The new assets will show up right before the Birthmarks that were delivered with the Growing Together Base Game update. You can choose patches for your Sim’s face, upper torso, lower torso, arms, and legs. Several Vitiligo patterns will have more than one variant – you can choose whether you want to start with a less prominent part of the pattern at first or start with the full pattern. All ages will have access to the same pieces, so your choices can stay the same as they age or you can change them over time.

WINNIE HARLOW PARTNERSHIP

The Sims 4 team is partnering with supermodel and beauty entrepreneur Winnie Harlow to introduce this new update. Winnie, who was an avid The Sims player during her youth, is excited to share styling and interior design inspiration with players. Through an original content piece that showcases a Simified version of the fashion model’s Hollywood home. She gives a room-by-room tour of her dream home and talks about what this level of in-game representation with the Vitiligo feature means to her. Simmers can download her home from the gallery as well as play with the Winnie-inspired Sim.

WINNIE HARLOW COMMENTS

“It’s magical to see The Sims 4 team introduce this new Vitiligo feature,” Winnie said. “As a child, I spent a lot of time playing The Sims and I think it’s so beautiful to be able to represent your true self in-game. This partnership is a powerful statement encouraging players to embrace what makes them unique – both in-game and in real life.”