Forum Discussion

beadierturtle's avatar
5 years ago

"Elizabeth" (new item concept)

Here's an idea I've been working on. Please let me know what you think!

https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/porcelain-doll-face-260nw-656933281.jpg

Additions Needed: Parenthood, Seasons
Additions Optional: Spooky Stuff, Toddler Stuff, Child Stuff
Item Name: "Elizabeth"
Description: "A porcelain and cloth doll of a female child from the 19th century, typical in appearance-which is to say typically creepy, but where did it come from?"
Item Description: The doll stands about half the height of a child and wears a frilly dress that changes in shade of black to white depending upon it's mood, which is determined by the actions of the player in accordance to how the doll is treated. When a player has a Toddler/Child living in the home as a family member (born or adopted), and there is a toy box located anywhere on the owned lot, eventually Elizabeth will mysteriously appear inside the toy box.

The first clue that something may not be right is the sound of a small giggle from the toy box, which will cause all toddlers/children living on the lot to stop whatever they are doing to retrieve Elizabeth from the box. The first toddler/child to do so will cause Elizabeth to become imprinted upon that specific toddler/child. Elizabeth will only manifest once at a time per lot, regardless of the number of toddler/children. Once the toddler/child is imprinted, the lasting effects can be lifelong as it can be difficult to lift this curse/blessing.

The toddler/child then must play with Elizabeth at least once a day. Thankfully, Elizabeth is easy to please and this interaction takes about the same amount of time as does watering a plant or two. Every time the imprinted toddler/child plays with Elizabeth, her like toward that child grows, while the opposite is true if Elizabeth is ignored. Playing with Elizabeth is in the manner of the toddler/child sitting on the floor with Elizabeth and having an imaginary tea party. The tea pot and cups, while empty, seem to manifest as mysteriously as Elizabeth did, and they cease to exist as soon as the party is completed. The imprinted toddler/child must also have Elizabeth in their inventory every night while they sleep. If the toddler/child does not, the toddler/child will awake and attempt to retrieve Elizabeth and then will go right back to bed. It's possible to miss playing/sleeping with Elizabeth several days without a negative, as long as her positive is high enough (it works similar to Sim friendships).

Every time anyone who lives on a lot of an imprinted toddler/child sleeps, they will either experience good or bad dreams depending upon how Elizabeth views the imprinted toddler/child. This effect is equal to sleeping on a bed of a quality +1 or -1 of what it normally would be. A dream icon of Elizabeth will appear to show this effect (along with all the other random dream thoughts), with her either wearing white or black depending upon the effect.

Some creepy occurrences reported from living with Elizabeth include, and are not limited to...
-When the imprinted toddler/child is playing alone in a room with Elizabeth, she sometimes is seem moving slighting on her own. The sound of the toddler/child speaking to Elizabeth is sometimes heard, along with the occasional sound of Elizabeth speaking back.
-When all family members are on a different floor than Elizabeth, the sound of footsteps and giggling can be heard on the other floor, and Elizabeth is discovered to be in another room than she originally was sitting peacefully in a chair (randomly selected unless a chair is located facing out of a window).
-Elizabeth can be thrown away as trash, but will always reappear in an available toy box the next time the clock strikes midnight. She will giggle, and the imprinted toddler/child will stop everything in attempt to retrieve Elizabeth (unless prevented by player). If the toddler/child was sleeping, he/she will then go right back to bed after retrieving Elizabeth.
-When all Sims who live on that lot are gone and Elizabeth is left alone, and then someone returns, they may find Elizabeth sitting somewhere other than she was originally. In this case she will always be found sitting in a chair facing a window if one is available, if not she will be found in the imprinted child/toddler's room with all the contents of all the toy boxes scattered about the room along with all children books located from all bookshelves (she's bored and upset, so she'll steal other toddler's/children's toys/books.). This could cause quite a mess, so it's strongly advised to give Elizabeth a nice view outside if you ever plan to leave her alone (place a chair facing a window).
-When the toddler/child can speak full sentences, an option for speaking to the toddler/child about Elizabeth becomes available. The child will inform the parent that, "Her name is Elizabeth. She's my best friend." (charisma 2),"Elizabeth just wants to play, just like any other kid." (charisma 4), "Elizabeth says she doesn't like to sleep alone." (charisma 6), "Elizabeth wants a chair facing out of a window. She says this place looks so different now." (charisma 8), and, "Elizabeth used to live here, in a different house a long time ago. Then there was a fire when the leaves fell..." (charisma 10).

Once the imprinted toddler/child grows into a teenager, Elizabeth will vanish. That teenager will then receive the trait "Imaginary Friend" or "Imaginary Fiend", which will continue giving the +1 or -1 effect to all beds that sim sleeps in for the rest of his/her life. This effect will only effect that Sim, regardless if they share a bed with another Sim. A parent can then attempt to speak to the teenager about Elizabeth after she vanishes, to which the teenager will say, "What doll? I never had a doll like that." The option of speaking about Elizabeth never comes up again. Sometimes it's best to forget.

Elizabeth can be destroyed, but only by tossing her into a fire. This can be done from a burning pile of leaves in the Fall. Once this is done, any imprinted toddler/child is freed from being imprinted and will never summon or become imprinted by Elizabeth again for the rest of his/her life. The parent that burns Elizabeth will also be freed from any curse/blessing they may have received upon becoming a teenager with a previous encounter with Elizabeth. This is the only known way to free yourself and your family of Elizabeth, if one so desires to.

Once anyone from a save has received either of the traits, a new item will become available in the build mode inventory; a glass display case holding an identical Elizabeth doll. The description reads, "Why does this look so familiar?". It has a decoration score of +8.

This is a work in process, so any feedback would be appreciated. What do you think? Would you like something like this in your game? Too dark?
  • SEREFRAS's avatar
    SEREFRAS
    Seasoned Veteran
    The doll can become the imagination friend like in Sims 3 & Patchy in Sims 4.
  • Netzspannung's avatar
    Netzspannung
    Seasoned Newcomer
    I am not entirely sure I would want such a doll in my game, just because of the inevitable nightmares of it murdering ALL OF US, but I can't deny this was a fascinating read.
  • Frn0731's avatar
    Frn0731
    New Adventurer
    Remember what happened when we had that creepy doll in sims 3?
  • "beadierturtle;d-972662" wrote:
    Here's an idea I've been working on. Please let me know what you think!

    https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/porcelain-doll-face-260nw-656933281.jpg

    Additions Needed: Parenthood, Seasons
    Additions Optional: Spooky Stuff, Toddler Stuff, Child Stuff
    Item Name: "Elizabeth"
    Description: "A porcelain and cloth doll of a female child from the 19th century, typical in appearance-which is to say typically creepy, but where did it come from?"
    Item Description: The doll stands about half the height of a child and wears a frilly dress that changes in shade of black to white depending upon it's mood, which is determined by the actions of the player in accordance to how the doll is treated. When a player has a Toddler/Child living in the home as a family member (born or adopted), and there is a toy box located anywhere on the owned lot, eventually Elizabeth will mysteriously appear inside the toy box.

    The first clue that something may not be right is the sound of a small giggle from the toy box, which will cause all toddlers/children living on the lot to stop whatever they are doing to retrieve Elizabeth from the box. The first toddler/child to do so will cause Elizabeth to become imprinted upon that specific toddler/child. Elizabeth will only manifest once at a time per lot, regardless of the number of toddler/children. Once the toddler/child is imprinted, the lasting effects can be lifelong as it can be difficult to lift this curse/blessing.

    The toddler/child then must play with Elizabeth at least once a day. Thankfully, Elizabeth is easy to please and this interaction takes about the same amount of time as does watering a plant or two. Every time the imprinted toddler/child plays with Elizabeth, her like toward that child grows, while the opposite is true if Elizabeth is ignored. Playing with Elizabeth is in the manner of the toddler/child sitting on the floor with Elizabeth and having an imaginary tea party. The tea pot and cups, while empty, seem to manifest as mysteriously as Elizabeth did, and they cease to exist as soon as the party is completed. The imprinted toddler/child must also have Elizabeth in their inventory every night while they sleep. If the toddler/child does not, the toddler/child will awake and attempt to retrieve Elizabeth and then will go right back to bed. It's possible to miss playing/sleeping with Elizabeth several days without a negative, as long as her positive is high enough (it works similar to Sim friendships).

    Every time anyone who lives on a lot of an imprinted toddler/child sleeps, they will either experience good or bad dreams depending upon how Elizabeth views the imprinted toddler/child. This effect is equal to sleeping on a bed of a quality +1 or -1 of what it normally would be. A dream icon of Elizabeth will appear to show this effect (along with all the other random dream thoughts), with her either wearing white or black depending upon the effect.

    Some creepy occurrences reported from living with Elizabeth include, and are not limited to...
    -When the imprinted toddler/child is playing alone in a room with Elizabeth, she sometimes is seem moving slighting on her own. The sound of the toddler/child speaking to Elizabeth is sometimes heard, along with the occasional sound of Elizabeth speaking back.
    -When all family members are on a different floor than Elizabeth, the sound of footsteps and giggling can be heard on the other floor, and Elizabeth is discovered to be in another room than she originally was sitting peacefully in a chair (randomly selected unless a chair is located facing out of a window).
    -Elizabeth can be thrown away as trash, but will always reappear in an available toy box the next time the clock strikes midnight. She will giggle, and the imprinted toddler/child will stop everything in attempt to retrieve Elizabeth (unless prevented by player). If the toddler/child was sleeping, he/she will then go right back to bed after retrieving Elizabeth.
    -When all Sims who live on that lot are gone and Elizabeth is left alone, and then someone returns, they may find Elizabeth sitting somewhere other than she was originally. In this case she will always be found sitting in a chair facing a window if one is available, if not she will be found in the imprinted child/toddler's room with all the contents of all the toy boxes scattered about the room along with all children books located from all bookshelves (she's bored and upset, so she'll steal other toddler's/children's toys/books.). This could cause quite a mess, so it's strongly advised to give Elizabeth a nice view outside if you ever plan to leave her alone (place a chair facing a window).
    -When the toddler/child can speak full sentences, an option for speaking to the toddler/child about Elizabeth becomes available. The child will inform the parent that, "Her name is Elizabeth. She's my best friend." (charisma 2),"Elizabeth just wants to play, just like any other kid." (charisma 4), "Elizabeth says she doesn't like to sleep alone." (charisma 6), "Elizabeth wants a chair facing out of a window. She says this place looks so different now." (charisma 8), and, "Elizabeth used to live here, in a different house a long time ago. Then there was a fire when the leaves fell..." (charisma 10).

    Once the imprinted toddler/child grows into a teenager, Elizabeth will vanish. That teenager will then receive the trait "Imaginary Friend" or "Imaginary Fiend", which will continue giving the +1 or -1 effect to all beds that sim sleeps in for the rest of his/her life. This effect will only effect that Sim, regardless if they share a bed with another Sim. A parent can then attempt to speak to the teenager about Elizabeth after she vanishes, to which the teenager will say, "What doll? I never had a doll like that." The option of speaking about Elizabeth never comes up again. Sometimes it's best to forget.

    Elizabeth can be destroyed, but only by tossing her into a fire. This can be done from a burning pile of leaves in the Fall. Once this is done, any imprinted toddler/child is freed from being imprinted and will never summon or become imprinted by Elizabeth again for the rest of his/her life. The parent that burns Elizabeth will also be freed from any curse/blessing they may have received upon becoming a teenager with a previous encounter with Elizabeth. This is the only known way to free yourself and your family of Elizabeth, if one so desires to.

    Once anyone from a save has received either of the traits, a new item will become available in the build mode inventory; a glass display case holding an identical Elizabeth doll. The description reads, "Why does this look so familiar?". It has a decoration score of +8.

    This is a work in process, so any feedback would be appreciated. What do you think? Would you like something like this in your game? Too dark?


    This is a really interesting concept that I wouldn't mind seeing in a game. In particular, I like the influence that the doll has on other persons in the home. The built-in 'toggle' is creative and a nice touch. It's even sad that, in order to be put to rest, Elizabeth's fate is to return to the fire.

    Unfortunately, the idea seems really dark for a game like TS4. It wouldn't seem complete without fear, a creeping sense of dread, and general unease. TS4 doesn't allow for any of that. I wish that it did.

  • Frn0731's avatar
    Frn0731
    New Adventurer
    "Cladriah;c-17419864" wrote:
    This is interesting.
    yup ... and well thought out