Personally, I think there may be a whole essay about process intensity in my future. This would provide the space to trace through the nuances of the different approaches to the idea. It would also provide an opportunity to mull over the difficult border cases for process intensity. For example, with thumbnail definitions of “process” and “data” one might come to the counter-intuitive conclusion that logical declarations are data even if they will determine the functioning of the system. I’d want to carefully consider this both for relatively specialized topics (such as declarative programming) and for more mainstream ones (the logical information, designed to function in the simulation, bundled with graphics and animation information for the more substantial elements of expansion packs for The Sims).

That said, I think you’re right about pursuing a quick fix, for purposes of this book. First, I can drop the non-essential point about the simple graphics of The Sims. Especially after the success of the Wii, there are probably no readers who think that maximizing polygons, textures, and so on is required for a game to do well. Second, I can just talk about The Sims as a modern example of game that works well while having a complex, innovative set of processes at the core of its gameplay. That’s really the point that I need to make in this section.

Also, you noted in one of your comments that

The simple point is that the original version of The Sims intentionally used simple graphics, and comparatively low-end graphical processing, rather than latest high-end lighting and so on — but this did not stand in the way of its success.

but I’d rather think that the low-end system requirements *contributed* to its success rather than simply “not standing in the way,” what with more accessible requirements allowing for a broader base of users. A quick comparison of other PC titles and their system requirements might at least give a basis for comparison. Doing such a comparative search might also give you a sense of the data requirements for other games published in 2000 (even if in the broadest sense such as hard drive space requirements and so forth).

For the easiest fix to the overall issue, I think you could simply state that The Sims’ success proved the viability of a combination of innovative, intense behavioral processing with a deep library of iconic art assets. It avoids the “voted in favor of” language that I think causes most of your problem in that paragraph.

Jason