O’Fallon Township High School graduate takes his video game talents to the big stage
Stephen Jody Works-Salley of O’Fallon is one of the top Sims video gamers in the world. When the opportunity to compete in challenges that would showcase his skills, creativity and storytelling abilities, he jumped at the chance.
He has been playing the game for 20 years — since he was 4. In recent years, he has been traveling to competitions across the U.S. During those events, he has met the developers of the game and also created his own gaming family.
“It’s a friendly family,” he said, noting his internet followers as part of the community too. “We grew closer through this whole process.”
Known as “SpringSims,” he is among the 12 contestants on a first of its kind reality competition, “The Sims Spark’d,” which is four episodes being broadcast Friday nights on TBS cable channel at 10 p.m. CST from July 17 to Aug. 7.
The show aims to bring the game’s creative spirit to television. The first season was filmed at the end of 2019 at the Electronic Arts headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“I am super-excited to be a part of this. It is incredible to be on the first season,” he said. “I describe it as a ‘Top Chef’ program for the Sims players and fans.”
Of course, because of contracts, he can’t divulge much.
“I definitely had a great time and it was something worthwhile,” he said.
The show’s appeal is bringing a gaming community together by The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, which debuted June 5. These top players from around the globe will be given a creative challenge to build the most unique characters, worlds and stories, all told through the latest highly successful game in the franchise.
Want to know more about the competition and The Sims?
The prize is $100,000 and the two challenges in each episode are designed to impress the judges. Each contestant specializes in an element — character design, home building and story.
For his team, “FreezerBunny,” Works-Salley was the builder. With his sunny smile, he came across in Episode 1 as a team player. The team format was harder because the players are used to doing it on their own — here, they had to collaborate.
Electronic Arts’ popular franchise The Sims is a series of life simulation video games that has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling video game series of all time. Developed by Maxis, The Sims is part of the larger series that started in 1989, called SimCity.
It’s like a sandbox game in that there are no defined goals, and the players create virtual people called “Sims.” They place the characters in houses — either in pre-constructed homes or homes they build — then direct their moods and desires.
Each successive expansion pack and game has augmented what the player could do with their Sims.
About the O’Fallon video gaming guru
His parents are Jody and Annetta Salley. Works-Salley moved to O’Fallon in 2005, attended local schools and is a graduate of O’Fallon Township High School. He earned an associate’s degree from Southwestern Illinois College in graphic communication and is a recent graduate of Webster University with a bachelor’s degree in interactive digital media.
Self-employed, he is a full-time contributor to Twitch, which is livestream real-time content for gamers (www.twitch.tv). He also has his own YouTube channel with nearly 26,000 subscribers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj8CQtDiBdTU_12xdQUQZg.
At an early age, Works-Salley was attracted to the creative aspects of the game, and how he could use his imagination.
“You build the story from the ground up. You are in your own little world,” he said. “I like making mine about family. It is family-themed content.”
The show has been produced in partnership with Turner Sports’ esports and gaming brand ELEAGUE as well as Buzzfeed Multiplayer.
Some info about the show
Some of the favorite YouTubers are in the lineup. Besides Spring Sims, the familiar faces are Dee Sims, Doctor Ashley, Dr. Gluon, Littlesiha, Plumbella, Simlicy, Simproved, Spring Sims, StephOSims, The English Simmer, Urban Sims, and Xmiramira.
“This is definitely a very big happening for me,” he said.
The show is hosted by Rayvon Owen, a former “American Idol” finalist (Season 14 in 2015) and longtime Sims player.
The trio of judges includes Kelsey Impicciche, creator of the #100babychallenge; Tayla Parx, whose Simlish version of Me vs. Us is featured in the Get Famous expansion; and Dave Miotke, best known as SimGuruNinja, who has worked as a developer on The Sims franchise for the last 15 years.
Fans, called Simmers, are also encouraged to participate in the Spark’d Challenge Program website — a series of in-game challenges — and they may even be considered for future seasons of the show.
How to watch
Encore telecasts are shown at 8 a.m. Saturdays. Spark’d will also be shown on Buzzfeed Multiplayer. The show is available online on Monday mornings beginning at 8 a.m., after the TBS premiere. Watch here: https://www.tbs.com/sports/eleague/season-1/the-sims-sparkd-presented-by-eleague-episode-1 or the recorded first episode on demand on your TV provider.