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Why I Think Pre-Teens Wouldn't be Fun
FloppyFish
Posts: 3,881 Member
Keep in mind it is just my opinion. I am not trying to start an argument!
Recently, a lot of people have been suggesting for pre-teens to be added (aka tweens), and saying how they would be so much fun. But I think the opposite; they would not be fun.
Now, I do understand why people request pre-teens. It fixes the height gap between children and teens, which I agree, should be fixed, and does a couple of other things. But even though pre-teens have a couple of those plus'es, I think the minus'es outweigh them.
My first reason (and main) reason why I think pre-teens wouldn't be fun is that they are what I like to call an "in-between" lifestage. Let me explain to you what this means: So you know that the biggest stages in life are baby, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, adult, and elder. They are all significantly different from each other, and behave differently. But then stages like pre-teen, young child, etc, etc, etc... they're all inbetween the main stages. The problem with this is that there is not much new gameplay. For pre-teens, most of the new gameplay is some features from the teenager lifestage and some from the child lifestage. You take maybe 10 or so children features, remove the other ones, and then 10 or so teenager features, and then add a couple of new features, which could have easily been added to another life stage (most). For example, one thing some people say should be added to the lifestage is activites like ballet. Why can't children do things like that too? And then some people say acne should be added. Well, teens already have that. (and for the record, I doubt most 9-11 year olds get acne. I bet some 12 year olds do but not that many even then.).
My second reason why I think pre-teens wouldn't be fun is most of the gameplay features could easily be added to other lifestages, or aren't realistic for pre-teens.
For example, some pre-teen gameplay requests:
-Acne
-Middle school
-Crushes
-After school activities
-Puberty
Acne: Already added for teens. And as I said before: I doubt most pre-teens get acne. Remember, FACT: Pre-teens are ages 9-12. I doubt most 9-11 olds get acne, and probably very few 12 year olds get it.
Middle school: I get why people think this should be added for pre-teens. We already have elementary school and highschool. But have you realized that the majority of your pre-teen years are spent in elementary school? You're only in middle school for 1 year as a pre-teen. You're a pre-teen for 3 years.
Crushes: Children can get crushes too.
After school activites: I have said before; things like ballet and sports after school are things children do too. Not just pre-teens. Why shouldn't children just be able to do this?
Puberty: First of all, I doubt most 9-11 year olds hit puberty already. Maybe 12 year olds. Isn't it more common for teenagers to hit puberty? And also, how would this be done? It would be way too expensive for the developers to create 2 new heights: a before and after puberty height (when you hit puberty you get a growth spurt). Even just 1 new height is expensive!
Take, for example, hugging. With the new heights, you need more hugging animations. You would need the before-puberty pre-teen to be able to hug every sim with a different height, plus themselves. That is a lot of new animations for just hugging!
Also: Not only would I think pre-teens would not be fun, but I think they would cost a lot of money for the developers, and you're not getting much in return. For me, I would only want pre-teens for the smoother height transition. But a new lifestage for just a new height? That is highly unnecessary (at least for me). That money spent on creating pre-teens, and even just simple things for them (hugging, etc.) would cost a lot of money that could be spent on other things (seasons, pets, etc.).
Keep in mind this is only my opinion! I am not trying to start an argument!
Thankyou for reading.
And also:
EDIT: Since parenthood has come out and added character values, a huge new system for our sims personalities, to the game, I doubt pre-teens (or any other lifestage, for that matter) will come out. They would have to add a new character values system for the new lifestage! Did you notice that toddlers came just a couple of months before parenthood? The pack about younger lifestages? And about personalities?
EDIT: Made the middle school part more clear
Recently, a lot of people have been suggesting for pre-teens to be added (aka tweens), and saying how they would be so much fun. But I think the opposite; they would not be fun.
Now, I do understand why people request pre-teens. It fixes the height gap between children and teens, which I agree, should be fixed, and does a couple of other things. But even though pre-teens have a couple of those plus'es, I think the minus'es outweigh them.
My first reason (and main) reason why I think pre-teens wouldn't be fun is that they are what I like to call an "in-between" lifestage. Let me explain to you what this means: So you know that the biggest stages in life are baby, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, adult, and elder. They are all significantly different from each other, and behave differently. But then stages like pre-teen, young child, etc, etc, etc... they're all inbetween the main stages. The problem with this is that there is not much new gameplay. For pre-teens, most of the new gameplay is some features from the teenager lifestage and some from the child lifestage. You take maybe 10 or so children features, remove the other ones, and then 10 or so teenager features, and then add a couple of new features, which could have easily been added to another life stage (most). For example, one thing some people say should be added to the lifestage is activites like ballet. Why can't children do things like that too? And then some people say acne should be added. Well, teens already have that. (and for the record, I doubt most 9-11 year olds get acne. I bet some 12 year olds do but not that many even then.).
My second reason why I think pre-teens wouldn't be fun is most of the gameplay features could easily be added to other lifestages, or aren't realistic for pre-teens.
For example, some pre-teen gameplay requests:
-Acne
-Middle school
-Crushes
-After school activities
-Puberty
Acne: Already added for teens. And as I said before: I doubt most pre-teens get acne. Remember, FACT: Pre-teens are ages 9-12. I doubt most 9-11 olds get acne, and probably very few 12 year olds get it.
Middle school: I get why people think this should be added for pre-teens. We already have elementary school and highschool. But have you realized that the majority of your pre-teen years are spent in elementary school? You're only in middle school for 1 year as a pre-teen. You're a pre-teen for 3 years.
Crushes: Children can get crushes too.
After school activites: I have said before; things like ballet and sports after school are things children do too. Not just pre-teens. Why shouldn't children just be able to do this?
Puberty: First of all, I doubt most 9-11 year olds hit puberty already. Maybe 12 year olds. Isn't it more common for teenagers to hit puberty? And also, how would this be done? It would be way too expensive for the developers to create 2 new heights: a before and after puberty height (when you hit puberty you get a growth spurt). Even just 1 new height is expensive!
Take, for example, hugging. With the new heights, you need more hugging animations. You would need the before-puberty pre-teen to be able to hug every sim with a different height, plus themselves. That is a lot of new animations for just hugging!
Also: Not only would I think pre-teens would not be fun, but I think they would cost a lot of money for the developers, and you're not getting much in return. For me, I would only want pre-teens for the smoother height transition. But a new lifestage for just a new height? That is highly unnecessary (at least for me). That money spent on creating pre-teens, and even just simple things for them (hugging, etc.) would cost a lot of money that could be spent on other things (seasons, pets, etc.).
Keep in mind this is only my opinion! I am not trying to start an argument!
Thankyou for reading.
And also:
EDIT: Since parenthood has come out and added character values, a huge new system for our sims personalities, to the game, I doubt pre-teens (or any other lifestage, for that matter) will come out. They would have to add a new character values system for the new lifestage! Did you notice that toddlers came just a couple of months before parenthood? The pack about younger lifestages? And about personalities?
EDIT: Made the middle school part more clear
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People may be like: B-but toddlers are released later...
Yes they were, but toddlers were already in development when they first started developing the game. They only were withheld due to time deadlines. They perfected them and released them later.
Also in real life you're a pre-teen for a couple of years. As a sims life is far much shorter, how long will pre-teens be in the short life span? 1 sim day?
Ofcourse pre-teens may be nice and all, but like you I don't really see the need for them.
With parenthood kids and especially teens stand out now, and they're now very different than older life stages. So that's enough.
All I ask for is that they should release a teen stuff pack as well. With the Kids Room stuff and the upcoming toddler stuff pack.
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I agree with you and the op also I don't think a lot of people have been requesting preteens most of those threads were made by the same person
Adding more stages like that would also throw lives off balance because you would have parents dying before the kids grow up which can already happen with older parents in the game. (Yes, it can happen in real life but in real life people remain elders for longer and and age gradually unless something unfortunate happens.)
It's just not a priority for me at all.
I'll make the disclaimer that if they do come I wouldn't be upset. I'd give them a try and assume they would please a lot of players out there.
I do want other things in the game much much more however.
I don't think they're needed and agree with a lot of what you're saying.
Is middle school only one year where you're from? Where I'm from in the US, middle school lasts from 6th-8th grade.
I would have only one reason that speaks FOR preteens: It fixes the ridiculous height difference between child and teen without shortening the existing teens, what I and many others wouldn't like because we like the idea of older and taller teens.
Btw, @lasummerb , I think it really depends on your location. I for example don't live in the US at all, but in northern Germany, and here we have three different school types that each fall in the category you would call "middle school" I think, and it depends on your grades in elementary school where you should go afterwards, and it's different with every school type how long it lasts, but each starts with 5th grade and ends with either 9th, 10th or 12th grade.
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So no, I can't see how preteens are needed like toddlers were. I hope they rather focus on making children and teens more detailed and unique gameplay-wise.
No. But you're only in middle school for one of your pre-teen years.
My apologies! I edited the post.
I mostly agree. If pre-teens were added, it would make the most sense to portray them as 10/11 year olds, because that is about the middle of your pre-teen years. And yeah, I would feel uncomfortable playing as them if they did that... romance stuff. Better suited for teenagers!
I also agree with the bottom parts: Yeah, I wouldn't be too upset. I would play with them, but I bet I would run out of *new* things to do with them in a day (irl day). And I would also rather the developers spend that time, resources, and money on other things, too. Things like pets or seasons, or cars, or a color wheel (ik it is unlikely).
me to
I see your points, but I think we should get preteens. Period.
-Acne: Preteens can get acne too. You doubting makes it seem impossible.
-Middle school: Wrong. You're in middle school for 2 years between the ages of 12-15.
-Crushes: Yes, children can have crushes. So what?
-After school activities: This can imply for children, preteens, and teens.
-Puberty: Puberty is random. Some may start as early as 8 or 9 or as late as 13 or 14. It varies for a lot kids. So that doesn't matter.
Your opinion on less or no gameplay isn't true to me. It will add some new gameplay.
I respect your opinion, but have to disagree.
For of all, for acne:
I have a little sibling (very much younger than me, lol) that is a pre-teen. She will show me her yearbooks. I have seen all the kids that were in her grade from 9-12 years old. When I looked, I remember this: VERY few of them had acne. A couple of 12 year olds did. Maybe like, 1 or 2 11 year olds. Rest was probably 1 or none.
Now for middle school: I am not wrong. Maybe I worded the part about middle school badly, but this is what I meant:
As a pre-teen (ages 9-12. THOSE ARE PRE-TEEN YEARS.), you are only in middle school for 1 of year 3 pre-teen years. It would make more sense and be more realistic for pre-teens to go to elementary school, where most of them go!
Crushes: Yes, children can have crushes. So what? Well that is not considered new "pre-teen" game play then. You may not have been suggesting crushes but some people did. I am just saying, in reply to those people, "Why can't children have crushes too?".
After school activities: Like crushes situation. Exactly the same.
Puberty: Yes, some kids hit it early. But how many hit puberty in their pre-teen years? Haven't you noticed the life stages are based off of averages? Kids: an average kid plays with toys, and is not 5ft tall yet, yknow? Teenagers: being rebellious is normal. Yknow what I am saying?
Sorry if I sounded a bit rude. I am not trying to be