The Sims: Difference between revisions

* The second game, '''''The Sims 2''''', was released in 2004. It introduced three interconnected concepts: aging, Wants and Fears, and Aspiration. Sims now age through various stages--infant, toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, elder--and could be created in any stage except the first. They also came with an "Aspiration," an overall goal for their life: [[True Companions|Family]], [[Really Gets Around|Romance]], [[Money, Dear Boy|Wealth]], [[Popularity Power|Popularity]], [[Freaky Is Cool|Knowledge]], and (eventually) [[The Hedonist|Pleasure]]. Starting with the first expansion pack, this would assign the Sim a ([[Random Number God|randomly-generated]]) Lifetime Wish, which keeps them happy for the rest of their lives if they achieved it. In the meanwhile, it also controlled what Wants and Fears would pop up; these were general life events, from "Have [[First Kiss]]" to "Eat [[Trademark Favorite Food]]". These would contribute not only to a Lifetime Aspiration Score, which could be used to purchase various [[Rule of Fun|loosely realistic]] in-game objects (the most basic of which being a literal Money Tree), but also to the Sim's real-time Aspiration meter. This corresponded roughly to self-esteem or general mood, and could override a Sim's physical-needs total if it was high enough. Of course, it also lost XXX points every few hours, and if it hit bottom the Sim would have a [[Heroic BSOD]] ([[Played for Laughs]]). Fulfilling the Sim's lifetime wish would fill their Aspiration bar to the max for the rest of their lives, but (of course) you get a certain amount of time to do this before they croak. Finally, personality was reworked to a [[Point Build]] system using five scales: Outgoing/Shy, Grouchy/Nice, Playful/Serious, Neat/Sloppy, Active/Lazy.

* '''''The Sims 3''''' (2009), placed more emphasis on the neighborhood by making it all accessible in realtime and making all families age and evolve along with yours, but this could be turned off. It did away entirely with the Aspiration meter and removed Fears; instead, when you fulfill a Want, it just adds a positive "moodlet" to your physical-needs total, thus streamlining gameplay immensely. Lifetime Aspiration Score is retained, but the prizes you get from it are mostly modifications to the Sim's capabilities instead of physical objects ([[Bladder of Steel]], [[The Casanova]], etc). The [[Point Build]] Personality was removed in favor of five "Traits" which had direct and practical effects on gameplay: for example, an Athletic Sim learns the Athletic skill faster and gets more enjoyment out of their workouts; a Clumsy Sim trips everywhere, which can add a ''lot'' to transit times; and an Evil Sim can gain enjoyment from messing with other Sims, or use a coffee machine to [[Rule of Funny|make Evil Lattes]]. Finally, it added significant flexibility to the Sim- and object- design and customization options, though at the cost of very reduced support for user-generated, made-from-scratch objects, clothing and hairstyles.

 

All the mainline games have had, as of 2012, at least five [[Expansion Pack|Expansion Packs]] each, all of which add new features, permutations and gameplay options (such as the ability to become vampires or plant-creatures, go to college or on vacations, own pets, open your own business, and so on). The two sequels also have a number of "Stuff Packs" associated with them; these only provide new objects as opposed to gameplay functions. According to EA, the franchise passed the one-hundred-million-units mark during the ''Sims 2'' era, but they're probably [[Rank Inflation|counting the expansion packs]], which they [[Your Mileage May Vary|maybe]] shouldn't.

 

 

''The Sims'' is known to be extremely addictive in most and/or all of its variants. The game includes tools which allows you to export your houses, Sims, and neighborhoods as [[Downloadable Content]] for other people; and, as mentioned, there is a huge variety of unofficial [[Game Mod|Game Mods]] which change the way the game functions. It has been used to create several works of fiction: Rooster Teeth Productions, creators of ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', were employed by EA to make "[[The Strangerhood]]" using ''The Sims 2'' as a marketing effort; and a British college student created a homeless-father-daughter drama blog called "[[Alice and Kev]]" using the third game.

***** I've noticed that with Autonomous Casual Romance installed and gender preferences RANDOMIZED Frances is ALWAYS gay in my game.

***** Strangetown especially is a breeding ground for this. Most of the characters there are "passively" bisexual without the player's input(They won't autonomously flirt with someone of the same gender, but will not react negatively to one flirting with them). Buzz and Tank Grunt, as you probably figured, start the game rigidly straight, and they're pretty much the only ones. Nervous Subject, on the other hand, very much prefers men and reacts negatively to women flirting with him.

** [http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Same-sex_relationships This page] of The Sims Wiki provides a few more examples of premade Sims with preferences of the same gender

* [[Fictional Currency]]: The simoleon is the series' standard currency and its mark is represented as a section sign (§).

** Taken to almost comedic extremes due to engine limitations in ''The Sims 2''. It's possible for an entire neighborhood, save one person, to go through (to take a completely random number) three generations during the time it takes that one person to have a cup of coffee, and yet they'll still be able to interact with those three generations without aging a second.

*** ''The Sims 2'', plus University and Seasons, equals academic years (Six days) being shorter than weeks (Seven days) which are longer than seasons (Five days).

** Cars, hot tubs, photo booths and elevators in ''The Sims 2''.

** While touring some of the rabbit holes (the theatre, City Hall, the Science Lab, and the Military Base), in a sarcophagus, in a tent, and in a time machine in ''The Sims 3''.

*** If you put them in a swimming pool with no ladders, they will swim around until their motives drop, they get exhausted, and sink. They don't even have the artificial intelligence to float on their backs autonomously, which would probably use up less energy.

*** Sims with the "Absent-Minded" trait in ''The Sims 3'' sometimes will "forget what they're doing" ''while they're panicking because there's a fire''. Or forgetting that they are going to the Hospital ''because they're currently in labor''.

*** Playing some game until they're about to wet themselves, and then [[Potty Failure|''do'']] because it takes them an hour to walk inside.

*** And finally, [[Too Dumb to Live|the mother]] [[Artificial Stupidity|of all stupid actions]], ''running directly towards a burning fire or other disaster, then standing shrieking until the fire burns out''. Fire safety is ''not'' big in [[Sim Nation]].

* [[The Cameo]]: Drew Carey arrives in his limo if your party is hoppin' enough. Yes, ''that'' Drew Carey.

** [[Marilyn Monroe]] is the awards presenter in ''Superstar''.

** There are ways to abuse that {{spoiler|"Rosebud"}} cheat code. Typing a series of ";!;!;!;!;!" after that code, without a space, will generate an extra §1000 for each pair of ";!" you have (because each ;! "repeats" the previously-entered cheat). Typing a ":" after the last ";!" string you entered will cause an error and keep the cheat menu from closing, but you'll still get §1000 for each legitimate set of ";!" string. Hold the Enter button and watch your bank account soar. And try not to get bored at the game (since you no longer have to work for anything).

** Or a user can enter {{spoiler|boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true}} in ''The Sims 2''. This enables the player to access NPC clothing, alien traits, and to drag mood, relationship, and skill bars up without having to earn them. (For the former two, press Shift+N in Create-A-Sim after entering the cheat.)

*** this cheat was actually brought into ''The Sims 3'' {{spoiler|testingCheatsEnabled true}} can be entered at anytime and raise moods, and relationships.

** Move_objects on! It lets you have such fun as deleting your Sims then clicking on their portrait to bring them back totally refreshed (Although this will permanently remove a character if done and then saved during ''The Sims 3''), deleting unwanted people and pets, and ''moving objects while your Sims are using them''! And yes, it does count as a nude code. [[Barbie Doll Anatomy|In a sense.]]

*** EA put it in the manual to ward off the inevitable barrage of [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]] for people who didn't want their Sims dying on them (and who were presumably too incompetent to satisfy the Sims' wants enough to get Elixir of Life.)

**** That, and Elders are restricted in their jobs and interactions. The skill meters and such are also designed for a Sim to build them since infancy, so it makes sense, at least for the first generation.

***** A good alternative is to convert Sims into vampires instead of letting them age into Elders. This "retirement" allows them to stay around to watch future generations of their family grow up and give them the knowledge/rewards they earned.

* [[Command and Conquer Economy]]: The micromanagement... ''the micromanagement''...!

* [[Cool Car]]: ''The Sims Bustin' Out'' actually grants the player a car. Completing each level [[Cosmetic Award|unlocks a new vehicle]].

** Averted in ''The Sims Medieval'', where there's not only beer and wine, Sims can also get drunk.

* [[Gasshole]]: Sloppy Sims (or Sims with the "Slob" trait in ''3'') burp and fart randomly.

** Never, ever, ever wish for "Fire." The backfire is...literally a fire. At least if "Water" doesn't go as planned Sims only have to mop up a flood.

** It's a quest in ''The Sims Medieval''.

* [[Instant Home Delivery]]: There's no need to wait for your furniture, major appliances, or even your entire house to be delivered and installed.

* [[It's Always Spring]]: Sim children go to school every day, and the plant life is always leafy and green. (The ''Makin' Magic'' expansion pack breaks the pattern by being set in the fall, although the most you can do to bring the change of season back to the main neighborhood is to use its orange-leafed flora in regular lots.)

* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Malcolm donates the player a spare mansion in the console version, only to evict you in the sequel. He is later chased out of his new house by your mom, allowing the player to move in.

* [[Loading Screen]]: The more expansions you have, the longer it will take. The screen displays various phrases, which start out normal in ''The Sims'', but get sillier and sillier with each additional expansion added on, with the exception of "Reticulating Splines", which has been used as a standard Maxis loading screen phrase since ''[[Sim City]]''.

* [[Christmas Episode]]: The Holiday expansion and packs.

* [[Comic Book Time]]: You can play for 20 generations but the game still retains [[Mundane Fantastic|(mostly)]] early 21st century technology and aesthetics.

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]] / [[Light Is Not Good]]: Angela and Lilith Pleasant are pretty much the same, only different because of their uneven treatment by their parents. Angela's described as "patient and dutiful", and even her name means "angel", while Lilith's name means "demon from the night" and she's a rebellious teenager who wears dark clothes and spike bands. Despite that, Lilith's seen as a [[The Woobie|woobie]] by most players while Angela's seen as an annoying [[Mary Sue]] ([[A Worldwide Punomenon|just like her mother!]])

* [[Darkskinned Blonde]]: Ophelia Nigmos and Dina Caliente

* [[Elevator Failure]]

* [[An Entrepreneur Is You]]: The ''Open for Business'' expansion.

** With the ''Seasons'' EP, this is taken literally: If you have fresh produce in your fridge, you'll make sparkly food that raises the food motive faster.

** Played Straight and Subverted with the Witches, both the extremely good and extremely bad witches have a sparkly aura.

* [[Frothy Mugs of Water]]: Kegs and Bars are always described as "juice." Juice that under the hood reduces the relationship value needed for romantic interactions to succeed.

* [[Functional Magic]]: ''Apartment Life'' lets Sims become witches and warlocks.

*** (Un?)Fortunately, you can only use Inflammo outdoors and only on home lots, which greatly limits its potential fun.

** [[Time Stands Still]]: Tempus Interruptus stops time for all but the magical kind.

** [[Summon Magic]]: Appello Cattus Amicus summons a cat familiar. You can also summon other Sims, even when they're at work.

* [[Fur Against Fang]]: [[Poke the Poodle|"Bleh!" "Grr!"]]

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: In order to keep the game rated T, themes that would be considered adult were replaced with 'kid-friendly' substitutes. The word "woohoo" was used in place of "have sex." Hookahs were presented as bubble blowers that actually made bubbles, but also made Sims literally [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|float while using them]]. Kegs and bars are always referred to as "juice kegs" and "juice bars," or "nectar" in the case of the wine bar.

* [[Hospital Hottie]]: Don Lothario, Pleasantview's local womanizer, works in the medical career path.

* [[Humble Goal]]: In ''The Sims 2'', it's possible to change a Sim's Lifetime Aspiration to "Grilled Cheese".

** [[I Just Want to Be Special]]: Knowledge aspiration Sims tend to have wants like this. See [[Nightmare Fetishist]] below.

* [[I Love the Dead]]: You can choose zombies as one of a Sim's turn-ons.

* [[Plant Person]]: PlantSims.

* [[Poke the Poodle]]: "Evil" magic spells are not very harmful and are mainly just annoying, even the ones that the most powerful evil Witches and Warlocks can cast.

* [[Power of Love]]: If two Sims love each other enough, it's trivial to plead with the Grim Reaper.

** Plus, if you look closely at the scenes in some of the paintings you can buy, you will see places of even a character from the My Sims games.

** Not to mention the IKEA and H&M item packs.

** In ''The Sims 3'', about 90% of the inhabitants of Twinbrook have these as names. For example, there's a newspaper girl named [[Meaningful Name|Dee Liver]]. [[Hurricane of Puns|It gets more and more ridiculous from there.]]

* [[Robe and Wizard Hat]]: Witches and Warlocks. If you get turned into one, your everyday clothes automatically morph into a set.

* [[Sad Clown]]: If a Party is a disaster, a Sad Clown shows up, [[It Got Worse|and just makes a bad party even worse.]]

* [[Sanity Meter]]: The Aspiration Bar.

*** In a similar vein, Knowlege Sims at the end of their rope will start holding conversations with a [[Cast Away|volleyball.]]

**** In ''the Sims Castaway Stories'' spinoff, the "Shipwrecked and Single" game features a island idol that the playable Sim names "Spaulding," also in reference to [[Cast Away]]

** The windmills that you can use to reduce your Sims' energy bill have a buy-mode description that suggests that you not try to use them to cool off, as "they [[Futurama|do not]] [[Memetic Mutation|work that way.]]"

** The Time Machine has a few. One that stand out is that, when traveling to the future, you can get a message about your Sim arriving amidst a big crowd, but that nobody noticed your Sim because everybody was cheering about a [[Mass Effect|shepherd that saved the galaxy from an ancient god-machine]].

** In fact, it IS considered this amongst many simmers, mainly due to the damage it does rather than its appearance.

** For some simmers, the imaginary friend doll newborn sims get in the mail is considered this. It's harmless, but just creepy.

* [[Cute but Cacophonic]]: Any pet with the Noisy trait.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Sims with both the Grumpy and Inappropriate traits.

* [[Did Not Do Research]]: In the ''World Adventures'' expansion, ''most'' of the monuments are given their appropriate names. However, the model that the game uses as the Great Pyramid is actually based off of the Pyramid of Khafre, which is smaller.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Performing mostly harmless pranks in ''Generations'' (like placing a whoopee cushion on a chair) will sometimes result in a severe punishment such as revoked privileges or being grounded for two days without being able to leave the house at all, even ''to go to school''.

* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: There are two "Harajuku Fashion" packs for ''The Sims 3'' -- they're identical, except that one is for adults, and the other is for children and teens. The female outfits from them fall into this category.

* [[Extreme Doormat]]: Bessie Clavell is strongly implied to be one.

* [[Fan Service]]: So much more in this installation. Starting from bunk beds and strollers to breast sliders and body hair.

* [[Gotta Catch Them All]]: Among other things, gems and insects.

* [[Grumpy Bear]]: It's a trait.

* [[Hell-Bent for Leather]]: Oh-so-possible, since you can put a leather texture on just about anything you like.

* [[Hikikomori]]: Any Sim with the "Hates the Outdoors" and "Loner" traits. The most notable premade characters having these traits are Beau Merrick and Wogan Hemlock, both are vampires from Bridgeport.

** Also, [[The Grim Reaper]] will occasionally point and laugh at a Sim that just died.

* [[Jerk Jock]]: Any Sim with the Athletic and Mean-Spirited trait.

* [[Kid From the Future]]: If a Sim travels in time in the ''Ambitions'' expansion, it's possible they might end up with one of these.

** Or the past. Which can look strangely like their parent, leading us to...

* [[Ominous Pipe Organ]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3o9xmcgriA The Grim Reaper Theme]

** Which sounds suspiciously like the [[Star Wars|Imperial March]] at some points. [[Shout-Out]] maybe?

** The Sims 3 expansions Late Night and Showtime each contain half of the content of The Sims 2: Nightlife.

* [[Online Alias]]: There is a Sim in Sunset Valley who goes only by his online alias, "Cycl0n3 Sw0rd".

* [[Pet the Dog]]: ''The Sims'' Pets expansions (''Unleashed'' in ''The Sims'' and just ''Pets'' in ''The Sims 2'' and ''The Sims 3'') make this literal.

* [[Pixel Hunt]]: Looking for seeds scattered on the ground around the town often turns into this.

** A [[Unicorn]] in the ''Pets'' expansion pack can also ignite anything they want to at the cost of magic points.

* [[Pregnant Badass]]: There is [[Good Bad Bugs|nothing]] stopping a heavily pregnant International Super Spy from raiding the 'secret' criminal base.

** Riverview continues this with Betty Newbie (neé Simovitch) and Bob Newbie as teens and Skip Broke as a child.

* [[Poke the Poodle]]: Evil Sims can... TAKE EVIL SHOWERS! And then they can MAKE EVIL WAFFLES, and wash it down with an EVIL LATTE! MUAHAHAHA!!!

* [[Sadist Show|Sadist Writer]]: Mean spirited Sims seems to be VERY good at writing stories that are focused on belitting or making fun of people and/or their political affilitration

* [[Screw Yourself]]: There is a bug that creates two copies of a person in one town. When they then meet at work or school, they quickly become best friends due to having the same exact interests. Naturally, this leads quickly to romance.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Claire Ursine. Remember Claire Bear from TS1 ''Unleashed''?

*** Gobias Koffi, as well, is practically a walking shout out to [[Ambiguously Gay|Tobias]].

** And the Bethany Miranda painting, which shows a little girl hugging Death, which will surely delight [[Discworld]] fans.

** Toddlers can also read [[Green Eggs and Ham|Bluish Eggs with a Side of Pastrami]] and [[Green Eggs and Ham|Frank I'm Not]].

** From level five and up of the music skill, there's a chance that your musically gifted Sim will play the [[Diablo|Tristram theme.]]

** An NPC named [[One Hundred Years of Solitude|Pilar Ternera]] may show up in your neighborhood.

** One of the houses in Bridgeport from the ''Late Night'' expansion is named [[Back to The Future|Back to the Fuscia]].

** Another book your Sims can purchase is [[A Song of Ice and Fire|A Game of Thorns]].

** There is a seven book children's series, [[Harry Potter|Jimmy Sprocket]], which includes [[Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone|Jimmy Sprocket and the Squishy Stone]] and [[Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire|Jimmy Sprocket and the Chalice of Lichens]].

** Another Time Machine [[Shout-Out]] - your Sim spots [[Alice in Wonderland|a white rabbit]], but wisely decides to leave it for "some other sucker" to chase.

** When writing a novel, two of the default Sci-Fi titles are [[Ender's Game|"Blender's Fame"]] and [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|"1948".]]

** One of the moodlets for pets is "[[LOLcats|I Can Haz?]]"

** Possibly coincidential, but Agnes Crumplebottom bears a strong resemblence to actress Barbara Stanwyck, particularly Stanwyck in ''[[Double Indemnity]]''.