I'm sure this has been a topic before, so I'm sorry if that's the case! I had this thought earlier (might have been yesterday) and I wondered what you all play the game/s for.
My ex played the games with her brother, and I'd never heard of them before (I've never been one for computer games) so she showed me all about them. I started playing because it looked like fun, but I got hooked only recently because I thought "ah... I can create 3D models of the floorplans I've designed with this" and that's inspired me to get better at creating houses on the game. When I was a teen I'd wanted a dolls house but couldn't find one I was satisfied with. I'd always been fascinated with the idea of crafting a dolls house of my own and decorating it, and I still desire that a tiny bit, but to do that all in a computer game instead has become an ideal substitute.
I'm not someone who enjoys dramas, soap operas, not interested in gossip or whatnot, so while I adore my little families and seeing what they get up to each day, getting them all levelled up in their skills and going higher in their careers... what keeps me playing is just that, I have a PC dolls house now. I'd consider myself a novice with the game despite having played before on and off throughout the past 10+ years, but I think the more I'm learning about the game (oh, I should specify I only play The Sims 4 now but I'm sure I have 3 somewhere), the more I'm fascinated with it as a whole.
So, how about you?
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I only play TS3 now because I see it as my ultimate Sims game, it has everything that I need - It runs very well for me, It looks amazing as I've done just about all you can to enhance the graphics, and there's an endless amount of content for me to still enjoy. Also, the fact that the TS3 community is still very much alive and active (not really on this site) is enough to keep me playing and I love seeing new content (Mods/CC) being created for the game. I want to give TS4 a go again but not until the game is over with. I don't want to worry about Mods breaking with a new patch or more bugs being created with said patch.
Or short hand it makes me happy, no one can ruin it for me, so The Sims is just stuck with me about forever as of now. I also play the three main PC games I've had.
All the sims err'day
I happened to get a Sims 3 disc with a new video card once, and I checked it out. It was marginally more interesting to me than what I'd seen of the past games, but I was over it in a few weeks. So when Sims 4 came along I totally ignored it, as I was pretty sure by then I wouldn't like it. But then the base game was free on Origin (in 2019), and I happened to be "between new games" at that time, so I decided to give it a go despite expecting it not to hold my interest any longer than the ones before. I was both right and wrong.
I was right because taken purely as a game, Sims 4 didn't do all that much for me. But I found that it worked surprisingly well as a writing tool and general creative outlet. That and mods to help me customize the game to meet my particular needs were what kept me playing.
But I wouldn't say I'm hooked, because over time certain things about this game have changed. Some things have been added, removed, or altered such that it leaves less player control than I once had, and I often feel less like even trying than I once did. I'm currently finding the need to fight the game more than I used to have to do in order to do things my way. For now I am still playing. Time will only tell for how much longer. And I do still play other games as well.
Because I can't; I keep all sigs turned off.
I can't imagine ever playing TS3 again now - I just love 4's style and DLC. Aesthetically it reminds me of TS2 and it kind of recaptures the fascination I had with it as a child way back when I first started. I now have no way to play TS2 as I don't have the discs anymore and I missed out on the TS2 Ultimate collection I hope TS4 goes on for a while longer, I'm not ready to move on from it just yet.
I like to play the sims because I can play it windowed mode while doing something else like watching youtube and twitch on a second monitor. I have always liked games where you can just switch off and do something else in the background or you can easily pause the game. No other game offers that much creativity when it comes to creating sims and houses as well.
That's what's keeping me here and also the sims that I have played, since I play with aging off they are still here in 2022 in my old save and it's nice to boot up the game and visit them. Unfortunately there is not much else that is keeping me playing because live mode are still too much like the same live mode from 2014 and I am pretty bored now with the game, there is not enough variety and not even new packs feel that much different. The Sims4 is mostly just a game that I am booting up and running in the background to relax my brain now.
it was lit yeah but not as lit as Makin' Magic that came after it and made me simmer for life
I've always been obsessed with creating my own stories,characters, buildings, worlds....
but only place where you really can do all that simultaneously is The Sims
irl? you would need so much skill,money,land,time....weird science experiments that make occults possible?
yah. no. let's keep destroying the earth in game instead of in real life that's more reasonable. and earth thanks.
also since I'm awkward bean I loved that I didn't need any other humans to play it
I could just play by myself in my own little bubble and it wasn't any less fun
and with other games my issue has always been that you don't actually have any control over the story or the characters in it the same way
like no matter how cool the game is I will eventually get frustrated with the forced hero roles and fighting nonsense
or even just idk. not having the choice in general like what if i decide super mario totally doesn't want to save the princess what if he got like other stuff to do not a option huh well thats just boring
anyway thats pretty much why only game i play is sims
I can do whatever i want whenever i want and its nice
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I found the exchange which led me to an ad at the end of a story and a TS2 forum mostly focused on writing. I became very good friends with the admin, then on her staff and took over the forum when she left to raise a family. The forum is closed now, but I'm still friends with a few from my staff.
Fast forward to TS4 which I bought on release. I have all the packs/kits now except a couple kits. What keeps me playing? Lots of things, but the number one reason is how it helps satisfy my creative side in so many ways. Whether I'm in CAS creating Sims, building, writing stories, making music videos, doing challenges or simply taking landscape screenshots, I love it all! I could go into much greater detail, but that's my reasons in a nutshell.
Happy Simming!
When they got shipped back to our Home State, she made certain she brought their gaming laptop with her on visits to me, to show me what she was talking about (obsessively). She had me sit down and then had me create a Sim in CAS, which I found fascinating. (I love to draw.) Then she insisted I choose which neighborhood to place my Sim in, which house, etc. Next thing I knew I was playing the game, with her right at my elbow for the first couple of gaming sessions. I, too, wasn't into video games. In fact, I barely tolerated them. LOL My addiction came swiftly and surprised not only myself, but my family as well. Hubby insisted I get my own copy of the base game, in which I explained to him my laptop couldn't even handle it. Under his instruction I tried to install the game on it. Every. Single. Time. it failed, of course. I knew this, I read the side of the box and what the computer needed to have it installed. Face/palm. I get a call from him from work one day, telling me to watch out for a delivery due in about three-weeks' time. My new computer was on its way! The man bought me a GAMING RIG. Out-of-the-blue. What a guy, huh?
At any rate, here I am. I've gone through Sims3 and now I'm very invested in Sims4. I also enjoy building. At one time in my life I thought about becoming an Architect. Are you aware of the history behind the original Sims? It was created for that 3-D look at house plans, or so I'm told.
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So me and my mother searched for such a game and eventually stumbled upon a trailer of The Sims 3. That looked awesome for me, because you could also see what goes in the buildings I've built.
I also remember that at one moment I found The Sims 2 in the store and I didn't know what an expansion pack is. So I bought The Sims 2 NightLife without having the base game (I was a child! Don't judge me!).
So yeah, eventually, I woke up one December day and felt the socking. It was large and thin. I then took it out, expecting a big bar of chocolate. It turned out to be The Sims 2. Oh I remember how excited I was. I installed it and started playing it.
I didn't install NightLife for some years as I didn't understand the two disc system. Like my childhood brain didn't comprehend that if the computer asks for the second disk, you take the first one out and replace it with the second one. One day I got it installed, but not before I inserted two discs at the same time into the computer. Good thing the noises worried me so much that I took them out...
I was so hooked that when my computer broke down (losing all the data), I took out a chess board and started playing The Sims on there. Yes, you're reading it right. The Sims on chess board. Using the chess pieces as "sims" and the board as "a house". Oh the imagination I had as a child...
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
I meant to add because The Sims was like an adventure, simulated adventure with little people, where I had to use gray matter to solve their problems or create one without any hand holding is why I remained a huge fan of this franchise until recent years because I feel now the games are much simpler and require no thought at all.
I have the same reason: I love that in The Sims I can use my creativity in so many ways 😊
The Sims is just perfect game for me: I love all the aspects of the game. I love CAS: creating sims, I love Build Mode: building and decorating different houses and community lots, and I love Live Mode: playing my many different households.
Now I only play The Sims 4 and it's great how easy it is to play rotational style in this version. I am a rotational player and this way I can enjoy the variety, which keeps me interested and inspired.
I've been hooked to The Sims since I got the game in 2001 (actually I've been hooked since 2000: First time I tried and played it in my cousin's home, but I wasn't able to buy the game yet that time).
I played the first version untill I got The Sims 2 in December 2004. Since then I played The Sims 2 untill August 2017 (during those years I had some breaks from playing due to being busy IRL, and some computer issues in between). August 2017 I started playing The Sims 4.
I skipped The Sims 3 because it just isn't for my liking. I loved the first version and The Sims 2, but The Sims 4 is my favorite version.
I have never been bored to The Sims, and I don't think that I will get bored, because I enjoy the game and it is my dear hobby 😊
However, because neither one of us knew about what a Base Game or Packs was, I immediately got the Sims 3 Diesel Stuff with out the Sims 3 Base. We actually tried to install it on our PC until we took it in to the EB GameStop & found out why it wasn't working. We laugh about the silliness of learning what a Base Game was.
Now, that both of us know better & really like the Sims games, we each own both Sims 3 & Sims 4. My daughter even plays the Sims 2 on Nintendo.
Like the OP of this thread, what first hooked me was being able to build elaborate and detailed digital dollhouses. My way of having fun has always been working on my own creative writing, art, or craft projects. I don't like "time-management" games at all, so Sims 3 gameplay with the day running so fast, sims having needs, and starting with hardly any money did not appeal to me. But building did.
However, once I discovered the "testingcheats" code that allowed me to drag the need bars up or down as I wished for storytelling purposes, and the "Relativity" mod that let me slow the day down, I finally started enjoying playing with the sims themselves. What really hooked me was all the stories I made up for them in my own head. And I'd say, that's still what has me hooked to this day.
In 2017, I was drawn to Sims 4 for several reasons: more interesting toddlers than Sims 3, the Vampires pack, aliens that can be created in CAS, the Get Together club system that lets me control NPC behavior, the ability to "favorite" sims I like so that the game does not cull them (a major annoyance for me in sims 3), and the art style. I really love the art style of Sims 4.
Taking screenshots is a huge part of my play style. I love spending lots of time trying to get that perfect shot. I also started writing SimLit. I learned how to make my own custom poses. That's a lot of fun for me, and has enabled me to use Sims 4 as a creative studio for making stories because I can create scenes that the game-play animations don't cover. I use a ton of mods, most of which just give me more control over things that the game doesn't let me control, so that I can pursue my creative ideas more easily without all that pesky game-play getting in the way all the time.
I've tried a lot of other computer games in recent years, especially after the pandemic started, and although I've enjoyed some, none have really held my interest for very long. They're all too restrictive and, well... game-like. I'm just not really into games, I guess. Sims 4, I have easily put in thousands of hours by now, because it lets me play the way I like to play, by being creative.
I'm just going to say we're old, I played the sims 1 when I was 7 it was around the time makin magic came out I started playing it,
I love making my own stories and creating drama with my sims, I've played the sims 1,2,3 and 4
Enter The Sims. I first saw the commercial on television. It was a dream come true.
Over time, I came to care about the little computer people who lived in my homes more than the act of building. I still love interior design that reflects the personalities of the inhabitants. However, I would much rather play with Sims than spend time in Build/Buy. In TS2 and TS3, I found that to be very rewarding.
Played Sims 3, and got the base game, and the paranormal pack first. My computer would overheat, and I wasn't fond of how the Sims looked, so I don't play it as much. Also, didn't like that if you switched to another family, you lost all your progress with the current family. It felt limiting to me. However, I did download some CC to make anime type Sims.
Sims 4, I am pretty much mixed on. I have it on my PC with just the base game, and the PS4 with pretty much everything. I like it on the PC, because I can CC, and travel between different worlds. On the PS4 I don't have access to CC, but I can still make what I want.
What keeps me mostly interested in the Sims in general is I can play how I want. I can make normal Sims, anime-type Sims, and anything I pretty much want for the game. Then throw them into the same world, and have them interact.
Fast forward to the spring of 2021. My gaming experience in the intervening decades was focused on sports simulations, like Football Manager (an incredibly immersive game, by the way). The stresses of teaching during a pandemic put me in the mood to play a relaxing game where I could hang out in a world where there was only as much stress as I wanted to include. Grinding away to beat the deadline for a quest, or having to create a spreadsheet to keep track of the tasks I needed to complete in order to level up, etc.
That's how I was led back to The Sims. I first bought Sims 3, because I'd heard very good things about it and because I wasn't sure if my veteran laptop would handle Sims 4. As it turned out, TS3 was harder on it than TS4 was, and a few months later, I got a new laptop anyway. By then I had picked up Sims 4, too.
As a few of you have mentioned, The Sims gives me the opportunity to be creative in several ways. I love architecture and building design, but I can't draw at all. In Build mode, I can try my hand at building and designing lots, or fill a neighborhood with the creations of people who are much better builders and designers than I am. How fun is that?
I love stories, and The Sims creates a platform where I can bring stories to life. I can create all the characters I want, "borrow" characters from the cast the game provides, or any combination of the two. I enjoy writing, so it's fun to write about what my Sims do.
And, best of all, my daughter has also become fascinated with The Sims. Right now, she doesn't play it herself, but we play together. Z loves CAS, and she enjoys sitting beside me while we discover what adventures her creations have. It's become a favorite way for us to spend time together. Z is nearly 13, and many kids her age don't spend much time with their parents anymore. My wife loves the fact that The Sims gives Z and me something that's "ours" to enjoy together.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
I began to lose interest upon the release of The Sims 4. Whilst reading the press puff pieces pre-release, with news breaking regarding the lack of open worlds, toddlers, pools, basements and ghosts, I judged TS4 to be a notable regression for the series and would not capture what made the first three iterations of the series great. I received The Sims 4 for free via Origin in 2016, played it for two hours, and quickly returned to TS3.
I suppose I wouldn't call myself a fan of The Sims anymore. The first three generations of the series are still some of the best games I've played. However, I've had little-to-no interest whatsoever in new Sims releases since the release of The Sims 4. TS5 needs to massively deliver to regain my interest.