u/AnastasiiaLove

I’ve always been really drawn to the interests system in The Sims 2, and I started thinking it would be cool to actually build it into gameplay in a way where sims don’t just talk about their interests, but actually do things related to them. And I don’t mean hobbies specifically. I mean actual interests.

Let’s say your Sim has 10 points in Sports interest. How could that play out? In The Sims 2, there are already workout machines. But instead of just treating it as general fitness, what if it became more specific? One Sim might be into football/soccer and only really enjoys that. Another might prefer basketball. Another might love punching the boxing bag. Don’t force Sims to do everything at once. Let them stick to one or two activities. That way you get much more distinct sims, especially if a lot of them in your neighbourhood are into sports.

You could also have them read sports magazines, pursue sports careers, or study something related at university (without necessarily ending up working in that field). And if a sim is lazy but still has a sports interest, maybe he/she just enjoys watching sports on TV instead of doing anything active. You could even throw sports-themed parties.

If a Sim is interested in Health, that could translate into yoga, meditation, or fitness for well-being rather than muscle gain. Reading health magazines, going into medicine, studying it in university, eating healthy food, going for jogs (if sim has such a hobby), swimming, going on a vacation to the mountains, spa, massage, etc.

If a Sim is interested in Politics, again, career paths, sure, but not only that. They could build charisma, build network specifically with sims in high positions (ask them about their profession and money), throw parties for influential people, maybe even get job offers through social connections. They could work on their reputation and influence. A sim might never actually work in politics and still become super influential in the neighborhood. Maybe he sets a goal to move from the suburbs to Downtown and start building influence there. They could go to university, join a secret society, gain access to things regular students don’t. Or even form their own little community.

And this kind of idea could be expanded to every interest category. Sim is interested in Crime? Great. Let them actually build a criminal career starting from their teen years. He’d be a bad student, barely scraping through school, and wouldn’t make it into university. Or maybe he does, but end up getting kicked out. And going to a criminal career. Let him make friends with the robber.
One Sim could be printing counterfeit money. Another might blow all their cash in casinos and constantly get into fights. And another one could go in the opposite direction entirely - build a career in security or law enforcement and actively fight crime instead.

The key thing is: don’t force one sim to do everything. Let it be a couple of activities per interest. Or scale it based on how strong the interest is - the stronger it is, the more it shapes their life. And it gets even more interesting when Sims have conflicting traits. Like a lazy Sim who’s really into sports, or a very shy Sim who’s interested in politics and popularity.

Nina has always been the least understood Sim for me in The Sims 2 lore. The opposite of her sister, serious, active, and introverted. And yet, she has romance aspiration and an affair with Don Lothario. But what's next?

After Dina learned that Nina was also dating Don, their already frosty relationship turned into a full-blown feud. Dina soon married Mortimer Goth, her long-time dream. And the Caliente house remained in Nina's possession. I examined her character, aspirations, and interests. These interests revealed that, although she's serious, she has no interest in work or studies. Instead, she's interested in fashion, sports, money, entertainment, and travel. Her lifelong dream is to become a socialite. So, quite quickly, she got a wish to get a job in a slacker career.

Meanwhile, while I was playing as the divorced Daniel Pleasant, she and he began a romance. The chemistry was incredible. She couldn't find a job in her field for a long time, so Nina went on dates, worked as a DJ, and met people. And eventually, she met Mr. Big. The relationship blossomed very quickly, though not as passionately as with Daniel. After a few dates (where Big invited her himself), he quickly became interested in marrying her.

Nina found out he was a socialite, and I decided it was fate. She was terrified of marrying him, so she had negative memories of the engagement and wedding. But Mr. Big brought 70,000 Simoleons into the budget and fulfilled her dream of flying to the islands, which they did right after the wedding. The couple is relaxing, but Nina remains true to herself. Despite her shy nature, she wants to WooHoo with five different Sims. Mr. Big is downright mean. And she's constantly getting calls from the now-married Mortimer Goth. He's a bigger fish to fry. Also, this could be an excuse to get back at her sister.

For now, I don't think she'll be particularly happy married to Big. But I think it's worth making the most of this marriage. Besides the money, he's also brought her connections, which is good for her because she's shy. Thanks to his connections, she could really advance in her career. I also don't think Big would want to live in the suburbs, so maybe they'll buy a house in downtown. Time will tell how things play out with Don, Daniel, and Mortimer (she's not in an affair with him yet, but he's so persistent in pursuing her). I also wonder if Big might want to have a child with Nina so there's someone to inherit the wealth.

It's also interesting that Big's doesn't like people with beards. Perhaps he's attracted to more than just girls.

When a couple arrives at my lot, the invited one goes home and the date ends. I don't have an ACR mod. I have Pescado, Cyjon, and others.

God, today was so funny. Darren Dreamer called Cassandra, asked her out. He was going to propose. He's waiting for a taxi. Meanwhile, he decided to make himself a snack in the microwave. I wanted to cancel, but I didn't manage in time. He got distracted and a fire started. The fireman arrives and puts it out. Sim's hygiene stat drops. By the time the taxi arrives, there's no time to shower. He’s going to a restaurant. And while he was there, a bunch of people in the restaurant were snorting and covering their noses because he was sitting there unwashed. I laughed so hard. He tried to do romantic, and everyone around just: Ew, yuck! It was especially funny when he called a taxi to go home, and people nearby walked him to the car until it drove away, covering their noses. He proposed, by the way. She accepted.

I got inspired by a similar post in another community. Thought it would be interesting to discuss it here. I’m one of those people who started playing with the first Sims game. My first was the Unleashed expansion. I was 9. I can’t say I was playing very consciously. The main goal was basically just to keep my sims alive 😅

I remember when The Sims 2 appeared on store shelves, my parents couldn’t afford extra expenses. But when I finally got my hands on the University expansion, it was a total explosion. I really like the university theme in general. But how much everything in the game had changed just blew my mind!

The first thing I noticed was, of course, CAS. Just think about it! Now you could change facial features, choose hair color, eye color. Mix and match different clothing pieces. And the clothes were so stylish! I really loved the soundtrack in that expansion. Especially the tracks Beautiful Life, Not a Love Song, Sway, and This Conversation Is Over that played on the college rock station.

But what impressed me the most were the sims themselves, their behavior. Sims have their own wants? Fears? Fears affect their mood and behavior? They want to kiss someone? Woohoo with someone? They even want anything at all besides eating and sleeping??? Wow!

The way they reacted to their surroundings, their animations, how alive they felt compared to the first game. It completely blew my mind what kind of relationships were now possible, because in The Sims 1 sims were basically no one to each other except friends, lovers, and maybe enemies (I don’t even remember if enemies were really a thing). But now you could just be in love and have a deep, strong relationship. You could live together as a couple, or be engaged. Marriage actually felt like marriage. Divorce was possible. The game showed clearly who was related to whom. Female sims actually got pregnant and had morning sickness! At the time, this game felt super realistic to me, like there was nothing more you could possibly want. It was really cool to discover family trees for pre-made households. I loved playing pre-made families because of their backstories and scripted events. Still do. I loved the idea that a sim could have a romance with service NPCs! And weekends for sims and their kids. Teenagers! Sims could grow up and age! Teenagers could officially date. The aspiration system and aspiration meter. I remember I couldn’t manage my sims at all, their aspiration was constantly low, and the therapist and the Social Bunny kept showing up. I also didn’t understand how aspiration rewards worked. I remember buying that mood-altering device and it kept making my sims feel even worse. Not to mention they were dying like flies.

And the cutscenes! I loved that important events were now shown with cutscenes. Oh, those woohoo scenes in the bed and hot tub, when you’re afraid your parents might walk into the room at that moment! I remember being excited that you could now throw wedding parties. Though all my parties always turned out terrible. I also remember loving to play in Pleasantview and Veronaville. I didn’t like Strangetown because it was in the middle of a desert. But when my sim got abducted by aliens and came back pregnant, it completely blew my mind 😂

What were your first impressions when switching from The Sims 1 to The Sims 2? What did you notice first?

In a previous post I mentioned that Mary-Sue divorced Daniel. I’m continuing to play the whole neighborhood, and today it was time to play the remaining members of the Pleasant family. Angela and Lilith, as always, still don’t get along. Angela is dating Dustin. As we know, he’s involved in crime and is generally portrayed as a troubled teen, though he isn’t mean by nature. I understand it’s just game mechanics during dates, but he constantly wants to go out to a restaurant with Angela. She, on the other hand, never rolls that want. Funny, considering he’s from a poor family and she’s the daughter of wealthy parents.

One time Dustin called her himself and invited her downtown. She agreed, and it turned out to be a date. Her grandfather Herb was on the same lot. While they were sitting there cooing at each other in the restaurant (not just cooing, but passionately making out), her grandfather walked up and saw the scene. I wonder if he remembers it and whether he might gossip about it later, for example with Mary-Sue.

On one school day, both sisters brought friends home. It was funny that each of them wanted to befriend not the friend they brought, but the one their sister brought. Lilith quickly became friends with Angela’s friend. I know it’s random, but it’s fun to think their rivalry shows up even in things like that. Meanwhile, Angela still hasn’t managed to befriend Lilith’s friend.

Over the weekend, Lilith wanted to throw a party. She invited Dirk Dreamer, her friends, and at the same time Dustin stopped by. The party’s in full swing, people are pillow-fighting, chatting, having fun. And then I notice Dustin developing a crush on Lilith. I haven’t played it out yet, but I can see something brewing. Interesting twist. Dirk hasn’t shown any signs of liking Angela.

Lilith constantly wants to sneak out at night with her friends. The first time she got away with it, the second time she got caught by the police. A real rebel. She turned out to have a preference for sports, so I bought her a soccer goal, and now she plays in the backyard in her free time. Meanwhile, Angela, like her grandfather, has a hobby related to nature. I play it as she likes to watch clouds and to catch butterflies. By the way, I was surprised when Angela rolled a want to apologize to Lilith. I even fulfilled it, but it didn’t last long. They started fighting again soon after. Interestingly, Angela is usually the one who initiates the fights.

Mary-Sue encourages seriousness in Angela, but has a terrible relationship with Lilith. By the way, Mary-Sue met Dustin, and it was funny to see a woohoo icon in their thought bubbles during the conversation. And Mary-Sue was the one who initiated it (probably, some “educational talk” with her daughter’s boyfriend). When Dustin started talking about crime, the conversation didn’t go well. Later I noticed Mary-Sue had a fear that something might get stolen from the house. I didn’t check if that appeared before her interaction with Dustin.

After the divorce, Mary-Sue first went out to relax and spent time with her friend Cassandra. She got a couple of promotions at work. After that, she started rolling wants to call Daniel, invite him over, and flirt with him. I resisted those wants for a long time. I thought maybe she should find someone else. Then the matchmaker brought a genie lamp to their lot. Of course, Mary-Sue wished for wealth and beauty. With the money, she wanted to buy a car and a massage table. And after that, she again rolled wants to call and invite Daniel. So I decided: fine, let’s see what happens. Apparently Mary-Sue thinks her money will increase her value in Daniel’s eyes. They’ll try to rebuild their relationship. But considering how many lovers Daniel already has (more than one), it probably won’t end well.

I played Daniel too. Surprisingly, he took the divorce pretty hard. A therapist even came to see him. But after that, he stopped thinking about Mary-Sue and the daughters altogether. He got involved with the Caliente sisters. According to his turn-ons, Nina is a perfect match for him as they had three bolts right away, which I don’t see that often. But his wants more often feature Dina, who is already married to Mortimer. So let’s see where the story goes next. At least Angela and Lilith still don’t know that one night their father slept over at their house again 😏

I always used to think playing elders in The Sims 2 wasn’t very interesting. But now my opinion has changed. This time I moved the Oldie couple into town. As we know, they’re both nice by personality, but Coral is serious, active, and neat, while Herb is playful, lazy, and sloppy. Herb has a Romance aspiration, and Coral has a Family one. What surprised me is that there wasn’t even a hint of cheating in their memories, considering Herb’s aspiration. So I decided to give him a secondary Family aspiration, and gave Coral a secondary Fortune aspiration. That would explain why their daughter Mary-Sue Pleasant grew up with that aspiration. And honestly, her choice of husband makes sense too. It’s same aspiration as her father.

At first, I decided to play based on their wants and aspirations. I bought them a house, and they didn’t have much money. So Herb had to get a job, even though he already gets a pension. I managed to fully furnish the living room and kitchen. The rest of the rooms just have the basics for now. He got lucky with work. He got chance cards twice, and both times he was promoted, so now he’s reached the top of the part-time Music career. He’s a DJ now. Didn’t even have to grind skills for it.

Then I decided to maintain their relationship with their daughter and granddaughters. Mary-Sue divorced Daniel, so they don’t see him. But they often invite their daughter over. The granddaughters turned out interesting. At first, no one could connect with Lilith. Which is surprising, since technically she and Angela have the same personality. But Lilith, being a rebel, argued with everyone, rode the fridge door at her grandparents’ house, and got into fights with her sister. Angela was easier. And it’s interesting that Angela bonded with her grandmother, while Lilith bonded with grandfather. It feels super logical as Lilith is rebellious, and Herb isn’t exactly proper or serious himself. Would be nice to play up his influence on her upbringing - encouraging her playful and outgoing traits, while Coral influences Angela’s seriousness and neatness.

Then I decided to check what hobbies they have. Herb turned out to like nature-related hobbies. So I often send him hiking. Once he brought a bug home. Mounted it on the wall, and then suddenly cockroaches appeared there. Another time he got attacked by a swarm of bees. And the next time he met some woman. He often birdwatches and cloudgazes. I thought about gardening, but he’s lazy, and that’s more for active Sims.

Coral’s hobby is tied to films and literature. So she watches movies and reads a lot. Then she got the want to write her own novel. Not just a novel, but a masterpiece. Her fear was writing a trashy novel. It took her a long time to write it. In the end, nobody liked it, she earned 1600 simoleons, and her fear came true. But she still dreams of writing a masterpiece, so she keeps trying. And honestly, 1600 simoleons wasn’t bad, so they bought a bit more furniture.

At some point, Herb wanted to go on a vacation to the island. Typical unserious Herb. The house lacks furniture, his wife dreams of a big TV and a car, and he wants to go to the islands. Well… I booked the trip. They had to stay in the cheapest hotel. And I was surprised. It wasn’t boring at all, it was lively. Tourists constantly wanted to socialize, there was a pool, evening dances. Coral preferred going on excursions, while Herb just wanted to sunbathe, dig in the sand, and build sandcastles. Even there we can see that she’s active, and he’s lazy. That’s what they did. They learned the hula, tried local food, bought souvenirs. Then Coral found a map to a secret lot. They went there, repaired all the shaman’s broken equipment, and he gave them a voodoo doll. But neither of them can use it. Probably because they’re both nice Sims. They took photos, collected seashells. And at the end of the vacation, it turned out they didn’t have enough money to pay for the hotel. So they got billed and will have to pay it from home.

They came back. Interestingly, Herb rested better than Coral, which surprised me. He got an extra want slot, and she didn’t. He even got a tan. They ordered a photo album. Then their daughter came over. I liked that there’s a “Talk about Vacation” option, and they both told her about their trip. Coral gave her a seashell she found. I’m also thinking of giving her the voodoo doll… so she can bind it to her ex. You know…

Herb often wants dates and woohoo. So from time to time I arrange dates for them. Of course, he also wants woohoo with three different Sims, but I don’t want to ruin their harmony. After all, even in their youth there was no cheating. Another interesting thing is that Herb’s life just goes better. He gets platinum mood and aspiration more often. I wouldn’t say Coral is suffering. I fulfill her wants too. But her wants are lower-value, so she’s more often in the green aspiration level. It kind of fits her biography, that she spent her whole life with Herb and kept the family together, but it wasn’t easy.

So yeah, playing elders isn’t that boring if you pay attention to them and develop their personalities. Share your stories.