Avoiding the storyline in Strangerville - Looking for advice and answers (No spoilers)

Its a good game. If I can beat the Mother, anybody can, LOL. I took it slow and only worked on bits and pieces like every other day. Between the days it was skilling up my sim. It took me about 11 or 12 hours going slow, but worth it to me.
This was totally different from my gameplay, as I am not an rpg (whatever you call it) gal. I ended up liking it and now replaying a new game to try it differently.
Not everyone will like it, I just took a leap of faith and actually enjoyed it :D