Family play is indeed subjective. I find it terrifying that people want family play and special interactions to stay strictly between family members. That's not how families work, maybe in your case, but not for everyone. A child can't hug a stranger? What's up with that? Should we really restrict children hugging only their parents and grandparents? I think the more interactions there are between any sims the better.
I think the problem is that people are thinking too general, when I'm thinking of more specific interactions. I wouldn't say that a child should never hug anyone who isn't family. But there could still be a "special" type of hug for family. Here's an example: The Sims 2 had a "Family Kiss" that was different from other kisses in the game. Now, having this kiss did not mean everyone else was excluded from kissing each other. No more than having a "Family Hug" would stop you from hugging anyone else. It meant there was a very special one, animated differently, for family.
That is my definition of family play and I'm sticking to it.
Erm I'm a family player and i don't feel excluded. Guess it's just some of us?
Mostly those of us that have been around longer and know how much better it "could" be.
Some older players like how it is now, so that is subjective, but yes the game is excluding some Simmers and family play isn't the only style it has excluded for some. I have other play styles too that have been.
I want a share family album interaction for elders. I think it is ok having some interactions for all the Sims, but some family specific ones would be nice to have too. I honestly think because the game has a hard time recognizing relationships sometimes is why it is set up that way.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
To me- it doesn't matter how others see it, if to them it's missing then I believe them and won't type a page full of text to tell them different.
I think it's really important that people define what they mean by family play. Too often people ask for more family play without defining what they mean by it, yet this thread has shown that everybody doesn't share the same definition. If Maxis was to add family play, it would be through precise things, not as a vague concept, so the more they understand what we mean by it, the better.
Hi
I must disagree ....
I know it's been discussed in Detail over the year of this game and if not everyone goes into precise detail any more I'm sure they are either tired of having to say it over and over or tired of being told that others are tired of hearing it over and over.
This isn't the first topic and probably not the 100th topic on What is Family play and people feels is lacking in family play..
I believe a player will know when there is family play that they enjoy and some might find it boring- I find Teens too long a stage and annoying in most of the Sims games. This one even more so but others love and like them- which doesn't mean my opinion on them is less to family play.
So, family play is what a player likes in the game which pertains to the family.
@Scobre I love the idea of an album. My hope is that whenever they do expand gameplay for families, that it's balanced. Don't forget the babies, toddlers, teens OR elders. Some life stages were boring previously simply because they didn't have enough to do that was age-specific.
Edit: Oops, forgot children. They are important, too.
@Scobre I love the idea of an album. My hope is that whenever they do expand gameplay for families, that it's balanced. Don't forget the babies, toddlers, teens OR elders. Some life stages were boring previously simply because they didn't have enough to do that was age-specific.
I hope so too. All the life stages need attention not just YA and adults.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Hope you don't mind @halimali1980, but I'm quoting you because you summed it up so perfectly for me:
- A sim annoying another sims is NOT family play. Just because they are siblings and doing it does not mean it is family play!
- sims splashing water on each other is NOT a family play
- Sims talking and joking is NOT a family play
- Sims eating together and talking is NOT a family play
A family play where sims acknowledge each other as family members. where there is warmness. Like a grand mother holding her grand child and singing a lullaby for him. A family play is when the sim parents lecture their children if they did something wrong. A family play is when the children go running to hug their father the soonest he gets back from work.
Whatever you have mentioned like talking, eating, joking etc can happen between stranger sims! A child sim would not go running to hug a stranger when he comes from work but he will do it to his mother or father.
Whatever action can be done on stranger sims means it is NOT a family play. Family play is EXCLUSIVE actions on family only.
I think that what is and what isn't family play is subjective, to me annoying sibling, splashing water, socialisation and even just eating and talking at the dinner table is family play, because it's a family playing together, doing things together, interacting with one another. All the things you mentioned such as singing lullabies, lectures towards Children and hugging people that come back from Work isn't restricted to family in real life or in the virtual world, anyone can do those things, so does that mean those aren't technically family play? Also if socialisation isn't family play, then how is lecturing or any form of communication considerable as family play to you? I think talking is a pretty big thing in families in my opinion at least.
It is certainly subjective, but with regards to what is missing from this game, some say family play is not missing because of the things you've listed. But obviously, many of us family players feel the opposite and this explains why. The interactions you mentioned are not restricted in the virtual world and that's one reason I don't consider them family play. I'm referring back to when family play was done right (Sims 2,) and even though anyone can swing somebody around or dance on their toes, it was restricted to families.
Socialization is family play when it is specific to family. Talking is a big thing, but I can also talk to my enemies or a complete stranger. It's the type of socialization that matters.
Although the main thing missing for me are the social interactions, it's more about what you "expect" a family and kids to do rather than what they "can" do. I expect a mom to lecture her child for missing curfew, but I don't expect the mom to lecture her best friend for missing curfew.
Another example: I saw someone mentioning all the things kids can do in the game packs, to prove that family play was better because kids can do more stuff. I'm sorry, but I don't know many kids who just can't wait to get home from school to jump into a hot tub. What happened to bike riding, playing catch and jumping rope?
Fair enough, although I have to say I still don't believe the game should show restrictions to Sims based on whether they are family members of not, I hope they just give us a Relationships Options Tab so that we can choose what's exclusive to which type of people and what isn't. That'll be a step in the right direction imo since we obviously have a diverse range of people with different perspectives on the topic.
That's fine. But I still think you're missing the point. The type of family play that existed in the Sims2 was exclusive for a reason: it was the type of behavior that you'd expect to see between close family members. I'm not asking for actions to be restricted arbitrarily; it simply should make sense. Like when a parent lovingly pats his child on the head in order to say "well done," would you walk up to a complete stranger and do that? Lol. Even close friends don't (where I'm from,) it would be weird.
But whatever. Since some people feel that any and everything=family play, I'm not surprised and I'm always open for more options in the game.
It's not just about strangers vs. family. It's about defined-family vs. everybody else.
Here are some reasonable gameplay scenarios for patting kids' heads:
- A household set up to play "boarding school": I want the teacher/headmistress to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- A household set up to play "commune": I want all the adult commune members to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is "volunteering" at the library: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is leading a children's chess club, in the new GT system: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- Some children stroll by my "nursing home" household: I really want some of my Elders to be able to stop the nice children and pat them on the head.
And you know what? Weird is okay. This is a game where cowplants eat people. It's always been a game with lots of room for weird. I don't want someone else's definition of family play to exclude my weird gameplay. Nothing stops you from not using "pat the nice child on the head" outside of the family.
Lol. Thank you. Now maybe you understand how family players feel about being excluded.
We just want some things to enjoy out of this game, too.
ETA: See how passionate you got about the thought of your type of gameplay being excluded? I've felt excluded from this game since it was released. And according to RF's interview, there's nothing wrong with that. So apparently, there's nothing wrong with a few exclusions. I did say I didn't mind additional options, though. But it will get messy... While we're at it, let's unlock all interactions for all sim types, ages, species, etc. regardless of relationship. No need for interactions to unlock with skills, either.
I have always understood family players' passionate feeling of exclusion. I've understood it since Day 1. I just don't want to see adding things for family play turn into excluding something else. The idea is to stop excluding, no? Explaining how I would use those family-play-intended things in a way that involves non-relatives is in no way a diss on family play. I've been playing families since The Sims in 2000; I just have always enjoyed playing beyond relatives.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
Ok first of all try being a girl and dealing with a chronic illness and expect people to hire you. Prejudice does exist in the work market and it isn't exclusive to just being a girl.
Anyway I do like how there is a freedom with Sims families. Simmers can create whatever type of families they want whether it is M/M, F/F, M/F, or sister wives type of couples. They can either have families or their own or adopt or be get implanted with alien DNA. So aliens are very important to my family play. Ever since the Sims 2, I've enjoyed seeing what it can be like if the male gets pregnant. It is quite amusing seeing them have morning sickness.
The best thing I love in The Sims with Families is that other Sims don't judge your Sims for being Orphans, having Single Parents or have same gender Parents. Honestly I love how pixels show more equality and fairness than the entire human race.
Live your life to the fullest, don't wait for a miracle to happen, be the miracle to make things happen.
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
I have always understood family players' passionate feeling of exclusion. I've understood it since Day 1. I just don't want to see adding things for family play turn into excluding something else. The idea is to stop excluding, no?
Yep luthienrising has been very supportive of family players. Yep, don't remove, improve!
@Prink34320 Thank you so much for making this thread. It's been a wonderful read to find out what family play means to all of us.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Erm I'm a family player and i don't feel excluded. Guess it's just some of us?
Mostly those of us that have been around longer and know how much better it "could" be.
I've played since the beginning...
Yes, I guess it is just some of us (more than a few less than a billion). Some do feel things are missing. I'm so happy you are enjoying the game. I hope to one day like it, too.
@Prink34320 Thank you so much for making this thread. It's been a wonderful read to find out what family play means to all of us.
Seconding that, Prink! I've found the range of what people feel makes "family play" in Sims to be really interesting in this topic.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
To me- it doesn't matter how others see it, if to them it's missing then I believe them and won't type a page full of text to tell them different.
I think it's really important that people define what they mean by family play. Too often people ask for more family play without defining what they mean by it, yet this thread has shown that everybody doesn't share the same definition. If Maxis was to add family play, it would be through precise things, not as a vague concept, so the more they understand what we mean by it, the better.
Hi
I must disagree ....
I know it's been discussed in Detail over the year of this game and if not everyone goes into precise detail any more I'm sure they are either tired of having to say it over and over or tired of being told that others are tired of hearing it over and over.
This isn't the first topic and probably not the 100th topic on What is Family play and people feels is lacking in family play..
I believe a player will know when there is family play that they enjoy and some might find it boring- I find Teens too long a stage and annoying in most of the Sims games. This one even more so but others love and like them- which doesn't mean my opinion on them is less to family play.
So, family play is what a player likes in the game which pertains to the family.
I agree with you both. It is frustrating to tell the developers what we need and when it's finally implemented, it misses the mark. If we don't go into details, it's very likely that they'll misinterpret the need. However, it has been discussed to death, for sure. I would be even more worried about this franchise if they didn't get the picture by now.
The best thing I love in The Sims with Families is that other Sims don't judge your Sims for being Orphans, having Single Parents or have same gender Parents. Honestly I love how pixels show more equality and fairness than the entire human race.
Yeah no prejudice. Part of me wishes it could be shown to mobility devices though. That is one thing the Sims hasn't tackled in their games yet is for towards the ADA community. I would love to watch Sim children explore their world with wheelchair rockets. But no one understands how mobility devices could be done in a strong rather than weak manner. I least Xavier from X-men shows how it can be done well. I guess I just want odd things for my Sims games even if it is something like a catdog.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Erm I'm a family player and i don't feel excluded. Guess it's just some of us?
Mostly those of us that have been around longer and know how much better it "could" be.
I've played since the beginning...
Yes, I guess it is just some of us (more than a few less than a billion). Some do feel things are missing. I'm so happy you are enjoying the game. I hope to one day like it, too.
I feel a bit jealous not being old enough to play the original The Sims I'm going to try and play it, does it work on Windows 8.1?
Live your life to the fullest, don't wait for a miracle to happen, be the miracle to make things happen.
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
Erm I'm a family player and i don't feel excluded. Guess it's just some of us?
Mostly those of us that have been around longer and know how much better it "could" be.
I've played since the beginning...
Yes, I guess it is just some of us (more than a few less than a billion). Some do feel things are missing. I'm so happy you are enjoying the game. I hope to one day like it, too.
I feel a bit jealous not being old enough to play the original The Sims I'm going to try and play it, does it work on Windows 8.1?
I think so.... maybe. It's hard to go to the older graphics and they're more demanding in their needs. It takes a long time to earn the money to build a house and get the good furnishings.
But it was so addicting and fun and frustrating. XD
The best thing I love in The Sims with Families is that other Sims don't judge your Sims for being Orphans, having Single Parents or have same gender Parents. Honestly I love how pixels show more equality and fairness than the entire human race.
Yeah no prejudice. Part of me wishes it could be shown to mobility devices though. That is one thing the Sims hasn't tackled in their games yet is for towards the ADA community. I would love to watch Sim children explore their world with wheelchair rockets. But no one understands how mobility devices could be done in a strong rather than weak manner. I least Xavier from X-men shows how it can be done well. I guess I just want odd things for my Sims games even if it is something like a catdog.
Oh lord, I watched biologically accurate Catdog and it ruined part of my childhood x.x but I too would actually like Sims with disabilities and mobility devices, it would be more realistic if Sims could say, break their legs and have to go to the Hospital, then their Families and Friends could visit them and give them flowers and chocolate and a get well card, also seeing rocket wheel chairs would be epic! I'd like to see Pets with a missing leg, mainly because those Pets seem to be ignored often in the real world but I'm one of those people who want to give these ignored animals the love they deserve! One thing I hope they do is have less restrictions with clothing, Males can have Fairy Make-Up but not the Costume even though there are male Fairies? No Princess Costume for Boys? Well that's mainly Spooky Stuff haha.
Live your life to the fullest, don't wait for a miracle to happen, be the miracle to make things happen.
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
Hope you don't mind @halimali1980, but I'm quoting you because you summed it up so perfectly for me:
- A sim annoying another sims is NOT family play. Just because they are siblings and doing it does not mean it is family play!
- sims splashing water on each other is NOT a family play
- Sims talking and joking is NOT a family play
- Sims eating together and talking is NOT a family play
A family play where sims acknowledge each other as family members. where there is warmness. Like a grand mother holding her grand child and singing a lullaby for him. A family play is when the sim parents lecture their children if they did something wrong. A family play is when the children go running to hug their father the soonest he gets back from work.
Whatever you have mentioned like talking, eating, joking etc can happen between stranger sims! A child sim would not go running to hug a stranger when he comes from work but he will do it to his mother or father.
Whatever action can be done on stranger sims means it is NOT a family play. Family play is EXCLUSIVE actions on family only.
I think that what is and what isn't family play is subjective, to me annoying sibling, splashing water, socialisation and even just eating and talking at the dinner table is family play, because it's a family playing together, doing things together, interacting with one another. All the things you mentioned such as singing lullabies, lectures towards Children and hugging people that come back from Work isn't restricted to family in real life or in the virtual world, anyone can do those things, so does that mean those aren't technically family play? Also if socialisation isn't family play, then how is lecturing or any form of communication considerable as family play to you? I think talking is a pretty big thing in families in my opinion at least.
It is certainly subjective, but with regards to what is missing from this game, some say family play is not missing because of the things you've listed. But obviously, many of us family players feel the opposite and this explains why. The interactions you mentioned are not restricted in the virtual world and that's one reason I don't consider them family play. I'm referring back to when family play was done right (Sims 2,) and even though anyone can swing somebody around or dance on their toes, it was restricted to families.
Socialization is family play when it is specific to family. Talking is a big thing, but I can also talk to my enemies or a complete stranger. It's the type of socialization that matters.
Although the main thing missing for me are the social interactions, it's more about what you "expect" a family and kids to do rather than what they "can" do. I expect a mom to lecture her child for missing curfew, but I don't expect the mom to lecture her best friend for missing curfew.
Another example: I saw someone mentioning all the things kids can do in the game packs, to prove that family play was better because kids can do more stuff. I'm sorry, but I don't know many kids who just can't wait to get home from school to jump into a hot tub. What happened to bike riding, playing catch and jumping rope?
Fair enough, although I have to say I still don't believe the game should show restrictions to Sims based on whether they are family members of not, I hope they just give us a Relationships Options Tab so that we can choose what's exclusive to which type of people and what isn't. That'll be a step in the right direction imo since we obviously have a diverse range of people with different perspectives on the topic.
That's fine. But I still think you're missing the point. The type of family play that existed in the Sims2 was exclusive for a reason: it was the type of behavior that you'd expect to see between close family members. I'm not asking for actions to be restricted arbitrarily; it simply should make sense. Like when a parent lovingly pats his child on the head in order to say "well done," would you walk up to a complete stranger and do that? Lol. Even close friends don't (where I'm from,) it would be weird.
But whatever. Since some people feel that any and everything=family play, I'm not surprised and I'm always open for more options in the game.
It's not just about strangers vs. family. It's about defined-family vs. everybody else.
Here are some reasonable gameplay scenarios for patting kids' heads:
- A household set up to play "boarding school": I want the teacher/headmistress to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- A household set up to play "commune": I want all the adult commune members to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is "volunteering" at the library: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is leading a children's chess club, in the new GT system: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- Some children stroll by my "nursing home" household: I really want some of my Elders to be able to stop the nice children and pat them on the head.
And you know what? Weird is okay. This is a game where cowplants eat people. It's always been a game with lots of room for weird. I don't want someone else's definition of family play to exclude my weird gameplay. Nothing stops you from not using "pat the nice child on the head" outside of the family.
Lol. Thank you. Now maybe you understand how family players feel about being excluded.
We just want some things to enjoy out of this game, too.
ETA: See how passionate you got about the thought of your type of gameplay being excluded? I've felt excluded from this game since it was released. And according to RF's interview, there's nothing wrong with that. So apparently, there's nothing wrong with a few exclusions. I did say I didn't mind additional options, though. But it will get messy... While we're at it, let's unlock all interactions for all sim types, ages, species, etc. regardless of relationship. No need for interactions to unlock with skills, either.
I have always understood family players' passionate feeling of exclusion. I've understood it since Day 1. I just don't want to see adding things for family play turn into excluding something else. The idea is to stop excluding, no? Explaining how I would use those family-play-intended things in a way that involves non-relatives is in no way a diss on family play. I've been playing families since The Sims in 2000; I just have always enjoyed playing beyond relatives.
Good. Neither do I. I tried to explain my meaning better in my reply to Slawfish above.
Oh lord, I watched biologically accurate Catdog and it ruined part of my childhood x.x but I too would actually like Sims with disabilities and mobility devices, it would be more realistic if Sims could say, break their legs and have to go to the Hospital, then their Families and Friends could visit them and give them flowers and chocolate and a get well card, also seeing rocket wheel chairs would be epic! I'd like to see Pets with a missing leg, mainly because those Pets seem to be ignored often in the real world but I'm one of those people who want to give these ignored animals the love they deserve! One thing I hope they do is have less restrictions with clothing, Males can have Fairy Make-Up but not the Costume even though there are male Fairies? No Princess Costume for Boys? Well that's mainly Spooky Stuff haha.
LOL that must have been scary. I loved the show. Yeah I would love that. I know a pet with three legs could be interesting. I had a cool dog in the neighborhood with three legs. His name was Jinx, but super sweet jack russell terrier. So yes in a way disabilities I'd love to have included in my family play someday. Yes more unisex clothes and cosmetics would be nice. Some of the pants the male Sims have I'd love if female Sims could wear. I grew up as a tomboy myself and I still love sports. So it would be cool for stories to have a child or teen grow up with the tomboy style then see if they want to continue dressing that way or not. I dress a lot more girly with dresses and everything now.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Hope you don't mind @halimali1980, but I'm quoting you because you summed it up so perfectly for me:
- A sim annoying another sims is NOT family play. Just because they are siblings and doing it does not mean it is family play!
- sims splashing water on each other is NOT a family play
- Sims talking and joking is NOT a family play
- Sims eating together and talking is NOT a family play
A family play where sims acknowledge each other as family members. where there is warmness. Like a grand mother holding her grand child and singing a lullaby for him. A family play is when the sim parents lecture their children if they did something wrong. A family play is when the children go running to hug their father the soonest he gets back from work.
Whatever you have mentioned like talking, eating, joking etc can happen between stranger sims! A child sim would not go running to hug a stranger when he comes from work but he will do it to his mother or father.
Whatever action can be done on stranger sims means it is NOT a family play. Family play is EXCLUSIVE actions on family only.
I think that what is and what isn't family play is subjective, to me annoying sibling, splashing water, socialisation and even just eating and talking at the dinner table is family play, because it's a family playing together, doing things together, interacting with one another. All the things you mentioned such as singing lullabies, lectures towards Children and hugging people that come back from Work isn't restricted to family in real life or in the virtual world, anyone can do those things, so does that mean those aren't technically family play? Also if socialisation isn't family play, then how is lecturing or any form of communication considerable as family play to you? I think talking is a pretty big thing in families in my opinion at least.
It is certainly subjective, but with regards to what is missing from this game, some say family play is not missing because of the things you've listed. But obviously, many of us family players feel the opposite and this explains why. The interactions you mentioned are not restricted in the virtual world and that's one reason I don't consider them family play. I'm referring back to when family play was done right (Sims 2,) and even though anyone can swing somebody around or dance on their toes, it was restricted to families.
Socialization is family play when it is specific to family. Talking is a big thing, but I can also talk to my enemies or a complete stranger. It's the type of socialization that matters.
Although the main thing missing for me are the social interactions, it's more about what you "expect" a family and kids to do rather than what they "can" do. I expect a mom to lecture her child for missing curfew, but I don't expect the mom to lecture her best friend for missing curfew.
Another example: I saw someone mentioning all the things kids can do in the game packs, to prove that family play was better because kids can do more stuff. I'm sorry, but I don't know many kids who just can't wait to get home from school to jump into a hot tub. What happened to bike riding, playing catch and jumping rope?
Fair enough, although I have to say I still don't believe the game should show restrictions to Sims based on whether they are family members of not, I hope they just give us a Relationships Options Tab so that we can choose what's exclusive to which type of people and what isn't. That'll be a step in the right direction imo since we obviously have a diverse range of people with different perspectives on the topic.
That's fine. But I still think you're missing the point. The type of family play that existed in the Sims2 was exclusive for a reason: it was the type of behavior that you'd expect to see between close family members. I'm not asking for actions to be restricted arbitrarily; it simply should make sense. Like when a parent lovingly pats his child on the head in order to say "well done," would you walk up to a complete stranger and do that? Lol. Even close friends don't (where I'm from,) it would be weird.
But whatever. Since some people feel that any and everything=family play, I'm not surprised and I'm always open for more options in the game.
It's not just about strangers vs. family. It's about defined-family vs. everybody else.
Here are some reasonable gameplay scenarios for patting kids' heads:
- A household set up to play "boarding school": I want the teacher/headmistress to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- A household set up to play "commune": I want all the adult commune members to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is "volunteering" at the library: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- My Sim is leading a children's chess club, in the new GT system: I want him or her to be able to pat the nice children on the head.
- Some children stroll by my "nursing home" household: I really want some of my Elders to be able to stop the nice children and pat them on the head.
And you know what? Weird is okay. This is a game where cowplants eat people. It's always been a game with lots of room for weird. I don't want someone else's definition of family play to exclude my weird gameplay. Nothing stops you from not using "pat the nice child on the head" outside of the family.
You just reminded me of an orphanage household I played whilst waiting for Get to Work's release. It was one adult staff member with 7 (seven!) kids, they drove her insane lol! I stopped playing it because I discovered that I'm unable to play with so many sims at the same time. Guess I'll be making a new one using Get Together's group mechanic.
Draft that won't go away...nothing to see here. Well, it has definitely been an interesting read. I truly had no idea that family play meant so many different things to different people. I really hope everyone eventually gets what they feel they need from this game. I doubt it but I still hope. Happy Simming.
I think that "family Play" means play what YOU want to do... it doesn't really matter what other people think. It's only what you think, and on most of the Sims 4 trailers it said," You Live, You Rule." so you can be a free spirit... that's why they made it! uh derr! :p
So I'll just start passing out cookies now, because the original post was so long, I separated it, lol.
I liked to be detailed in the case that EA/Maxis reads this and is taking notes. I've always wanted more catering to family play than we've gotten. My expectations for the game were and probably always will be lower than my hopes. When it comes to enriching family play I love seeing and would love to see things like:
Good and balanced Story Progression
Great Genetics
Advance option to increase or decrease maximum population, mark which households aren't affected by Story Progression, maximum lot sizes allowed, and the number of sims/pets allowed in a household, allowing us more control over our households and how big they are.
More relationship choices in CAS
step mom/step dad
step brother/step sister
half siblings (the ability to say his mother is Woman A and her mother is Woman B is key)
adopted siblings/children (not sharing the family genes, but may pick up a few personality traits or quirks though, lol)
aunt/uncle
cousin
grandmother/grandfather
ex boyfriend/girlfriend
ex fiancé
ex husband/wife
Broader life stage connections. There are adults and young adults who have babies, toddlers, or children that are siblings.
Creating all life stages in CAS like babies, puppies, kittens, and foals and making pregnant sims in CAS. If I make a family in CAS and I want a toddler, I'm going to decide how that toddler will look based upon how I make them to look at an older age then just revert them back before exiting CAS. I would love to be able to do that with a baby and select little outfits for the baby to be in or even decide if the sim is pregnant with that or those particular kids and how far along she is at the start.
Choosing ages, or at least the order of birth in CAS.
Editing skill sets, jobs, job levels, and connections in town in CAS. It takes time away when you're trying to make an already established family and put them into town and the story the parents are highly successful and accomplished but you have to build those skills and job levels and connections up. Always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine and it really blows when making townies.
If needed/wanted building the generations in CAS. You've got you sim or sims, and you just want to go back (their parents, their parent's parents, and so on), maybe make a family mausoleum or cemetery and create that detailed history who had what job, points achieved over their lifetime, where they lived, what school they went to, etc. Afterwards either they show up in the family inventory to be placed or we can go to edit town, the cemetery, and place them ourselves.
For traits to be even more influential. Traits and combinations of traits should influence certain interactions depending on the situation. And this can be things we trigger ourselves and/or things that at a certain level of free-will they do on their own.
Couch potato Johnny's in trouble for his grades in school and his genius and snooty little sister shows off her grades to their parents, head held high, looking down her nose at her brother with a little smirk while Johnny just stares at her with a deadpanned expression.
Athletic but clumsy Lionel is jogging up the yard to the front door and trips and falls face first into the grass. He's fine, but his ego's a bit bruised. His goofy brother Cole watching from atop the jungle gym immediately starts slapping his knee, laughing out loud making Lionel blush and grumble under his breath as he heads on in the house.
Dad who is observant but thinks he's Mr. Fix It breaks the dishwasher and glares at his daughter, with a good sense of humor, who cracks a joke. She stops laughing but when he turns his back her mother, also with a good sense of humors, snickers and gives her a high five. Dad, ever observant, whips back around and both immediately stop laughing... or at least they try to.
This is something a bit more builder and open world oriented, but I feel this would also be great for family play and legacies; larger lot sizes or the ability to buy up lots or extra space around your lot. Imagine a piece of land, many acres that's been in the family for generations and that's grown and expanded.
The main house, space for the farm with crop, the barn to store farming equipment, another barn and more space for all the animal, and guest house, and being able to fence all of that off for that one family. Far bigger than 64x64.
The main house, and tons of acres for a horse ranch and training grounds for the horses. I have a family in one game that are very horse oriented and I wish I could combine about four 64x64 lots together and let the family run a horse ranch.
Or even tons of acres creating this deep, enriching, sort of middle of the forest setting to hold a wedding where folks in the wedding party could sneak off and hook up, the father of the bride could take a minute and get his "allergies" together, they could get married either in front of a lake with a waterfall, in a clearing between the trees, on a cliff overlooking the forest, just a large nature wedding venue.
A large castle for a royal family with a garden, stables, and plenty of land to roam. Sometimes one's imagination is bigger than 64x64.
Maintained connections. No matter where a sim travels or chooses to live, or what they do, their family tree and relationships should remain the same.
Connected towns/cities. This is another thing that isn't entirely family based, but it aids in family activities. Say Aunt Glenda lives in the town over, and the family can go visit her for the weekend! Or maybe the family wants to climb in the car and spend the weekend at the Water Park two towns over! Yet another thing where larger lot seizes come in handy!
The Little Things!
A dad with the sloppy and couch potato traits sitting with his family oriented son who wants to be just like him. The dad burps and the son follows his lead and burps too. The dad scratches the back of his neck with one hand and put his other arm across the back of the couch, the son does like wise, and the father puts his sock covered feet up on the coffee table so the son does as well. Another way traits can influence.
A big brother sneaking his little brother into a movie he shouldn't see
Toddlers climbing into bed with the one parent still asleep and taking a nap with them or waking them up with a sippy cup to the face
Kids climbing into bed with their parents after a nightmare or during a thunderstorm
A brother putting their younger sibling in a headlock and giving them a noogie or sticking their sibling's face in their smelly armpit
A kid brother jumping on his sister's bed and reading her diary, making kissy noises and teasing her as he tries to escape her wrath
Two goofy brothers who are adults and one still jumps on the other's back when they run into one another and they just start wrestling
Kids sitting on the stairs eavesdropping on what punishment their parents plan to enforce
The teen sneaking in the house past curfew and breathing a sigh of relief when he makes it inside and finds both parents asleep
Driving the kids to school
Checking the kids out of school early to start the family vacation
Bring your child to work day
Parents sitting in the floor playing with their kids having tea parties, playing dress up, or playing cars
Setting the table and sitting down for dinner together
Over protective parents or siblings spying on their daughter/sister on her date and getting scolded when caught
A father, grandfather, and uncle trying to build a toy or treehouse for their child/grandchild/niece or nephew
A grandma spoiling her grandchildren with candy or other unhealthy foods while the mother complains
And this is just something I wanted to add, not really a "point," but the kids wanting to be more like their parents, that could hold suggestive influence (or just flat out influence if not raised well) over traits when the sim ages up. The game notices that the family oriented child who has been copying his father could have picked up the slob trait if we, the player, want that to be. Like in the past when if the game notices my toddler is attracted to the little xylophone and has maxed that skill out, on their birthday the suggested trait already in the selection box is Virtuoso.
Items to help aid in the gameplay.
Strollers, car seats, booster seats, high chairs, potty chairs, step stools, baby carriers/slings/wraps
Diapers, wipes, bottles, cleaning and grooming stations or items, blankets
Bikes, skateboards, scooters, toy vehicles, wagons, push rides, rocking horses
Play mats, play pens, bouncers, swings, walkers, rattles, toy keys, little tables and chairs and rocking chairs, night lights
A variety of toys like dolls, stuffed animals, robots, action figures, easy bake ovens, blocks, little keyboards, guitars, etch n sketch, that annoying little thing with the colorful balls that pops them up as the child rolls them along and makes you want to hide it. cute toys, creepy toys, etc.
Swings, tire swings, jungle gyms, slides, monkey bars, seesaws, merry go round, spring riders, play houses, those combination jungle gyms with a bit of everything, ball pits, tunnels and mazes, etc.
I really loved Sims 2. It was truly a joy overall! Since there were comments made above in this thread that praised Sims 2 as perhaps the epitomy or example of how family relationships should be more than any other Sims version, it got me to remembering something---something that I found to be a big letdown. Admittedly, I haven't played Sims 2 in 6 years; however, I recall some gameplay here and there that would often bother me. One such area was between family members. I remember several instances where, if the lifetime relationship fell too low between related Sims, they would no longer hug each other or show affection, no matter if it was between siblings, parent and child, or whatever. This was true even if they had never been angry with each other.
One family in particular with which I first noticed this (because they were my favorites) was my Grunt family. Ripp Grunt had married Erin Singles and had 2 kids, a boy and girl. Once grown, the daughter moved out to a sub-town I'd created and she got married and started a family there. I'd switched to the sub-town and played her household for some time. One day the daughter decided to invite her parents over to visit. When Ripp and Erin arrived on the doorstep, the daughter went to hug her mom as she was so happy to see her again. But Erin backed away shaking her head and waving her hands like, "No, uh-uh! I'm not hugging you, I don't know you anymore!" Their lifetime relationship had diminished before the visit, but nothing bad had ever happened between them---no anger, no fights---just a period of no contact. I remember being mad at Erin and thinking, "Hey, that's your daughter! Give her a hug. What's the matter with you?" They had regressed to mere acquaintances, not making the mother/daughter connection, (even though it showed in their relation panel). They had to get to know each other all over again, just like.....townies. They weren't even friends yet by the time the visit was over. I was very saddened to see this. I began to notice this was happening in my other households, too. Not sure, but I think eventually I discovered there was a reward or cheat or something to prevent relationship decay, which helped future situations, but it still made a disappointing impression at the time it occurred. (Those who still play Sims 2, clue me in!)
Sorry, I know this is getting long, but please, I hope you bear with me...
Anyhow, today I decided to try a scenario in Sims 4 with a household I've been playing that has strained relationships. The mother and rebellious son barely have anything established at all. In fact they're only acquaintances. The rambunctious boy likes to tease his mother a lot and play the mischief maker, which upsets her of course, but that's the story I'm playing.
I had the boy mock his mom enough to anger her. Their relationship has never been good, and here in this picture you can see it is almost non-existent. Here the boy has made his mother angry and she scolds her son for his misbehavior. The clock shows it's 5:58pm. (As an aside, the daughter seemed adversely affected by all this and autonomously went inside to "cheer up" her big stuffed dinosaur...awww)
After that, the boy stayed outside reading a book. The mother sat in the hot tub for awhile, then went inside to eat some cake (comfort food). Lol. I thought she would cool off, but no. By the clock you can see it is now about 1-1/2 hours later (7:21pm), and the mother is still angry (angry buff usually lasts 4 hours). Anyway, to proceed with my scenario, I wanted them to hug, and although "hug" was on her social menu, it was grayed-out, and said she was too angry to do that. So then I thought, "I wonder if the boy can hug his mom instead?" Yes, he could! But then I wondered whether the mother would accept it or not, since she was still angry and their relationship was practically nil and showed them as only acquaintances. I didn't expect it, but she accepted!! Notice even though the new exchange starts off "Unpleasant" as a result of their earlier conversation, and even though still mad, nevertheless this was her little boy and she loves him in spite of everything. At least that's how I would feel toward my child, and what I pictured happening in my story.
Now some may think, "Well, Sims 4 is all screwed up, that's why that happened." But I took it as evidence of special family recognition and was so glad to see it (so sweet!). That's what I want to see in my game. I could be wrong, but I doubt I could have gotten the same result in Sims 2 given the same conditions. It would be interesting to see the result if this was her step son, or adopted son, but my assumption is that it would be the same result. So, I guess my point here is that while there are pros and cons to every version of The Sims, for me this particular interaction in Sims 4 wins out in comparison to the ones I experienced years ago in Sims 2. I see it as a nuturing example of family play built into Sims 4. It doesn't mean I don't think Sims 4 could use other family improvements. I still want autonomous extra-marital affairs to stop! Grrrrrrrrr!
By the way, in another household I did an experiment to see if this "acquaintance hugging" ability might be commonplace. I had a Sim go downtown and meet a random townie. My Sim was happy and they both started to chat, so the relationship bar was barely showing. I looked for "hug" on the social menu. Not there. I searched several times during the next couple of minutes while they talked. My Sim had no less than 20 different social interactions available (I think that's amazing in itself and love it! And this was just under the Friendly menu alone!). But "hug" was not one of them. The two Sims would have to increase their relationship bar first, unlike my mother and son example above. I believe this helps show there is distinction in relation recognition in this game. Granted, these are just quick tests I did, and certainly aren't exhaustive, but they did happen and are what I perceived. So these examples may not even mean anything to anyone else, but I had fun on my adventure today and just thought I'd share. (And sorry for the length.)
Comments
I've played since the beginning...
I think the problem is that people are thinking too general, when I'm thinking of more specific interactions. I wouldn't say that a child should never hug anyone who isn't family. But there could still be a "special" type of hug for family. Here's an example: The Sims 2 had a "Family Kiss" that was different from other kisses in the game. Now, having this kiss did not mean everyone else was excluded from kissing each other. No more than having a "Family Hug" would stop you from hugging anyone else. It meant there was a very special one, animated differently, for family.
That is my definition of family play and I'm sticking to it.
That's why I said "mostly."
Hi
I must disagree ....
I know it's been discussed in Detail over the year of this game and if not everyone goes into precise detail any more I'm sure they are either tired of having to say it over and over or tired of being told that others are tired of hearing it over and over.
This isn't the first topic and probably not the 100th topic on What is Family play and people feels is lacking in family play..
I believe a player will know when there is family play that they enjoy and some might find it boring- I find Teens too long a stage and annoying in most of the Sims games. This one even more so but others love and like them- which doesn't mean my opinion on them is less to family play.
So, family play is what a player likes in the game which pertains to the family.
Edit: Oops, forgot children. They are important, too.
I have always understood family players' passionate feeling of exclusion. I've understood it since Day 1. I just don't want to see adding things for family play turn into excluding something else. The idea is to stop excluding, no? Explaining how I would use those family-play-intended things in a way that involves non-relatives is in no way a diss on family play. I've been playing families since The Sims in 2000; I just have always enjoyed playing beyond relatives.
The best thing I love in The Sims with Families is that other Sims don't judge your Sims for being Orphans, having Single Parents or have same gender Parents. Honestly I love how pixels show more equality and fairness than the entire human race.
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
@Prink34320 Thank you so much for making this thread. It's been a wonderful read to find out what family play means to all of us.
Yes, I guess it is just some of us (more than a few less than a billion). Some do feel things are missing. I'm so happy you are enjoying the game. I hope to one day like it, too.
Seconding that, Prink! I've found the range of what people feel makes "family play" in Sims to be really interesting in this topic.
I agree with you both. It is frustrating to tell the developers what we need and when it's finally implemented, it misses the mark. If we don't go into details, it's very likely that they'll misinterpret the need. However, it has been discussed to death, for sure. I would be even more worried about this franchise if they didn't get the picture by now.
I feel a bit jealous not being old enough to play the original The Sims
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
I think so.... maybe. It's hard to go to the older graphics and they're more demanding in their needs. It takes a long time to earn the money to build a house and get the good furnishings.
But it was so addicting and fun and frustrating. XD
*Removed link*. Sorry I'll try to find a better one. This thread talked about it: http://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/773540/sims-1-with-all-expansions-can-run-in-windows-8-1-but-solved-i-hope
Probably ask about it in that area of forums how to do it.
Oh lord, I watched biologically accurate Catdog and it ruined part of my childhood x.x but I too would actually like Sims with disabilities and mobility devices, it would be more realistic if Sims could say, break their legs and have to go to the Hospital, then their Families and Friends could visit them and give them flowers and chocolate and a get well card, also seeing rocket wheel chairs would be epic! I'd like to see Pets with a missing leg, mainly because those Pets seem to be ignored often in the real world but I'm one of those people who want to give these ignored animals the love they deserve!
Sometimes your creativity is limited where you use it most, but you can use those limitations to inspire new forms of creativity you may never have thought of beforehand.
Good. Neither do I. I tried to explain my meaning better in my reply to Slawfish above.
You just reminded me of an orphanage household I played whilst waiting for Get to Work's release. It was one adult staff member with 7 (seven!) kids, they drove her insane lol! I stopped playing it because I discovered that I'm unable to play with so many sims at the same time. Guess I'll be making a new one using Get Together's group mechanic.
Rosebud Challenge
My Drifter Challenge II
Orgin ID: Glimmer50
One family in particular with which I first noticed this (because they were my favorites) was my Grunt family. Ripp Grunt had married Erin Singles and had 2 kids, a boy and girl. Once grown, the daughter moved out to a sub-town I'd created and she got married and started a family there. I'd switched to the sub-town and played her household for some time. One day the daughter decided to invite her parents over to visit. When Ripp and Erin arrived on the doorstep, the daughter went to hug her mom as she was so happy to see her again. But Erin backed away shaking her head and waving her hands like, "No, uh-uh! I'm not hugging you, I don't know you anymore!" Their lifetime relationship had diminished before the visit, but nothing bad had ever happened between them---no anger, no fights---just a period of no contact. I remember being mad at Erin and thinking, "Hey, that's your daughter! Give her a hug. What's the matter with you?" They had regressed to mere acquaintances, not making the mother/daughter connection, (even though it showed in their relation panel). They had to get to know each other all over again, just like.....townies.
Sorry, I know this is getting long, but please, I hope you bear with me...
Anyhow, today I decided to try a scenario in Sims 4 with a household I've been playing that has strained relationships. The mother and rebellious son barely have anything established at all. In fact they're only acquaintances. The rambunctious boy likes to tease his mother a lot and play the mischief maker, which upsets her of course, but that's the story I'm playing.
I had the boy mock his mom enough to anger her. Their relationship has never been good, and here in this picture you can see it is almost non-existent. Here the boy has made his mother angry and she scolds her son for his misbehavior. The clock shows it's 5:58pm. (As an aside, the daughter seemed adversely affected by all this and autonomously went inside to "cheer up" her big stuffed dinosaur...awww)
After that, the boy stayed outside reading a book. The mother sat in the hot tub for awhile, then went inside to eat some cake (comfort food). Lol.
Now some may think, "Well, Sims 4 is all screwed up, that's why that happened." But I took it as evidence of special family recognition and was so glad to see it (so sweet!). That's what I want to see in my game. I could be wrong, but I doubt I could have gotten the same result in Sims 2 given the same conditions. It would be interesting to see the result if this was her step son, or adopted son, but my assumption is that it would be the same result. So, I guess my point here is that while there are pros and cons to every version of The Sims, for me this particular interaction in Sims 4 wins out in comparison to the ones I experienced years ago in Sims 2. I see it as a nuturing example of family play built into Sims 4. It doesn't mean I don't think Sims 4 could use other family improvements. I still want autonomous extra-marital affairs to stop! Grrrrrrrrr!
By the way, in another household I did an experiment to see if this "acquaintance hugging" ability might be commonplace. I had a Sim go downtown and meet a random townie. My Sim was happy and they both started to chat, so the relationship bar was barely showing. I looked for "hug" on the social menu. Not there. I searched several times during the next couple of minutes while they talked. My Sim had no less than 20 different social interactions available (I think that's amazing in itself and love it! And this was just under the Friendly menu alone!). But "hug" was not one of them. The two Sims would have to increase their relationship bar first, unlike my mother and son example above. I believe this helps show there is distinction in relation recognition in this game. Granted, these are just quick tests I did, and certainly aren't exhaustive, but they did happen and are what I perceived. So these examples may not even mean anything to anyone else, but I had fun on my adventure today and just thought I'd share. (And sorry for the length.)