How do you stay motivated to play the game?

"xxDriftingAway;d-934541" wrote:
I'm having a hard time staying motivated to play the game because no matter what you do you end up doing the same actions for different sims that have the same result all the way around. Even challenges like rags to riches, 100 baby, and the like don't entertain me anymore. I stick with a family/sim for a few sim days then get bored and quit playing.

I want to stick with a challenge from beginning to end but it is hard.

How do you guys do it?

Challenges were never my bag. I am more into story telling. Like you, I found the game really repetitive. One day, I realized that I am waaay too nice to my sims and always have them happy, successful, and wealthy. Then I began to find some new ways to play that really helped me and I hope they can help you too:

1.) Rotational play. I turned auto aging off and auto fill houses off. I play several families one week at a time, and then go to the next one. This is great because you don't have to worry about missing something when you're not playing that family, and makes relationships a bit easier, especially kids and teens.

2.) Build mode. When I'm restless in my game, I take a break and either redecorate or build houses. One thing I just redecorated was all the cabins in Granite Falls so that my sims would have more opportunities to build skills and even have a little love nest where newlyweds can go on honeymoon.

3.) Create a Sim Journal. You may be a little skeptical at first, but it really keeps me from repeating the same gameplay over and over again. It's not quite a journal, but written story guides for each family I play in my game. I'm not sure how to explain it, so I'll give you an example:

Family Name: Valdes

Focus: These sims are always getting into trouble and fights. They would rather have fun than focus on a career or responsibilities like bills and homework.

Social Mindset: Passive-Agressive, 2 to 3 friends, at least 1 enemy, 1 club, and visit public lots 2 to 4 times a week.

Hobbies: Mischief, fighting, comedy, working out, clubbing, drinking and bubble blowing, djing, dancing, painting graffiti, bowling, and playing basketball.

Preferred Lots: Bar, Karaoke Bar, Nightclub, lounge, bowling alley, gym, public pool.

Careers: Athlete, Criminal, Culinary, Entertainer, Painter, Politician, Secret Agent, Tech Guru.

Traits (must have at least 1): Active, Bro, Childish, Creative, Dance Machine, Evil, Goofball, Hates Children, Hot-headed, Jealous, Kleptomaniac, Lazy, Mean, Noncommittal, Slob.


I made it in a way that it can be passed through the generations, and forces me to play different ways. I have a snobby rich family, a nature nut family, a popular/celebrity family, and even a hipster family. It also helps me get my sims "out" more, since I play too much on their home lots in the past (unless your in the nature nut family...they tend to be loners). Each sim can be a different part on the spectrum of course, but by setting the guidelines to the spectrum help spice up my game and adds tons of new ways to play.

I really hope any of this helps you find your passion again :)


Edit: Spelling

"OnendOnliYazzie;c-16303440" wrote:
I only play when I really have the urge to play. I’m really picky about what happens in my sims lives so if I’m not motivated or as soon as I get bored I save a quit and only go back and play them when I want to. In the meantime i do other things.

This. I only play when I feel like I want to, and this has been the way I play with most things. Many times I grind through a new game of mine and then I casually stop playing for awhile, if ever I pick it back up again. Sims 4 is the same but I find to keep my interests in playing alive by just being here on the forums interacting with the community! :)

When I don't feel like playing I don't play. It's that simple. I've gone months at a time without playing.

Good advice in this thread.
The only challenges I play are ones that I create myself too. Other ways of playing don't really interest me.
I turn aging off and on as needed. Even in the same save. If I want a sim to die naturally I turn aging on for that house. When I rotate to a different household I turn it off again.
It takes me a really, really long time to progress through generations. I think I have a child in my game who been at that stage for 6 RL months. He's making friends and hunting frogs.
I hook sims up, then break them up, then get them together with other sims, get bored and break them up etc.
I guess some would say I completely mess with my sims lives and wreak total havoc on them. Some of my sims who I thought would be together forever end up growing apart and finding different paths.
Some of my sims have multiple baby mamas or daddys. I usually just do this on a whim. It's interesting to see who ends up related to each other.
I am avid CC and mod user. It saved my game. My sims no longer look the same. They're different. I can also explore different styles of play. I use custom traits/careers to shake things up.
I watch let's plays for ideas and some laughter.
When all else fails I walk away from the game. Sims don't care and they will be exactly how I left them when I return. And when I return most of the time I realize why I was so bored and shake things up and wreak some havoc.
@MLadyAzzera I like the idea of keeping a journal. I'm going to give this a shot.

I play so;me Sims 3 and then some Sims 4. And other games. I believe taking breaks helps more than anything.

As others have said, take a break, find something else to do and then come back. I have a few hobbies which range from computer games to model railroading with piano and music studies in between. If I'm not playing a computer game, such as Sims4, Cities Skylines, or working on my Virtual Railroad in Trainz: A New Era (T:ANE) www.auran.com , I'm practicing the piano and more so because I have monthly lessons which I practice hard for so I don't look like a dork when I see my teacher!

But even with any of these things, except for the piano, I take breaks from them because I run out of ideas especially with creative programs such as Sims4 and Trainz.

Yeah it's always the same, storytellers, builders,those just around for challenges, or just casually playing eventually you run out of stuff to do for the first time, I tend to fall into habits and there are some things I haven't done that are old news to others. Like finding the hermit been afraid to go back to granite falls ever since that disappearing house glitch so meh. The things you may not like is fine for many stories challenges you'll get through a lot of content and it's not just for sims a lot of games that remain popular to a lot of people eventually you do everything but people replay and keep coming back I've done the trilogy for Mass Effect four times I think then I played the last two a few times before I had all three just depends on how you prefer to game.

I don't have to say again to pick up hobbies and take breaks or play other games that was covered perhaps you will only like stuff as it's new and that's cool but while you're waiting for something new until the game is finished definitely just do other things. :)

I play 17 save games, with 2 families in each and they all have different goals and family set-ups, plus I take breaks and do other things, so there's always pleasure in coming back to a family that I haven't played for a while. I also micromanage the non-played families that I've put in houses in each game.

I'm with the take a break from it crowd here. If you have to try to enjoy it... you probably aren't going too. I go play something else and take breaks. I binge watch shows or play another games or read books. Then I come back and it's lots of fun again. If it's not I take another break. I always come back though. I'm in the I'm in love with the game phase again.

Play rotationally. I use to get bored all the time with just one family but when I play rotationally I feel like there's always something to do since I make all my families diverse-basically they aren't all married with kids or single there's a mix of everything. Also if all else fails no shame in taking a break even when we like something we can still get bored it's just human nature. Hope that helps :)