I meant to imply "genius" sarcastically. Everybody with brain understands how the Sims works conceptually, you just have to think about it. You're going on about how nobody has made a Sims clone when all someone needs to do is "this and that."

Not knowing the formula for the Sims isn't the problem. The problem is that the Sims is a significantly larger undertaking than anyone actually expects. Just look at the food in game. You need to make all these different kinds of foods and then the food as it's being partially eaten. And then because cooking is a staple skill, the player character should learn how to cook. So you now need the implement the various stages of cooking that particular food. And to top it all off, there will always be more food you can add.