Sims in the second game had their motives influenced by the personality point system. Sims with high neatness had their hygiene need decay slower whilst sloppy Sims had it decay faster. Outgoing Sims saw their social need decay faster, lazy Sims had energy decay slower due to inactivity and so on.
Fun was tied to playfulness and seriousness. Sims who were playful gained much more fun from playing games with other Sims whilst Sims who were serious gained far less, preferring activities like reading, chess or using equipment like telescopes. They chose such activities over TV and similar things (which granted less fun, unless it was the news station). Neat Sims also gained fun from cleaning.
3's fun motive was obviously affected by traits in a lot of ways. They determined their favourite activities, TV channels, variations and more. The fact you could make some Sims actively despise TV and other electronics was an interesting choice to have too.
From 1 to 3 painting was fun for everyone regardless of personality. Some simply enjoyed it more than others.
In 4 it really does feel like every Sim is yanked towards electronics, it's all very samey, and the fact that the common sense elements that 1 to 3 go right aren't carried over is annoying.
