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The Art of Sims Storytelling
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I love writing his sane voice. Unfortunately, he gets less space as new characters are added to the story.
First of all, I want to say that I find the main characters of the other stories I'm following pretty memorable in general!
As for the characters I wrote instead, uhm... With the legacy I'm posting now the whole life of the sims is compressed in about 50 chapters, making it very difficult to build well round characters. My favourite characters from the Miller Legacy are probably Stuart from generation 1, and a few other ones from Gen 6 and Gen 8 which I can't name yet
More in general instead, my favourite characters among the ones I wrote are probably from that old story I made in TS2 and which I'm starting to plan to remake and upgrade in TS4. I'm very bonded to all four protagonists and in the story they are all given quite a lot of space to grow, don't ask me to choose among them!
Of course the best is going to be Maya the owl, wait for it :P
well technically lauren made him . generation 1 sim but ayden.
Mimi's story is going to be fascinating to watch and fun to write. There are a lot of things they/she have to work through on this journey to self discovery. I have wanted to do a genderfluid or transgender character for a while but I've always held off because of the limitations of the game in showing a sim transitioning from male to female or vice versa. Then I sat down and created Mimi and I knew this was the character to finally do this storyline with.
You will see more of Hannah when I get to part two of UtTS. That being my first story I didn't have plans for breaking it into parts, and I still don't have an end in sight because I love the characters too much to even think about an end. I realized, recently, that I have a good place in the story to split and create a part two and that's after Matteo and Liberty's wedding. Part one was setting up relationships and laying the foundations for careers. Over the next 4 or 5 chapters I can wrap up Leonardo's storyline and set Isabella up for her supporting role too. Her business could use a celebrity endorsement, and I happen to know of a budding global superstar who lives in Tartosa who would be perfect. Summer and Darian's wedding would be a nice fit early in part two.
Under The Tartosan Sun
Schemes and Dreams
Suzy
I started with the idea of making a classic, cute "Dolly Bird" of the 1960s and she's ended up exceeding my expectations. She was designed to be a "with it" girl, flitting from party to party and living the life of a Mod, being the girl every guy wants to know and all that but at some point she became the main protagonist of the story by morphing into a plucky, determined investigative journalist, married (I first envisioned her having different boyfriends and she ends up getting married...to a nervous, slightly nerdy artist) and the driver of so many plotlines. She's also my clothes horse character; I love doing the research on Sixties fashion and decking her out in authentic gear. And she makes that difficult bob hairstyle her own...it doesn't suit most face shapes in The Sims, but she makes it work.
Julia
"Be daring" I thought, "write a character that is far removed from you, do some research, look at life from their perspective" so I did and the result was Julia Epstein. A lot of people have told me they love Julia and I agree with them. On the surface a prim, fussy, bookish and unromantic girl from a good Jewish family doesn't have break-out character written all over them but she's just great to write about. I've had to think about how she reacts in any given circumstance, how she speaks even how she laughs (she has a high pitched squeal of a laugh that ends in a snort) but once I start writing she takes on a life of her own. When I designed her look I had those haughty brown eyes enhanced with thick eyeliner but only on the upper lash framed with big glasses and a pouty mouth that just work so well as a combination. Suzy and Julia are my two favourites in terms of attractiveness but for different reasons.
John Action
He's a cop, he's a tough cop, he's a tough cop on the mean streets of Sim City. The DA and the Chief want to bust him down to traffic cop but he's a maverick who plays by his own rules. He's super cool and he knows Kung Fu. He wears $100 suits and drives a $5000 car...you get the picture. This is a character that should come with his own soundtrack. If Julia's the character far removed from me, Action is the character I most wanted to be when I was growing up. I've watched a lot of 60s and 70s cop shows and movies over the years and Action gives me the chance to write like that, to give him sassy dialogue and street slang. I get to live vicariously through him.
George/Beulah
At first I thought that George was going to be this mean spirited, down with fun but slightly perverse fuddy duddy but then that would have got boring very quickly so I was thinking about adding an extra layer to both him and his wife, Edna, so they didn't become repetitive and so I got my thinking cap on and thought "what secret does George have that he really wouldn't like anyone else, including his wife, discovering?" Not just a hobby but something that would shock an entire community. So I decided that he was a wearer of women's clothing and now his story wasn't so creepy and annoying, it would now become a farce of mistaken identities. One of the ingredients of a farce is to ramp up the antics and make life more difficult for the character so I had it that Geoffrey Landgraab has developed a crush on George's alter-ego and he can't see it's a man in drag. And to ramp things up a bit further I've got George to develop this second personality as Beulah, who's a stereotypical lady from Georgia with the broad accent and mannerisms. I do love writing the crazy parts to that storyline!
Once again, apologies for taking up so much space but I love this thread!
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
The black and white dress is by Sims4Sue and it's part of the retro shift dress collection. You can find it here: https://thesimscatalog.com/sims4/downloads/uncategorized/retro-shift-dress-at-sims4sue/
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
For simlit, it's hard to answer because I've only posed 15 chapters of Seventeen & Maldusk so far (though I've written a lot more than that in advance) and it feels a little silly at this point to call anyone "memorable" when we're just getting started.
But my favorite character to write in that story is definitely Reuben Maldusk.
I mean... How could I not fall in love with a face like that?
I like his cynicism, his snark, and his complexity. I definitely end up giving him a lot of chapters and attention because I like writing him so much.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
What is the most fun, well-made or memorable character you've ever written?
Sandy wishes it was her but I think Seth is probably the most memorable, ironically, although he's not my idea of fun.
The characters who are most fun/well-made/memorable to me in the stories I'm (most) up to date on are:
@SnowBnuuy Aine, @_sims_Yimi Lancelot, @MonaSolstraale Rasmus, and @GlacierSnow Ion.
Imagine those four in a room...
What do you think defines your personal storytelling style?
Murder.
@hellohannah2 She sounds amazing! And that sims 3 picture under the spoiler is a huge blast of nostalgia, aww. I put so many hours into that game. Did she get an ending and reunite with her brother, or did the story end before its conclusion?
@DaniRose2143 I haven’t caught up with your story yet - is Londyn the brunette? Sometimes you enter CAS and the game just hands you something incredible, yes 😊
@SnowBnuuy Yes, of course! Everyone 🤭
@MonaSolstraale I love that you went with Finn over anyone else. It’s no secret that I adore A Turtle’s Journey and Finn’s character development really left an impression on me. I don’t know Keoni, Victor and José yet, but they’re all going on my reading list!
@rednenemon I absolutely need to read this story about a Sagebear zombie dog with special powers who saves the world 😆😄 Where do I find it?
@haneul Now I’m curious – does it make you uncomfortable because it’s hard to choose one person, or for a different reason? I like your choice of Elmire! She’s such a headstrong character even though she’s only a child, and I’m very interested to see where she’ll go as an adult.
@HermioneSims I remember that picture! You haven’t started posting for that story yet, right? I look forward to reading it when you finish adapting it for TS4 😁
@friendsfan367 You’re the one that wrote Ayden’s adventure, right? That absolutely counts 😊
@Kellogg_J_Kellogg I love that blurb about George/Beulah and what secret is being kept from the rest of the world. That sounds bonkers and like it’ll cause some real fireworks down the line 😆
@GlacierSnow non-simlit characters count, too! Haha, sounds like Mr. Harriss completely stole the show there. Sometimes characters take the entire spotlight even when (especially when) you didn’t intend for them to grow that big in the first place.
And who wouldn’t love that grumpy scowl? 🤭
@SnuffyBucket It’s been real lively! A great start of the year, I’d say. Seth definitely left an impression right from the first chapter he starred in. He’s the reason I started throwing exploding potatoes back in the day. Oh dear, Ion, Rasmus, Lancelot and Aine in a room? That… huh. I wonder how that conversation would go.
Read Sim 66 here:https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/978195/sim-66/p1
https://kelloggjkellogg.blogspot.com/2020/10/sim-66-prologue.html
@Kellogg_J_Kellogg I love your storyline with George/Beulah. I need to make time to start reading Sim 66. With my drag queens I almost went with your idea of doing a female sim with a masculine frame so that they would fill out their dresses properly. Instead I used a transgender trait from Mod The Sims to give my queens enhanced chests. I wanted them to be more androgynous so I kept them male but gave them female frames and then used some trickery to hide the enhancements when they are in everyday mode. I experimented with different tops and colors to downplay the enhancements. I can also play around with camera angles to disguise them further if I need to.
Edit: I forgot to include pictures. The crop feature on Imgur is acting wonky so I will hide the full size pictures under the fold.
[L-R]Lady Mimi, Ximena, Malaika, Sheniqua Love, Marilyn Manroe
Under The Tartosan Sun
Schemes and Dreams
Unfortunately, I can't manage to read all the stories I want to. I have probably 35 stories on my Reader reading list in addition to a few on Twitter. (Gasp! I just checked the Reader. It says 43!
Fortunately, not everyone is equally active anymore, but it takes a while to settle into a reader's universe. So many I will have to leave out of comment
@SnuffyBucket Seth has definitely made a big impression on me. His sad fate, his subsequent bad choices, his brutality and his inability to learn from his experiences. Still, it's always a character I look forward to revisiting every time. Outrage, head shaking, fear and depressive expectations are obviously a hidden desire of mine
@GlacierSnow I also always look forward to seeing Reuben's grumpy, depressed face and his surprisingly ethical rules when it comes to his choice of subjects. (I hope I don't spoil anything here). Without his point of view, Ion would never be as exposed as he is.
Incidentally, I am absolutely sure that both Seth and Reuben would end up with a psychologist or hypnotist if they accidentally ended up in my universe. God forbid it
Ion, Rasmus, Lancelot and Aine in a room? It would certainly be a meeting without an end. A human tornado
@SnowBnuuy For some reason Oscar always comes to mind when i think about your story. Unfortunately, I am not as well versed in your previous history as I would like to be.
@_sims_Yimi Lancelot is wisdom but I would also add Gawain. I love his naivety, his kindness and loyalty and his baby face with his iconic thick eyebrows
I have occasionally considered retelling José and Victor's story on my website, but it will probably be a two-three year journey. Oh dear!
@SnuffyBucket
I think Ion would be utterly baffled as to what was going on in that room.
In your story, Seth is definitely the most memorable character for me. He's the one I find the most intriguing. I've always liked the untrustworthy scoundrels that keep you guessing as to what side they'll come down next. And he really is that.
@_sims_Yimi Morgana is probably who I'd pick as the most memorable. I feel like you've really put a lot of personality into her at every stage of her story that I've read so far. She feels like a real person at all times.
@MonaSolstraale I'm still in the first season of your story, so there will probably others to choose from later, but I love Trix so much! His perspective on things always puts a big grin on my face.
@SnowBnuuy At this point, Clem feels like the most memorable to me. Her development has been exciting to watch, and I'm very curious to see how she turns out in the future.
@HermioneSims Stuart, Luke, and Cassy are the ones that stand out the most to me. All three of those characters have so much uniqueness to their perspective on the world around them and they are always themselves. They've definitely been my favorites so far.
___ Edit to add
MonaSolstraale:
Reuben... could definitely use some therapy. I'll send him over your way.
@_sims_Yimi Thank you! I was uncomfortable because it was hard to choose and I did not want to pick Asher.
@HermioneSims For me, it's Luke, Nacho, and now Toq. I'm happy whenever Nacho appears.
@Kellogg_J_Kellogg Action leaves the strongest impression and sticks with me the most. I think it's his quick wit and humor.
@GlacierSnow I like Reuben best, but Ion is uniquely memorable.
@DaniRose2143 Thank you too.
I'm glad to hear that Hannah will make a return eventually.
@plumsiebob No problem! I'm glad my endless rambles and infod-dumping are appreciated on this forum XD
Also I KNOW I keep talking about characters being memorable and yet forgetting names, but my brain sucks : P Responses:
@SnuffyBucket I think Seth is probably one of the most memorable (that one chapter...) but also I really liked Sage as well. I love characters that seem friendly enough on the surface but probably have the power to burn you to a crisp if it's needed : P As for the 'Sims in a room' thing, whether or not it will go down well will all depend if it's Aine pre-'that event' or Aine post-'that event'...
@_sims_Yimi Morgyn would probably go back to 'Untamed' levels of bigheaded reading that XD Leo was going to be my second choice for just how plain weird his story was (you can really tell how much Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy I was playing when I was writing it XD) Can't remember if I answered, but for me the most memorable is Gawain. In all the mess that's going on and the royal games he's always been true to himself and ready to defend the innocent. Also he's just plain adorable. Also Gwen. Just Gwen ;-;
@MonaSolstraale To be honest, as much as I still like the characters and the storylines, I just cannot look back easily at my old pre-CC stories. It hurts to look at the screenshots. Hilariously enough I just can't stand that horrible blue tint that covers a vanilla game...(and then I go and add one anyway in Paint Tool SAI... XD)
Also another character of mine I love from the Aliens Universe (Kellogg and Yimi will know him) is Ollie (the red-headed one who lived out in Oasis Springs in the university story). I really love his whole character, and all of the dealings with various life events past and present... but also I deeply regret decisions made with the character that I did back when I was doing challenge stories...
Okay now responses about your favourites of mine...
Oskar:
Clem:
Áine:
Not much I can say about Aine without accidentally spoiling Divided, but yeah...Aine... XD
Under The Tartosan Sun
Schemes and Dreams
What is the most fun, well-made or memorable character you've ever written?
Right, I suppose I should answer my own question 😂
I used to have a TS3 story with a main character called Raven. Her story had her lose her family to a vampire attack, grow into a vampire hunter, slowly bond with two vampire hybrid kids that she saved, learn to love again and eventually she turned against everything that made her who she was in order to protect them. She wasn't a well-made character by any means. The story was as cliché as cliché gets. But Raven was the first story where I actively focused on character development and character growth. And that's a huge pillar of my stories now, so in a way, I owe a lot to her. 😁