Maxis Taste Dare No. 26

[strange_tomato]

Is anyone else thinking about participating in Maxis Taste Dare No. 26: Second Chances? The idea of this one appeals to me, though I'm struggling with who to focus on. My recent playing of the entire uberhood has given pretty much everyone a chance, though I guess the point of the exercise would be to find something more to like in a character that

Comments

[microlurker]

I'm not jumping the bandwagon. Though, if I had to choose someone, it would probably be Goths. I don't know why, though. It's probably because they've always been "my brother's" family, even in the first game. I don't really dislike them, just like I don't dislike any other family/sim. It's more as if I'm afraid of playing them.

[strange_tomato]

No? It seems like a lot of fun, but if you already play most households it might be hard to find a suitable sim to play for it. That's sort of my problem, too. I don't think there is actually a household I haven't played at all.

It's interesting that you chose the Goths, because they're such a popular family. I'm like you, though, and never played them in Sims 1. I started with Sims 2 for them. It'd actually be really fun to go back and see what they were like in the first game.

I don't actively dislike many sims, either. (Even that Gunnar thing is a sort of in-joke in my corner of the fandom.) Maybe that's why it's hard to pick one for this challenge. Even Ajay and his ilk are just sort of boring to me and my reaction is more of a disbelief at all the fanfare.

[microlurker]

My favorites from Sims 1 were Newbies and then Claire from Old Town. In Sims 2, it's the Veronaville bunch.

My biggest impression from Goths in first game is when my brother managed to get Bella abducted. And that in itself makes me uncomfortable to even think of playing them. I guess that's another reason why I would choose that particular family. If just their storyline was different...

[strange_tomato]

The Newbies were the only Sims 1 family I played at all. I was more interested in recreating all my friends and family when I played that game.

Alien abduction was pretty unnerving in that game. Didn't the sim come back with a really scrambled personality, either reversed or just completely random? I remeber it happening to me once and I didn't know what to think of it. It's certainly not as fun as alien babies.

[w_sims]

I chose the Tinkers. It's not that I dislike them, but the brief says "least favourite", not "most hated" and I've never played (or wanted to play) the Tinkers that much so they seemed like the idea candidates.

Making over their house is a challenge, though... not being allowed to change the walls! Bluewater Village homes are quite large and that's not my style but it's comin along quite well!

And I have no strong opinions on Ajay! :P

[strange_tomato]

The Tinkers are a good choice, I think. They seem to be ignored by most simmers, so it works well all around. It took me many years to get around to trying them out. And there's something about their house (maybe the layout and size, like you said) that makes that lot a little cumbersome to play. I've really come to like Melody after playing her, and I love running the toy store (though it's way back there in the back of the lot).

Not being one for participating in house makeovers, I wonder about the rule to keep the existing walls. I guess that's meant to mke it more challenging or to keep it more recognizable? I can see that, but even in real life renovations people add and remove walls and windows, etc. don't they? For the huge rooms, you could divide them up in other ways, and go for a sort of open concept look.

Haha! Are my opinions of him strong? I'd classify them as "agreesively neutral" when it comes down to it. :P

[w_sims]

Yeah, I thought the rules for the home makeover were a little odd, but its quite unusual in any Sim challenge to not touch the walls at all, so it's actually quite refreshing and means you get to play around with the massive, unusually-shaped Maxis rooms. I did add walls to allow for built in wardrobes, but I'm guessing that's not against the rules (well, I don't imagine it is, at least!)

The weirdest thing, for me, was the Tinker's home gym. I never put a whole gym room in my Sims' houses but the challenge is kind of about preserving each home the way its built by Maxis so the Tinkers "haz jim" I guess :P Stephen and Wanda are heavy anyway so I'm sure it'll come in handy!

I think I will have to actually set up a toy store for them after the challenge. It's typical Maxis they don't already own one when you load Bluewater.

[aledstrange]

I did add walls to allow for built in wardrobes
I always forget adding little details like that, but those wardwrobes need the walls to be placed, so it doesn't matter.

As for the rooms, the building rules are about construction only, the use each room has doesn't matter either. You don't have to use the room as a gym, it can be anything else. And remember you can build in the yard too (as long as it's not a direct extension to the house) and the Tinkers have a huge yard. They could easily have a home business (I tend to assume that's the reason they don't own a comm lot, actually)

I'm really excited to see what you're doing with them! :)

[meetme2theriver]

I thought it's a very interesting challenge and I'd love to see what others come up with... But as for picking a sim/some sims myself, I don't know, because like you, I've played all the pre-made families and given them all a chance already. And well... even Trent Traveller has grown on me now!

I wouldn't mind seeing what you'd do with Ajay Loner, though. Haha. I feel pretty neutral about him, myself.

I could do a lot makeover... But I know which lot is my least favourite (some horrible thing in Desiderata Valley), and the thought of making that over without changing the walls or adding windows (there's like, three) makes me twitch. :P

[strange_tomato]

Yeah, that's exactly where I am with it. And haha! I forgot about Trent. Again, he's like Gunnar. I find him pretty unbearable as a character if you take your cues from his wardrobe (all Xtreme sports and such) but I enjoy playing him that way. I like most sims as they are, even the negative things. And with Trent, like most sims, I've played him quite a bit

[meetme2theriver]

I found having Trent's lifestyle backfiring on him was very satisfying... :D Now I feel kinda sorry for him!

That's right, I'd almost forgotten about your Ajay (you'll have to forgive me, it's been while since I read your older chapters). I like the idea of him and the Curiouses having an Aboriginal background, their look sort of fits. Well... not Vidcund and Jenny, but, yeah.

Ooh, I've made over that weird house in Strangetown at least twice. But I never posted them, apparently. I take like fifteen bazillion pictures of my game and only like five of them end up on my journal, it seems. :P Never tried making it over without changing the inside walls, though... It'd fit Nervous, I think!

The little yellow house in Strangetown is Ajay's house, to me. I always move him in there. Funny, that. The Singles I've sometimes moved into the weird "tunnel" house, sometimes into that empty lot (and built 'em a house). Anyway, better stop before I start telling you where I like to put all the other bin families. :P

[strange_tomato]

How was it his lifestyle backfired on him again? He was cheating, right? Or maybe I'm confusing him with my own game, where both of the Travellers have had their moments of infidelity, but remain pretty secure in their marriage. Maybe they have some kind of don't ask, don't tell policy? :P

I know people who have official native status that have blond hair and blue eyes, actually, so it's possible. For the Curiouses, I always imagine Kitty is not native, but Glarn and Glabe are. As far as what native group they are, I feel it's sort of ambiguous. The sims universe isn't exactly the same as ours, so I view those cultures actually included in the game as more of a vague parallel.

I often put the Singles in that house, eve though it's not really big enough. They don't really have an ideal location to live in Strangetown.

Haha! No please, tell me more. :P I tend to like to blab away about my own preferences for those smae things, so it's fair game around here.

[madame_ugly]

Trent Traveller? (wasn't he one who you never really enjoyed so much)

For truly abandoned folks, I'd go for University pre-mades (not for LaFT, of course). There are so many of them they all kind of blend together. And you wouldn't have to bother with a house makeover if you did some of them (just slap them in a dorm together).

[meetme2theriver]

Hm. I could do Chaz Whippler, I never liked his useless, Benjamin Long-clone face.

[strange_tomato]

This made me laugh. It's how I feel about most premades that are template clones.

Chaz is one sim that seems to have potential, but I'm never really sure of what to do with him and he does sort of bleed into the other romance/waster/lazy ass male college sims. It's a common type floating through the various unis.

[meetme2theriver]

Yeah, a lot of the students are already kind of bland, mainly due to there being so MANY of them, I think. When they're a template clone, they don't even have an interesting appearance going for them.

[nebulousfirefly]

I'm totally doing this dare, but I'm stumped as to who I'm going to choose. Every family has had their chance with me, really. I enjoy the challenge of making boring sims interesting.

Though I do find, even after several incarnations and tries, that Ajay Loner is very, very dull. Don't know if he's my least favourite, but he just doesn't stick out in any way.

[strange_tomato]

That's really great that you give them all a chance. Maybe you could pick a household that generally gets little attention by other simmers, in that case. I think it'd still fit the spirit of this challenge. Or try reinventing some that are less appealing to to you.

So I'm not entirely alone in my thoughts about Ajay! Haha! Good to know.