Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
Putting the 'FUN' back in funeral: Theatrical send-offs and Grim's secret family
Godleyjeans
Posts: 336 Member
Think this was an option during the first vote-able stuff pack survey and frankly, the idea it lost out to laundry still hurts as a DLC focused around a darker side to the sims 4, would've easily bumped up an unbelievably bland game to a semi playable degree, not for long but it would've been fun for a day or two.
Which is why I'm here to hopefully add it back to the drawing board, or at least give it some attention so EA can see we still want a death inspired game pack/expansion for the sims and think about throwing it in later on down the line, we still got all of 2020 for sims 4 to repair some of the damage.
---
Now, obviously death can be upsetting, and even though the past games never really brought attention to the subject, it didn't ignore a sims passing either, what with Grims spooky/saddening appearance from time to time, interactive graveyards, careers around the dead and even scary/mysterious backstories of long-dead family members of famous households, the sims overall didn't pretend a sim just took an alternate route to Hawaii and would spend eternity somewhere unreachable, because as we all know, being dead, wasn't the end, far from it, actually!
Death was just the beginning for story players, even for those who just wanted to see how far their creations could go before ghosts ran out of things to do. That or we got bored.
Funerals: with this feature, I don't at all imagine a big service or coffins in the living-room, no morgues or deeper dives into a sims departure from this world, however, I do imagine a Wake, a sadder version of a regular party like in the sims 2 (was it 2? Or 3) where you can throw a gathering and everyone can be together and mourn while Aunt Sherley's in the corner, dancing her socks off to Dustin Hieber because she and the deceased never got on and now is the perfect time to boogie down, well, until the widow decides to throw a fit and fight her for either rational or irrational reasons.
Maybe, if wanted as close to a funeral as possible without the too in-depth, possibly upsetting items/features, we could be given a new church venue, good for weddings too, and your group could hold a memorial there, as we do IRL, but instead of the coffin, we have a big photo of the sim and hold speeches where others can come up and tell stories of their friend/family member/enemy, which will follow up with a dialogue box so we know what they're saying.
To make it more interesting, perhaps an unknown love-child can burst in and disrupt the service, Grim can appear and offer his condolences, a disgruntled ex can storm in demanding money, or the ghost of the person everyone is mourning can come and cause a scene (Dance, call people out, break things, posses something or somebody) or simply sit next to their closest relationship and comfort them (Wrap an arm around a spouse, comfort a child, make a toddler giggle, pet their heartbroken pooch/kitty, etc etc), it doesn't always have to be completely sad.
The household coping: New interactions can follow after a sims death, even once the main emotion has passed, something with more depth and perhaps having a lasting effect on certain members, similar to how the memory system once worked, someone has a favorite photo/item, pets sit on their side of the sofa/bed, young children see them and act strangely while others look on, unable to see anything (Like the imaginary friend), this can happen even if the ghost has fully passed on, giving players a sense of "Are they really gone?".
If the death is that of a parent to children (Younger than adult), the other parent can struggle to raise them alone, even fighting with their teenagers who had a higher relationship with the deceased, leaving to that child running away or seeking comfort from another sim, even using new items to contact the dead sim themselves, or calling Grim and yelling at him, resulting in a "Its just my job, kiddo" reply.
Of course, things settle if you let/make them, sims return of their own accord or via police intervention/family members returning them, ghost activity cools down and eventually, toddlers/smaller children stop mentioning the dead, even pets go back to their usual selves.
Between the vale: If your sim is a vampire, wizard, anything occult that is related to magic/the other side (So not aliens, sorry guys), they can communicate with the dead/Grim/mediums and gain responses/powers/moodlets/items from certain actions, some can even bring negative energy back with them and have events/happenings similar to those in the sims 1 occur where you help Bella Goth deal with her own paranormal problems (The frightening ones that still haunt us to this day), this can also be a new career choice where you cleanse the home of sims in a less GhostBuster-y type fashion, holding talks with those long since passed and even blessing areas/items to rid them of mischievous spirits, all this, of course, comes with new music and spooky noises aimed to get the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.
The neighborhood mourns/celebrates with you: Depending on the sims reputation, the locals can either come to your aid with food and hugs, or struct merrily down the sidewalk, happy to be free of their pain in the plum neighbor, you can join them and maybe even throw a party holding a lowkey bon voyage theme, quickly putting drinks away should one of their close friends/relatives show up.
New lot traits/Venues.
Working Graveyards.
New careers (2 or 3 depending on what you want to work as, or even be)
The secret Grim Reaper household: As we already have the Specter (Specter or Spenser?) family back via the gallery, I wanted to create a whole new household related to our very own soul repo-guy, Mr Grim of the Reaper, sure he won't be an active part of this family, but he will actively be a relative of so and so via the family tree! The family, as I personally imagine it but you can see different, contests of an ironically vibrant and peppy lady, Her mother (a retired medium who hates Grim), her eldest daughter (The goth of the home), twin sons (Child age, they only wear animal onesies because hey why not) and newborn daughter (The only one whose appearance is based on the grim reaper himself), everyone believes something is going on with this family but can't put their fingers on it when the mother is your talented multitasker, running a busy home while holding down a successful photography career and breezing through life with a pep in her step and a garden of beautiful flowers.
Okay, ending it here because my brain is gone, but that leaves space for comments to fill in the content gaps, write the items/features/households you'd like to see this DLC come with! How you'd spice up death, even if spice is all things nice.
Happy simming and if Grim asks for me...say I'm in a meeting
Which is why I'm here to hopefully add it back to the drawing board, or at least give it some attention so EA can see we still want a death inspired game pack/expansion for the sims and think about throwing it in later on down the line, we still got all of 2020 for sims 4 to repair some of the damage.
---
Now, obviously death can be upsetting, and even though the past games never really brought attention to the subject, it didn't ignore a sims passing either, what with Grims spooky/saddening appearance from time to time, interactive graveyards, careers around the dead and even scary/mysterious backstories of long-dead family members of famous households, the sims overall didn't pretend a sim just took an alternate route to Hawaii and would spend eternity somewhere unreachable, because as we all know, being dead, wasn't the end, far from it, actually!
Death was just the beginning for story players, even for those who just wanted to see how far their creations could go before ghosts ran out of things to do. That or we got bored.
Funerals: with this feature, I don't at all imagine a big service or coffins in the living-room, no morgues or deeper dives into a sims departure from this world, however, I do imagine a Wake, a sadder version of a regular party like in the sims 2 (was it 2? Or 3) where you can throw a gathering and everyone can be together and mourn while Aunt Sherley's in the corner, dancing her socks off to Dustin Hieber because she and the deceased never got on and now is the perfect time to boogie down, well, until the widow decides to throw a fit and fight her for either rational or irrational reasons.
Maybe, if wanted as close to a funeral as possible without the too in-depth, possibly upsetting items/features, we could be given a new church venue, good for weddings too, and your group could hold a memorial there, as we do IRL, but instead of the coffin, we have a big photo of the sim and hold speeches where others can come up and tell stories of their friend/family member/enemy, which will follow up with a dialogue box so we know what they're saying.
To make it more interesting, perhaps an unknown love-child can burst in and disrupt the service, Grim can appear and offer his condolences, a disgruntled ex can storm in demanding money, or the ghost of the person everyone is mourning can come and cause a scene (Dance, call people out, break things, posses something or somebody) or simply sit next to their closest relationship and comfort them (Wrap an arm around a spouse, comfort a child, make a toddler giggle, pet their heartbroken pooch/kitty, etc etc), it doesn't always have to be completely sad.
The household coping: New interactions can follow after a sims death, even once the main emotion has passed, something with more depth and perhaps having a lasting effect on certain members, similar to how the memory system once worked, someone has a favorite photo/item, pets sit on their side of the sofa/bed, young children see them and act strangely while others look on, unable to see anything (Like the imaginary friend), this can happen even if the ghost has fully passed on, giving players a sense of "Are they really gone?".
If the death is that of a parent to children (Younger than adult), the other parent can struggle to raise them alone, even fighting with their teenagers who had a higher relationship with the deceased, leaving to that child running away or seeking comfort from another sim, even using new items to contact the dead sim themselves, or calling Grim and yelling at him, resulting in a "Its just my job, kiddo" reply.
Of course, things settle if you let/make them, sims return of their own accord or via police intervention/family members returning them, ghost activity cools down and eventually, toddlers/smaller children stop mentioning the dead, even pets go back to their usual selves.
Between the vale: If your sim is a vampire, wizard, anything occult that is related to magic/the other side (So not aliens, sorry guys), they can communicate with the dead/Grim/mediums and gain responses/powers/moodlets/items from certain actions, some can even bring negative energy back with them and have events/happenings similar to those in the sims 1 occur where you help Bella Goth deal with her own paranormal problems (The frightening ones that still haunt us to this day), this can also be a new career choice where you cleanse the home of sims in a less GhostBuster-y type fashion, holding talks with those long since passed and even blessing areas/items to rid them of mischievous spirits, all this, of course, comes with new music and spooky noises aimed to get the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.
The neighborhood mourns/celebrates with you: Depending on the sims reputation, the locals can either come to your aid with food and hugs, or struct merrily down the sidewalk, happy to be free of their pain in the plum neighbor, you can join them and maybe even throw a party holding a lowkey bon voyage theme, quickly putting drinks away should one of their close friends/relatives show up.
New lot traits/Venues.
Working Graveyards.
New careers (2 or 3 depending on what you want to work as, or even be)
The secret Grim Reaper household: As we already have the Specter (Specter or Spenser?) family back via the gallery, I wanted to create a whole new household related to our very own soul repo-guy, Mr Grim of the Reaper, sure he won't be an active part of this family, but he will actively be a relative of so and so via the family tree! The family, as I personally imagine it but you can see different, contests of an ironically vibrant and peppy lady, Her mother (a retired medium who hates Grim), her eldest daughter (The goth of the home), twin sons (Child age, they only wear animal onesies because hey why not) and newborn daughter (The only one whose appearance is based on the grim reaper himself), everyone believes something is going on with this family but can't put their fingers on it when the mother is your talented multitasker, running a busy home while holding down a successful photography career and breezing through life with a pep in her step and a garden of beautiful flowers.
Okay, ending it here because my brain is gone, but that leaves space for comments to fill in the content gaps, write the items/features/households you'd like to see this DLC come with! How you'd spice up death, even if spice is all things nice.
Happy simming and if Grim asks for me...say I'm in a meeting
4
Comments
The mausoleum lot can be a lot like the hospital lot but open (visitable at anytime), you want to pull a tombstone of a sim household you saved from culling, you could pull it from there and keep their spirit tied to the worlds or release it.
Cemetery lots can be in world lots so you can have a designated family plot to visit
Hospital needs to be unlocked in a free update and a small chance to die from the illnesses in the hospital career if you've had it too long and waited till the last min to go to the hospital.