It's a Simulated Life (Fortunately)
Hi folks,
Last week or so I bought a used copy of "The Sims 2" at a nearby thrift store. It has been terrifyingly amazing in horrible ways. Let me begin by saying that I have still read very few of the directions and had read virtually none before starting my first Sim Family. I created the 'Smith' Family as my first Guinea Pigs in this game. Isaac and Elise and their darling children Mathilda (Kid) and Miles (Infant).
Isaac wanted to be wealthy and Elise wanted a relationship/family. Things seemed to start rather well and went downhill rather quickly. There were some things I really had no idea how to deal with. First off Sims start out as TERRIBLE cooks. They seem to set the kitchen on fire in about one out of four attempts with using the stove. It was one of these attempts that managed to cause a death.
Part of the problem was the layout of the house. When the fire started it was in the middle of the kitchen and their was no direct path from the back of the house to the front of the house without either going outside or through this kitchen. Another part of the problem is that the Sims are overstimulated by the fire to the point that they can take no action without the direct intervention of the player. Elise was on one side of the fire and Mathilda was on the other. They were both looking like they were in a panic but both of them stood still. Each of them was staring through the flames and making motions and sad faces at each other as if to say "I won't leave you!" Of course one of them was not able to keep that promise. I assure you both Sims ignored a whole bunch of commands from yours truly before the tragedy.
The flames eventually engulfed Little Mathilda and she burned for a horrifyingly long time before finally collapsing into a pile of ashes. The grim reaper appeared and gave his little sigh and shook his head. Such a senseless waste. At least he gathered little Mathilda's ashes in to a nice urn for the family. This incident sent Elise into a bender that left her passed out drunk on the front lawn. I'm surprised that it only happened once.
The Family continued on for a while before the next tragedy struck. Perhaps it was the trauma of Mathilda's death or perhaps my ignorance of what I needed to do. Miles had grown up enough to go to school. (Yay, No more smelly diapers) But he wasn't doing very well. I can't recall the command, which I issued many times, every being carried out. The parents were reasonable enough but the boy was never in the mood. Eventually the Sim equivalent of Child Protective Services came and collected Miles. I thought it rather silly but they take your kids away in the Sims if they don't get good grades.
This event proved to be Traumatic to both parents. Unfortunately I was not able to see any commands about how to get their son back from CPS. Anyhow that soon became less likely as the Ghost of Mathilda came back and started to make trouble. The ghost appeared in the living room and the TV stopped working. I telephoned a repair man but he came out and tried to fix it. He failed to fix the TV claiming "there's nothing wrong with this". Of course there was still the little trail of smoke rising from the TV but he wanted to be paid anyhow. Unfortunately, due to an error, Isaac was out of cash at that moment. So the repair man decided to help himself to some of their possessions. Fortunately he only took the toddler training toilet and a couple other cheap items.
Isaac set to work attempting to fix the TV and eventually succeeded gaining a point of mechanical skill in the process. Within another day or two however the ghost returned and the TV stopped working again. I found the ghost was causing people to piss themselves rather severely but unfortunately I didn't realize that the ghost was more then just amusing until it killed Elise. She seemed to die of fright, suddenly collapsing to the floor as if she had just had a massive heart attack. Again the Grim Reaper appeared and I was left with another urn littering the house. This time I knew I had to be rid of the urns. I quickly figured out how to send them to the local park once I realized there was an actual need.
I had grown quite attached to Elise the Sim. She was spunky and charming even as she struggled to make the best of it after her daughter died and her son was removed. Isaac was devastated. He was plagued by constant thoughts of his lost family and started to need more and help coping and had several visits from the very amusing psychiatrist. I tried to get him to date and invite people over but all of that ended poorly. This is how we reached the final chapter of this insane story.
One day I decided to allow Isaac to go out on a date. They went out to a moderate priced restaurant and I tried to get them to order food but unfortunately food never came. Isaac complained bitterly and repeatedly that he was hungry but I was unable to satisfy his needs. The waiters didn't respond when I thought I had ordered a meal. I tried the ordering process about 15 - 20 times at the restaurant and in desperation I decided he would call a taxi and return home to raid his own fridge.
Isaac succumbed to starvation on his front walk some minutes later but still in far less than 48 hours since his last meal. I think the main lesson I can take from this is that the game designers have still decided that making the Sims incredibly dumb about certain things, including basic survival needs, is somehow supposed to be a good idea. Maybe they think we need this to stimulate our nurturing instinct or something.
I have since then started a new family called the "Von Ribentropp" family. There are three women, a man and a girl. I may post something about them later if anyone cares.
Cheers!
Last week or so I bought a used copy of "The Sims 2" at a nearby thrift store. It has been terrifyingly amazing in horrible ways. Let me begin by saying that I have still read very few of the directions and had read virtually none before starting my first Sim Family. I created the 'Smith' Family as my first Guinea Pigs in this game. Isaac and Elise and their darling children Mathilda (Kid) and Miles (Infant).
Isaac wanted to be wealthy and Elise wanted a relationship/family. Things seemed to start rather well and went downhill rather quickly. There were some things I really had no idea how to deal with. First off Sims start out as TERRIBLE cooks. They seem to set the kitchen on fire in about one out of four attempts with using the stove. It was one of these attempts that managed to cause a death.
Part of the problem was the layout of the house. When the fire started it was in the middle of the kitchen and their was no direct path from the back of the house to the front of the house without either going outside or through this kitchen. Another part of the problem is that the Sims are overstimulated by the fire to the point that they can take no action without the direct intervention of the player. Elise was on one side of the fire and Mathilda was on the other. They were both looking like they were in a panic but both of them stood still. Each of them was staring through the flames and making motions and sad faces at each other as if to say "I won't leave you!" Of course one of them was not able to keep that promise. I assure you both Sims ignored a whole bunch of commands from yours truly before the tragedy.
The flames eventually engulfed Little Mathilda and she burned for a horrifyingly long time before finally collapsing into a pile of ashes. The grim reaper appeared and gave his little sigh and shook his head. Such a senseless waste. At least he gathered little Mathilda's ashes in to a nice urn for the family. This incident sent Elise into a bender that left her passed out drunk on the front lawn. I'm surprised that it only happened once.
The Family continued on for a while before the next tragedy struck. Perhaps it was the trauma of Mathilda's death or perhaps my ignorance of what I needed to do. Miles had grown up enough to go to school. (Yay, No more smelly diapers) But he wasn't doing very well. I can't recall the command, which I issued many times, every being carried out. The parents were reasonable enough but the boy was never in the mood. Eventually the Sim equivalent of Child Protective Services came and collected Miles. I thought it rather silly but they take your kids away in the Sims if they don't get good grades.
This event proved to be Traumatic to both parents. Unfortunately I was not able to see any commands about how to get their son back from CPS. Anyhow that soon became less likely as the Ghost of Mathilda came back and started to make trouble. The ghost appeared in the living room and the TV stopped working. I telephoned a repair man but he came out and tried to fix it. He failed to fix the TV claiming "there's nothing wrong with this". Of course there was still the little trail of smoke rising from the TV but he wanted to be paid anyhow. Unfortunately, due to an error, Isaac was out of cash at that moment. So the repair man decided to help himself to some of their possessions. Fortunately he only took the toddler training toilet and a couple other cheap items.
Isaac set to work attempting to fix the TV and eventually succeeded gaining a point of mechanical skill in the process. Within another day or two however the ghost returned and the TV stopped working again. I found the ghost was causing people to piss themselves rather severely but unfortunately I didn't realize that the ghost was more then just amusing until it killed Elise. She seemed to die of fright, suddenly collapsing to the floor as if she had just had a massive heart attack. Again the Grim Reaper appeared and I was left with another urn littering the house. This time I knew I had to be rid of the urns. I quickly figured out how to send them to the local park once I realized there was an actual need.
I had grown quite attached to Elise the Sim. She was spunky and charming even as she struggled to make the best of it after her daughter died and her son was removed. Isaac was devastated. He was plagued by constant thoughts of his lost family and started to need more and help coping and had several visits from the very amusing psychiatrist. I tried to get him to date and invite people over but all of that ended poorly. This is how we reached the final chapter of this insane story.
One day I decided to allow Isaac to go out on a date. They went out to a moderate priced restaurant and I tried to get them to order food but unfortunately food never came. Isaac complained bitterly and repeatedly that he was hungry but I was unable to satisfy his needs. The waiters didn't respond when I thought I had ordered a meal. I tried the ordering process about 15 - 20 times at the restaurant and in desperation I decided he would call a taxi and return home to raid his own fridge.
Isaac succumbed to starvation on his front walk some minutes later but still in far less than 48 hours since his last meal. I think the main lesson I can take from this is that the game designers have still decided that making the Sims incredibly dumb about certain things, including basic survival needs, is somehow supposed to be a good idea. Maybe they think we need this to stimulate our nurturing instinct or something.
I have since then started a new family called the "Von Ribentropp" family. There are three women, a man and a girl. I may post something about them later if anyone cares.
Cheers!