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The 'Nobody Knows' Challenge (Aka. The Pippi Longstocking Challenge)
AnnarithBallantyne
Posts: 18 Member
This is a challenge that is still under development, so any input from my fellow Simmers would be welcome. Here are the basics.
The Premise:
You have one new teenager (or pre-teen if you have Kaito's mod) who lives with a single parent and is very happy. They live a comfortable middle class life and the teenager has grown up very well-adjusted under the care of their loving, attentive parent. They do well in school, participate in extracurriculars, have some friends, and are generally responsible and well-behaved. Their parent is their best friend in general, though, and they tend to like hanging at home with their only family more often than not.
Then, something happens. The nature of that something is up to the challenger, but the single parent is out-of-commission for a significant amount of time. Maybe the parent gets into a car accident or is diagnosed with cancer and has to be in the hospital for an extended period of time. Maybe they have a mental health crisis so bad that they have to check themselves into a psychiatric institution. Maybe they're called away on a business trip for several months. Maybe--much like Pippi Longstocking's father in the animated movie--is lost at sea but tells the teenager to wait for them to return at home.
Either way, the result is the same: a teenager who is at home alone with no adults to care for them, and who is determined to not let anyone know their other parent is not in the picture for awhile. After all, if anyone in protective services gets wind of what's going on, they may take the teen away and put them in foster care, and that is not an option. All they have to do is convince the world at large that their parent is around until they return.
This is when the challenge begins.
The Setup:
This is the part that is still under official design, because I don't have any specific, hard and fast numbers yet. However, the basic starting criteria are as follows:
-One teenager in one house. You can design a parent and keep them in the library for story purposes until it's time for their return.
-No one else can be in the teenager's family tree other than the single parent.
-The teenager cannot start with any friendships ASIDE FROM A BEST FRIEND IF PRE-CREATED.
-The house cannot be a cheap starter (20,000) but must be affordable enough for the teenager to be able to pay for with a part-time job and/or craft selling.
-The starting world is completely up to the player; however, a more populated world would be ideal.
-You must join an after-school activity or part-time job the moment you hit 'play'.
-You can cheat your money at the start so that it's enough to pay the first round of bills--no more and no less.
-You can either set the lifespan to long/no aging or cheat the teenager into remaining a teenager for the duration of the challenge.
-Mods are allowed and encouraged for this challenge!
The Rules:
The teenager MUST:
-Maintain an A average at school and cannot miss a day. You can start at the basic C rank (since they're a new teenager) but must obtain an A average as soon as possible.
-Have a part-time job or extracurricular and cannot miss a day.
-Pay the bills relatively on time every month. This means that they cannot have the water or power shut off. It's a definite game over if the Repo Man has to come.
-Keep the house perfectly clean. If anyone comes by and notices any dirt or grunge, it's game over.
-Go to school with all their needs in the green. They can be low-green, but they must be green.
-Allow anyone who knocks on their door or wants to come over and visit into their home.
-Decorate for every reasonable holiday (Harvestfest, Winterfest, New Year's Eve).
-(Not required, but for extra challenge) Bring a sack lunch to school every day, so they can pretend their parent is making it for them.
-(Not required, but for extra challenge) Have an outside garden and maintain it regularly.
The teenager CAN:
-Use crafting (needlepoint, knitting, cooking, baking, woodworking, candlemaking, fabricating, flower arranging, potion-brewing, etc.), gardening, odd jobs, and/or freelancing for income, be it primary or supplemental.
-Replace broken household items or repair them if their skill is high enough.
-Upgrade appliances to save water and/or power.
-Add alternative power and water generation methods (solar panels, wind turbines, dew collectors) to the house.
-Order pizza or grocery delivery, since those folks cannot come into the house.
-Change their outfits without any money penalty.
-Invite friends over AS LONG AS a) they are also teenagers, and b) they are best friends OR have a high enough friendship level to be best friends. They're the only ones who can be trusted to not spill the secret.
-Send away vampires who invade or knock on their door.
-Send away teenagers and kids who knock on the door (since they can simply say 'my parent's sleeping'.
-Go to social events if invited.
-Start club gathering AS LONG AS they are NOT held at their house.
The teenager CANNOT:
-Hire repair-people, maids, nannies, or gardeners.
-Invite anyone young adult age or older into the home voluntarily.
-Sell household furniture and appliances to pay for bills. Decorations are okay, but the house cannot be barren.
-Initiate any social gatherings or events themselves.
It's GAME OVER if:
-Soft game-over if the power and water are shut off. DEFINITE game-over if the repo-man shows up.
-If an adult comes over and notices the house dirty or cluttered more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If an adult comes over and sees the teenager grungy more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If the teenager goes to school with a need in the red more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If the teenager drops a grade.
-If the teenager dies (duh).
-(Hard mode) if the teenager goes to school without a sack lunch more than (insert number of desired times here), since they hypothetically cannot afford a standard lunch due to their financial constraints.
-If the teenager is fired from their job or dropped from their extracurricular.
-(Hard mode) If the teenager is DEMOTED in their job or extracurricular.
The challenge is OFFICIALLY COMPLETE when:
-At least 1 Sims year passes. If you want to go for longer, then feel free!
-The teenager CANNOT age out of the challenge. You can cheat to age them down if they age up before the challenge is complete.
- - - -
That's the meat and potatoes of it! This is my first ever challenge and, as I said above, is still under development. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know! If you're interested in playing this challenge, feel free to post screenshots or video links if you decide to document it! I'm so excited to find out what you all think!
The Premise:
You have one new teenager (or pre-teen if you have Kaito's mod) who lives with a single parent and is very happy. They live a comfortable middle class life and the teenager has grown up very well-adjusted under the care of their loving, attentive parent. They do well in school, participate in extracurriculars, have some friends, and are generally responsible and well-behaved. Their parent is their best friend in general, though, and they tend to like hanging at home with their only family more often than not.
Then, something happens. The nature of that something is up to the challenger, but the single parent is out-of-commission for a significant amount of time. Maybe the parent gets into a car accident or is diagnosed with cancer and has to be in the hospital for an extended period of time. Maybe they have a mental health crisis so bad that they have to check themselves into a psychiatric institution. Maybe they're called away on a business trip for several months. Maybe--much like Pippi Longstocking's father in the animated movie--is lost at sea but tells the teenager to wait for them to return at home.
Either way, the result is the same: a teenager who is at home alone with no adults to care for them, and who is determined to not let anyone know their other parent is not in the picture for awhile. After all, if anyone in protective services gets wind of what's going on, they may take the teen away and put them in foster care, and that is not an option. All they have to do is convince the world at large that their parent is around until they return.
This is when the challenge begins.
The Setup:
This is the part that is still under official design, because I don't have any specific, hard and fast numbers yet. However, the basic starting criteria are as follows:
-One teenager in one house. You can design a parent and keep them in the library for story purposes until it's time for their return.
-No one else can be in the teenager's family tree other than the single parent.
-The teenager cannot start with any friendships ASIDE FROM A BEST FRIEND IF PRE-CREATED.
-The house cannot be a cheap starter (20,000) but must be affordable enough for the teenager to be able to pay for with a part-time job and/or craft selling.
-The starting world is completely up to the player; however, a more populated world would be ideal.
-You must join an after-school activity or part-time job the moment you hit 'play'.
-You can cheat your money at the start so that it's enough to pay the first round of bills--no more and no less.
-You can either set the lifespan to long/no aging or cheat the teenager into remaining a teenager for the duration of the challenge.
-Mods are allowed and encouraged for this challenge!
The Rules:
The teenager MUST:
-Maintain an A average at school and cannot miss a day. You can start at the basic C rank (since they're a new teenager) but must obtain an A average as soon as possible.
-Have a part-time job or extracurricular and cannot miss a day.
-Pay the bills relatively on time every month. This means that they cannot have the water or power shut off. It's a definite game over if the Repo Man has to come.
-Keep the house perfectly clean. If anyone comes by and notices any dirt or grunge, it's game over.
-Go to school with all their needs in the green. They can be low-green, but they must be green.
-Allow anyone who knocks on their door or wants to come over and visit into their home.
-Decorate for every reasonable holiday (Harvestfest, Winterfest, New Year's Eve).
-(Not required, but for extra challenge) Bring a sack lunch to school every day, so they can pretend their parent is making it for them.
-(Not required, but for extra challenge) Have an outside garden and maintain it regularly.
The teenager CAN:
-Use crafting (needlepoint, knitting, cooking, baking, woodworking, candlemaking, fabricating, flower arranging, potion-brewing, etc.), gardening, odd jobs, and/or freelancing for income, be it primary or supplemental.
-Replace broken household items or repair them if their skill is high enough.
-Upgrade appliances to save water and/or power.
-Add alternative power and water generation methods (solar panels, wind turbines, dew collectors) to the house.
-Order pizza or grocery delivery, since those folks cannot come into the house.
-Change their outfits without any money penalty.
-Invite friends over AS LONG AS a) they are also teenagers, and b) they are best friends OR have a high enough friendship level to be best friends. They're the only ones who can be trusted to not spill the secret.
-Send away vampires who invade or knock on their door.
-Send away teenagers and kids who knock on the door (since they can simply say 'my parent's sleeping'.
-Go to social events if invited.
-Start club gathering AS LONG AS they are NOT held at their house.
The teenager CANNOT:
-Hire repair-people, maids, nannies, or gardeners.
-Invite anyone young adult age or older into the home voluntarily.
-Sell household furniture and appliances to pay for bills. Decorations are okay, but the house cannot be barren.
-Initiate any social gatherings or events themselves.
It's GAME OVER if:
-Soft game-over if the power and water are shut off. DEFINITE game-over if the repo-man shows up.
-If an adult comes over and notices the house dirty or cluttered more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If an adult comes over and sees the teenager grungy more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If the teenager goes to school with a need in the red more than 3/2/1 time(s) (flexible based on desired difficulty).
-If the teenager drops a grade.
-If the teenager dies (duh).
-(Hard mode) if the teenager goes to school without a sack lunch more than (insert number of desired times here), since they hypothetically cannot afford a standard lunch due to their financial constraints.
-If the teenager is fired from their job or dropped from their extracurricular.
-(Hard mode) If the teenager is DEMOTED in their job or extracurricular.
The challenge is OFFICIALLY COMPLETE when:
-At least 1 Sims year passes. If you want to go for longer, then feel free!
-The teenager CANNOT age out of the challenge. You can cheat to age them down if they age up before the challenge is complete.
- - - -
That's the meat and potatoes of it! This is my first ever challenge and, as I said above, is still under development. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know! If you're interested in playing this challenge, feel free to post screenshots or video links if you decide to document it! I'm so excited to find out what you all think!
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