How do you make your game more fun/engaging?

BettyNewbie1 · January 2022

What play style, storylines, and anything else you think makes your game more engaging do you do? Looking for some ideas, fell into making new saves and playing for only thirty minutes.

Some ideas from my gameplay;
My sims are divided into generations, determined by when they go to/are university age (the day they age to young adult), I like my sims to stay dating and friends with close or the same generation, and teens nearing adulthood get a new wardrobe. I do set likes and dislikes, the first color to be set is their "favorite color" (the one they age into a child in). The second I spin a wheel for, and is the hair color they like most in other sims. I also spin a wheel for dating preference, which I track on a notepad. My sims have two likes set for hobbies, one is normally trait/aspiration based, while the other spins a wheel and is for their fun. I do follow aspirations, but not always completing them, I use them as a guideline for what a sim wants in life, like a writer will be more into books and literature. I let my sims care for their basic needs and mainly only make them interact manually for hobbies, skills, aspirations, or taking a new step in a relationship. For relationships I actually like the whims, there are some good ones I pin. Edit; mention for PleasantSims, who gave me most of these ideas.

aurorabeam · January 2022

I remember reading somewhere that conflicts are what make a story interesting, and I can't agree more with that! It could be big conflicts, like a divorce or sudden death of a family member, or it could be smaller ones like a disagreement in a relationship (maybe one sim is a total neat freak and falls in love with a slob, and it works well until they start living together, which could end in either a break up between the two or an attempt to compromise). The conflicts could also be internal, like an aspiring artist who doesn't have what it takes to reach the top and needs to refigure her life. My examples maybe weren't that good haha, but if you like the idea I'm sure you will come up with different conflicts that might suit your specific sim family.

PleasantSims gameplay style really is inspirational! I have been thinking about trying out her whims-based gameplay myself. And I do think that mods enhance the gameplay, like the Whim Overhaul mod. But you seem to be familiar with mods already.

aurorabeam · January 2022

Oh and I forgot to mention, in this link you can find many ideas for family activities: https://mellindi.com/2021/01/01/20-gameplay-ideas-for-family-players-of-sims-4/

She has some other posts about gameplay as well! :)

Chicklet453681 · January 2022

I actually looked up some challenges last night to try and get me more invested in the game. I'm not a super great story teller in my head so having some sort of goal or direction might help in holding my interest.

I'm not really into playing huge families or generations and I don't really play rotationally either so most of the popular challenges I've seen are things I know that I wouldn't really enjoy.

But the following list of ones did pique my interest and I will read up on them more:

https://fliphousechallenge.weebly.com/
https://onyeka001.wordpress.com/townie-life-challenge/
https://njadakaufey.tumblr.com/post/190113225737/witch-legacy-challenge-rules
https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/964395/a-free-will-experience-inspired-by-other-free-will-challenges
https://kateraed.tumblr.com/post/639063812678549504/whimsystories
https://aliennooboo.tumblr.com/post/647564479410962432/live-for-something-ts4-legacy-challenge-the
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/974354/stranded-a-multi-household-rotation-survival-gameplay-challenge
https://illusorythrall.wordpress.com/home/challenge-rules/build-challenges/100-day-creativity-challenge-rules/

GalacticGal · January 2022

I don't play on console, so I hope you don't mind me popping in like this. To answer your question, I suggest you start with a Sim that you can invest yourself in. Make the Sim an interesting sort of character. I like to give two positive Traits to one weak Trait to help balance out a character. Figure out what you want this Sim to be and do and how their life should go and then play in that direction. Sometimes, the game will throw stuff at you and it's how your Sim reacts that makes it interesting. If the worst happens, remember you, the player, are in charge. Either roll back a save and try to prevent what happened or continue to play through the bad scenario to see what happens, next.

crocobaura · January 2022

I give my sims likes, dislikes and preferences but I haven't noticed that they influence gameplay that much. I give traits and lot traits that sometimes help them, sometimes are a bit of hindrance. The sim working to be a chef won't necessarily have the foodie trait and the music lover doesn't have to play instruments. I like to develop my sim's story going from their environment, where they are located and asking myself how would they live and what job would they have. I like to keep things pretty realistic so there are no cow farms in penthouses in my game, nor every skill object present on the lot. They don't fish if there isn't a body of water near their lot, and canal fish is only for mounting. Sims living in apartments don't garden on their balconies. Sims living in Sulani don't grow holly and those in Glimmerbrook don't grow coconuts. I give them hobbies that fit with their lifestyle and interests, and often they earn money with their hobbies. They buy things they don't have, like a Halloween pumpkin, or fresh fish, or a new bathing suit, or use the library or an internet cafe if they don't have a computer. I fulfil whims, but not always, and sometimes a character's story gets influenced by something that happens in the game, like a sim who got yoga as a hobby because the game drafted him to be a yoga instructor at the spa. Holidays are always interesting as not all sims will be able to fulfill them all on their own lot so you need to plan and travel somewhere.

Vyne · January 2022

If I have to pick. I would just put in like traits and a storyline for my sims and when I make the storyline I sometimes just start a new save but I just wanna make it so that the storyline is interesting and on topic. I was trying to get my sim to complete her aspiration and then I just make new characters and it would be nice that I just get anything started and hopefully that the story goes well. But I really like how the game just engages you to play the game. I haven't played the Sims 4 for a long time and it just starts to want me play more, and I like the feel of that.

wylmite1986 · January 2022

I just started playing Rags-To-Riches challenge. But my own rules. It took me a few tries to finally get to one that I really liked and I've stuck with this one for a while (which is saying something for me). But before I did any challenges, I just did the boring play which I don't know if I can go back to now. And I also added some mods (first time ever me too!) that add more challenges as well.

MiniWolfsbane · March 2022

Create a little drama. My celebrity I'm working on (out of a five-child family) married one of the girls from my favorite family, got her pregnant, then they divorced. I don't like when my sims have to divorce, but it was the only option to make her a single parent. It happened again with his second wife, but they're on better terms and she lets him see his daughter, unlike the first woman. (I make him give her 100 simoleons as child support nearly every time he sees her.)

Another thing, as stated, I like creating big families and giving the kids different aspirations and personalities, headcanon-ing one is nerdy and shy or the cool kid or whatever. Maybe if we get The Sims
5, we'll have a personality system on top of traits for more exciting sims. Speaking of which, my nerdy shy boy turned YA this morning by my hand. I sent him out with his twin bro to find some girls. It took three different tries before he finally accepted the order to go talk to this girl, so maybe he really is shy and the programming is more intuitive than we give it credit for. Or it was a glitch.

Going on actual dates to find their "right" person to marry is a bit frustrating but can give the game more fun and depth. Did that with one of mine kind of, but never got as far as the date stage. One girl was always angry (Karen, is that you?), one seemed too much, and another probably left too soon. So, I got him together with wife number two from the first paragraph because it was right there and she'd actually talk to him and wasn't nuts. LOL. It's also fun when some just don't like your sim for no apparent reason and won't flirt back. That's what happened with one of my girls and she ended up with another pre-made boy, but it's a cute inter-racial romance with baggage.

DramaticJedi5 · April 2022

Sometimes I play as a premade family to add more adventure to the game.

enskij · June 2022

I'm constantly scouring the internet for new legacy challenges since they take time to finish but are also very entertaining! There's so many of them online when you begin your search. My favorites are definitely the original legacy challenge and not so berry challenge, but I recently found the star guardian legacy challenge which seems very intriguing as well. Here's the links even though everyone might be familiar with these by now

https://lilsimsie.tumblr.com/post/157671494755/not-so-berry-legacy-challenge
https://simslegacychallenge.com/the-sims-4-legacy-challenge-rules/
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/937233/new-star-guardian-legacy-challenge

Bubblegumjonah · June 2022

I used to just cheat money in and then get bored a few hours later - but then I started my first rags to riches playthrough and never looked back. A rags to riches with difficulty rules while also trying to collect all the collectibles makes for a fun experience that can have you playing for several weeks because of how engaging it is.

duriankind · June 2022

I agree with a few people in here who were mentioning looking up challenges, I've done that myself if I've ever gotten bored and wanted to spice things up a bit. Recently I made an evil sim who had a shed out back with a secret basement room where he would lock up his victims to be fed to his cowplant. I also made him try to lead a normal life otherwise -- he had a successful career as a detective and an unsuspecting wife and kids, and there was a specific "type" of sim he would scope out to be his next victim (blonde young adult females.) Of course a lot of the fun of it came from the story I had going on in my head. :) One challenge that I've been meaning to do next time I need a break from normal gameplay is the alien takeover challenge: https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/837731/the-sims-4-alien-takeover-challenge

I am very into generational/legacy type gameplay, personally. I get so attached to one sim family and I love playing around with their genetics and seeing how the next generation turns out, so generally I can go on like that for awhile and not get bored. One thing I try to challenge myself to do with each new heir to a generation is play with different traits/careers/skills/hobbies that I either haven't tried before or haven't used very often. Creating drama can be fun and interesting as well but I tend to end up feeling guilty lol. I also love building so if I get burnt out on gameplay sometimes I'll just go on a building spree for a bit.

MariaaLopez01 · July 2022

At first I would get really bored of this game, ive played the sims 2 and 3 as a child and remember everything vividly however up until recently I forgot sims have their own personalities and now im just obsessed with it. Before I would find them boring and dumb but it just goes to show how their unique personalities just add to the realism and fun of the game and I hope they continue developing on this feature because its what honestly makes the game that much more fun. It doesn't feel like its just me imagining things, in the other installments the sims would have their personalities ingrained so pretty much all of the interactions would be based on that, its what made those games fun

Nikkih · July 2022

I create lots of drama like an soap opera with aliens, vampires, witches and now werewolves, my sims cheat on each other all the time and I had a sim that used to woohoo elders to death and have grave stones in her back garden and host killer dinner parties with the pufferfish nigri dish

AlienTusks · November 2022

I'm not sure how to answer your question so I'll just list some things that I think add to the game, make it more interesting or deep and are moderately fun. Get seasons if you haven't already, weather and seasons (makes the different clothing sets make more sense) adds to the game as well as holidays, and you can create your own holiday and edit it. It does rain a lot though. Get together adds clubs which are fairly deep in how you can edit them, they add something new you can get involved in for fun, but you can also make a club that works on skill building or gardening. I like having the new worlds because they add new sims/families and new destinations to visit. If you like to build, then there are new opportunities to build. Take a vacation once in a while with your family, rent a home and explore. Parenthood adds depth to the whole having a family, and training your kids, teens. That adds to the gameplay and is very important if you're the type that plays as families with multi generations etc. Cats and dogs not only adds well, cats and dogs but you can run a vet clinic, even build your own, it has a few bugs but usually it works properly. It's not really a lot of fun though to stay at the clinic for a day examining pets. but you can choose to have your hired employees run it and you earn the profits, you can train them and advertise for more people to come in. Work on building your dream home, with a great outdoor area, cottage living adds chicken coups, cow sheds and produce that you have to use to cook your meals. Sometimes the way the relationship between your sim and wife/husband goes through ups and downs and that adds to the game, gives you a reason to go on a date and stuff, and a reason to be very smart and careful about what you choose to say to one another. I heard stranger Ville offers a nice story to play through, but I don't own it. City living is pretty good all around, good clothes and cas stuff, build mode items, new jobs. Spa day was a great addition for me because i like meditation, and I built a club around going to a spa and doing spa things, yoga, meditation groups, guide a meditation group for money, edit the spa in build mode. I avoid money cheats that just don't feel right, but i use the move objects cheat, and find hidden objects. The paranormal pack allows you to build, or download from the gallery a haunted house, and stay the night, and deal with ghosts, and other strange things, as well as hold saunces to ward off the spirits, I own the pack but haven't used it yet, I've only read about it, I'm saving it for a rainy day, I guess. I enjoy naming my pets/chickens, books I wrote, songs i wrote, and also pics that you take. Hope you enjoy your gaming.

Fragaria_ananasa · December 2022

I got to say, that I haven't returned long enough to the Sims community to get bored with the game already.

I used to play the Sims 2 on the PC, but now I am playing Sims 4 on the PS4, so I am still figuring out how the whole thing works.

Although I found that it helped that the Sims 2 had these wishes, and the Sims would get older, compaired to to the Sims 1, it started to feel repeatative after a while. So I ended up building a lot. But lost interest in the end because of other things happening in life and did not have inspiration anymore.

Back in those days I did not have easy access to internet and/or wasn't aware that you could look these things up on the internet. Looking into the Sims 4 I saw that people have really nice ideas for Storytelling and building.

I really draw a lot of inspiration out of that, and I am really eager to try these things out. I think it would also be fun to try some of these random generators for the Sims to do some things out of the box.

Recently, I acquired the Eco lifestyle package. When I get the hang of this PS4 controller, I would like to do a rags to riches challenge. With a rule that everything my Sim owns, should be collected/ made by him/her self and/or must be purchased in live mode. I.e. I can only use build mode for putting up the shell of the house. But not use buy mode. I am very curious what kind of house I would end up with.

JustinB113 · December 2022

I play the game regularly, bathroom, jobs, fears, skills and all of that stuff for a sim week or two then do something major, go on vacation, move to a lot, try out a pack I didn’t try. I regularly set goals for the sims, like to make money, finish school with an A or improve their house or master a skill. Then I’ll go back to regular then I’ll have another big adventure for them.

I move on quickly from one aspiration to the next - I was trying for the make money aspiration, didn’t quite make it in the time I wanted them to quit their jobs, just quit the jobs anyway. Because once you start playing in a way you feel you have to it stops being fun.

I don’t take it too seriously. Some do and get enjoyment from that. But I don’t mind my sims who are in Mt Komorebi just suddenly showing up at the San Myshuno romance festival. And if they want to automate baking 10 cakes I’ll just let them bake cakes. I will also take pop ups for outdoor trips and things as and when I feel like it.

Liking your sims is really important. Well maybe not like them, you could think they’re horrible sims but having some sort of feeling one way or the other is kinda helpful.

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How do you make your game more fun/engaging?

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