Aspirations are a MESS: Hopes and Dreams for The Sims 5

simmerorigin

I feel like EAxis has made aspirations in The Sims 4 a catch-all for any "gameplay element." Added a new feature? Make an aspiration out of it. Added a new skill? Make an aspiration. Need a tutorial for a new world? New aspiration.

This misses the point entirely and is terrible game design. There are legitimate reasons for including tutorials and objectives....but make them something else! Make that a new system entirely....simply call them "Objectives." Objectives can be those checklist items that are currently masquerading as aspirations in TS4. A romance sim can still complete the objective to explore Henford on Bagley just like a family-oriented sim. Hence, a separate system. An Objectives system.

But let's be clear. They're not aspirations. Aspirations are best implemented in The Sims 2. What are they? They are a high-level orientation for the Sims. What do they want to get out of life? What type of experience makes them happy? Knowledge, Romance, Friendships, etc.? The Sims 2 aspirations were a great list, though I can think of a few more to add...an "Exploration" aspiration and a "Creativity" aspiration...the former would focus on quests, travel, and collecting and the latter focused on freelancing, craftables, and creative endeavors.

Aspirations should be semi-permanent and DIRECTLY related to a wants and fears system. Why? Well if the only wants you have are basic actions like talk with a sim or order a drink at a bar, that's NOT impactful. Wants should be stepping stones aligned with the general orientation of that aspiration. You are a fortune sim? Wants you should roll should be related to making money, developing your career, and building businesses. But someone that does not care for money would be unlikely to have those wants. In general, wants should start small but ultimately lead to longer-term wants that require time and work to complete.

My make-or-break hope for the Sims 5 is that the aspiration and wants & fears systems build on the success of TS2. EAxis, please don't reinvent the wheel, and don't fix what isn't broken.

What do you guys think? Are you satisfied with how the Sims 4 has handled aspirations and wants & fears? What do you hope for in the Sims 5?

simopolis

I think you nailed it!

simmerorigin

Thank you!

Sindocat

I am going to disagree.

I play multiple Aspirations simultaneously - a trick my sister taught me. Yes, Cassandra has academic aspirations. But at the same time, she also has a legitimate interest in understanding magic as a Spellcaster, and also wants to be sure she gives her painting the attention it deserves. Progressing any of those is satisfying to her. And, whims aside, Aspirations are the mechanism we have for cultivating satisfaction as a currency to buy traits.

I vastly prefer Aspirations to the old one-and-done Sims 3 Lifetime Wish. They aren't lifetime wishes - they are goals our sims have right now. I used to play them serially: "Riley has reached his peak as a chef. Let's focus on outdoorsy stuff." But the ability to move between them, and progress several, is golden.

simmerorigin

I didn't like the Sims 3 implementation either. But I think that Sims with multiple aspirations can coexist...just not those objectives that are in the Sims 4.

Onverser

I think people forget that in Sims 4 they are called Aspirations, not Lifetime Ambition or Lifetime Wish. They have a different name because they are a different thing. In real life an aspiration can be something as minor as "live in the city", or "get a promotion", or "get good at x task", an ambition isn't the same as having a lifetime goal. I think some of them are a bit stupid though but for me I heavily prefer them over the Sims 3's lifetime ambitions as they were too big and just had zero sense of progression or achievement because it was just one thing

TARDISgrade

I'm in the minority here, but I actually do like the aspirations as they're implemented in TS4. Very much so. I don't recall in detail how they worked in TS2 or the ambitions in TS3 because I haven't played either in ages but I do recall how much I hated this feature, especially in TS2.

I see aspirations as they are implemented in TS4 as some goals that a Sim wants to achieve at some point in their life, and, in particular, something that contributes to defining their individual personality. I like the fact that there are so many different ones and that they are related to a variety of things such as skills, locations, etc. I also enjoy very much that some of them are very easy and fast to achieve while others are more demanding - because in real life it's the same (you can have some aspirations in life that are more modest and others that are quite ambitious, or short-term ambitions/goals vs long term ones, etc).
I'm also grateful we can switch to a different aspiration at any time (and without losing progress in the one we have abandoned) as typically my Sims complete several in their life. And temporarily switching to a different aspiration adds a layer of realism. A teen may have an aspiration (say, become a writer or artist, or explore the jungle...) but then they grow into an adult, start a family or a career and suddenly their priorities shift and they may choose to pursue a different aspiration... But at some point they might be able to pick up their very first aspiration, the one that they had to put aside for a while and that they can pursue. This kind of freedom is contributing to making my Sims very well developed character-wise. I remember TS2 andTS3 were awfully limiting in this sense.
Finally, I like that there is a trait associated with the first aspirations you choose for your Sim, and more traits they can earn when aspirations are completed. Again, it contributes to creating Sims who are individually different and have rich personalities and back-ground experiences.

What I would like to see in TS4 is even more aspirations and of more types. Including more aspirations for children too, not just the 4 we currently have, which do not allow to diversify children from one another very much.

Said so, in a future instalment (TS5) it would be interesting to see a new approach to aspirations / ambitions / life goals.

Seera1024

I think a mixture is best between Sims 2 and Sims 4 for aspiration.

People very rarely have one aspiration.

They have a main aspiration and a few side ones.

So Sims should have a main aspiration. If they have a trait that gets added due to aspiration like they do for Sims 4, it should be due to the main aspiration.

And Sims can choose up to 2 side aspirations to work towards. Or choose none or choose 1. Like how secondary aspirations were optional in Sims 2.

So a Sim whose main aspiration is to be the best doctor ever, can also work towards having a successful family and being super wealthy as well.

That way people can choose a few aspirations to work towards at any given time.

But you don't have access to all of the aspirations at one time like you do with Sims 4.

And like how in Sims 2, you get a change aspiration option at Junior year of college, that should happen at the age transition. You can choose to change the main/side aspirations or keep them.

simmerorigin

I like that idea @Seera1024 .

You post reminded me - I never understood why assigning an aspiration gave you a trait that benefits that aspiration? That makes no sense. What if you want a romantic sim that is terrible at being a romantic and is very unfulfilled and unhappy.....but now you are forced to get a trait that makes you successful at working towards being a romantic?

Like EA...what is with that game design?

ChampandGirlie

I think they should probably have an option for the gameplay format based on whether the player wants an open-ended style to direct their own gameplay or if they want to play the game of the sim's life through completing challenges and aspirations that they need to fulfill or they will suffer. Personally, I like a more open-ended style in which I can decide what I want my sims to do. I actually often ignore aspirations and prefer being able to do so. For a long while, I played without any whims and even now, I only refer to them optionally at times.

I want more gameplay as well but like keeping the open approach but I think there is a chunk of players out there who want more ways to "beat the game" or who want more role-playing direction. I'll only be interested in that if it isn't forced on me and if I can switch it off at any time. Honestly, the packs most like that are JtB and Strangerville. It has been a long time since I played TS2 though it did have some interesting features, I think one of the biggest debates in this game is whether actions should be optional or not. It appears that they are going more for optional challenges such as the lot challenges. I think that's a good approach though it does seem like they water down gameplay a bit at times.

Beyond that, determining what gameplay should be in future Sims content is a central point. I agree that they should go beyond relying heavily on aspirations for gameplay. They are one part of that. On my end, I think I am most interested in gameplay objects, new animations and new optional ways to play. I'm fine with adding more "consequences" but want to keep all of that as optional as possible. If the game starts telling me too much of what to do with sims, I'm going to play it less. I understand that there are others who want a different experience and that's fine as long as they are ok with sharing the game with different types of players.

Metior_Ice

simmerorigin wrote: »

I like that idea @Seera1024 .

You post reminded me - I never understood why assigning an aspiration gave you a trait that benefits that aspiration? That makes no sense. What if you want a romantic sim that is terrible at being a romantic and is very unfulfilled and unhappy.....but now you are forced to get a trait that makes you successful at working towards being a romantic?

Like EA...what is with that game design?

@simmerorigin

Why not get a different aspiration with a trait you want from the beginning and switch aspirations later. You can't get multiple aspiration traits without cheating...

Metior_Ice

Also, I might be in the minority because I like the aspiration system, and I have no interest in sims 5 until some things are fixed and/or updated in the sims 4. I can't even consider a sequel with the way sims 4 is, and I don't think a sequel is a solution that would resolve any of my problems with the game.

Gamer_34567544

I like it, yet sometimes I miss the simpler aspiration system from TS3. Perhaps they could make some of the TS4 aspirations as skill journal challenges instead? I mean, my vampire could be at a Master Vampire rank but still has to engage other vampires in a spar or fight to officially get the title?

simmerorigin

Metior_Ice wrote: »

Also, I might be in the minority because I like the aspiration system, and I have no interest in sims 5 until some things are fixed and/or updated in the sims 4. I can't even consider a sequel with the way sims 4 is, and I don't think a sequel is a solution that would resolve any of my problems with the game.

Do you have interest in the Sims 5 now?