The Sims has been a big part of my life over the years. I started playing when the original Sims first came out. You remember, the game where you had babies by kissing 3 or 4 times?
Playing Sims was a family activity at my house, both my sister and I were big players. We’d share things we learned while playing and talk about our Sims lives. Times were tough before the days when everyone had their own computer and we had to share the one family computer. I think one of the biggest reason our parents bought us our own computers was so they didn’t have to hear us fight over who’s turn it was to play The Sims.
I always felt like a god when I was playing The Sims. I was the creator and their lives were in my hands. Whatever I wanted they did. Even though I always set free will on, if they wanted something I didn’t want, I just made it go away. Even though they may have really wanted to be a politician, if I felt they would be a better doctor, then they were a doctor. If they protested enough, then sometimes I would change it. However, if I got bored of them or just didn’t like them, I had the power to just kill them off and start over.
The Sim life cycle is baby, toddler, kid, teen, young adult, adult, and elder. It varies from game to game but is pretty much the human life cycle. The first four stages, the growing up stages, are pretty short overall and last about a 1/3 of a typical sim life cycle. The last three stages are all very similar to one another and last the longest.
If you have aging on, all sims will die unless we intervene as Sim gods. You can turn them into vampires, save up sim points and buy a potion so they won’t age, or use a cheat. The recommended life span was always too short in my opinion so I extended it usually. But most sims eventually die. And sure, you can turn them into a ghost and through a lot of work or cheats you can bring them back to life, but they usually aren’t the same. They are a ghost version or a messed up version of themselves due to the cheat.
Overall there is no real point to the game. You can’t win, you can’t really lose. Sure you could say you won by reaching the top of your career and buying the biggest house in Pleasantview, but all Sims eventually die, just like people. Kinda like life?
If they had kids, when the kids grew up I usually focused more on them instead of the parents. Then one of the kids can keep the house after the parents die. People could say generations are the point; to see how sims develop and change over the generations. But what if someone doesn’t want to have kids? Does that mean they lose? No, they just picked a different life path.
Some say the point of the game is keeping your Sims happy. Sure, happy sims get more done, they complain less, they work longer and have better social interactions. Angry or sad sims don’t want to do anything, they yell at you aka sim god a lot, and even quit working on their skills in the middle of a project to do something that makes them feel better. Happy does equal more success in the sim world.
Success could be the point. It could be described in the sim world by getting to level 10 of your career, getting to top levels all the skills, and achieving lots of aspirations or wants. But once they reach the top level in everything then what? Sure they are now the go to person to fix the leaky sink or cook a meal but they have nothing to work for anymore. Yes, they still have wants but usually just small ones like eat grilled cheese or wants involving other sims. Maybe this is sim bliss where you no longer want and are able to give back instead? This ultimate sim usually takes cheating to get but it is possible. They are great to have around the house.
As a Sim god the point of playing for me was to try out every way of playing that seemed interesting. I’d play out fantasies like being a celebrity, a criminal or a magician/witch. I’d live out dreams and goals like supporting myself as an author, having a huge mansion and having a close family. I’d try jobs that I’d never do in real life but were fun to play like a doctor, athlete or firefighter. I tried it all and wanted to discover all the game had to offer.
At the end of the day I almost always ended up with the same Sim, just a little different. She’s a young woman who is usually happy and does the things she wants often. Her traits can vary but they are always traits I like. She typically marries as an adult instead of young adult because she’s making sure she’s found the best option. She makes it to top of her career path or close to it. She usually has a side way of making money like writing, painting or selling artifacts she found while exploring on vacation. She always has kids, usually 2 or 3. It’s funny because that’s basically what I want for my life. I always end up with me.