How do you stay motivated to play the game?

off-topic but i love your username, @DonnaKnoble! ;)

"Hermitgirl;c-16305005" wrote:

"Pamtastic72;c-16304916" wrote:
For me the ability to escape my reality for awhile is my motivator. I started playing the year after S4 was released to have an escape from the effects of my chemotherapy. I just celebrated 2 years of full remission after a long battle and my mom was diagnosed with the same cancer i just defeated (nothing genetic, just a fluke of fate). She's been having a hard time with her treatments and my brother and sister have been taking turns flying home to help me care for her. So, when she sleeps i more than look forward to slipping into my happy little world for a bit. Cause even the bad in Sims isn't that terrible, and it generally is quite comical. :)

I can so relate to this. I took care of and eventually lost my father and mother during this sims run. It is a good happy place to go to to get away when they are sleeping or comfortable. I guess it did motivate me to play more in the beginning few years of the Sims 4 run. Like clutching for a lifeline.

My condolences on your loss. It is like a lifeline, it gives you a sense of control when everything else is out of control. Hugs to you @Hermitgirl <3

(Sorry my post is long...clearly, I have a lot to say. :lol:)

Whenever I play, I set a task for myself to complete. It doesn't matter how large or small the task is; it could be as large as completing a stage of an aspiration or as small as sending a sim to the park with a friend to socialize. I find having a goal for that session of gameplay has motivated me to keep playing. Also, I don't know if you're a player who likes to create storylines for your sims, but I can say that's helped me immensely. As someone who didn't create backstories or storylines for my sims in the past, I can say that taking the time to think about who your sims are and what you want them to be can make all the difference in the world. Forming an attachment to a sim has provided me with so much motivation to play out their lives.

I've also found that watching my sims' whims has really sparked some ideas and kept me motivated in the past. One time, my sims kept rolling whims to stargaze with one another and one had been wishing for a vacation. This inspired me to send them to Granite Falls for a little reprieve and one-on-one bonding time away from the daily grind of life. Which reminds me, if you're feeling like you're repeating the same actions consistently, try something you've never done in the game! Have you ever explored the hidden worlds? Have you ever had a sim build a rocket ship? There's a great deal of things you can do, and with the addition of SPs, GPs, and EPs, your options expand further. :smile:

If I get bored of actually playing the game, I'll try building houses or creating some new townies to fill up the worlds. Too much of anything is never good, so a change of pace is sometimes necessary. When I grow tired of TS4, I'll switch to another game or play TS3 for a bit. Of course, there's nothing wrong with stepping away from the games completely if you're feeling entirely unmotivated. You should never feel like you have to force yourself to enjoy a game meant to be lighthearted and fun. Personally, I've been feeling like I've hit a little wall in my current TS4 save, so for a change of pace, I've been playing TS3 and have been trying things I've never done in that iteration of the series. For me, taking a step away from the game is all I've needed to feel motivated to play again.

I'm the type of player who plays all day long and gets heavily addicted to the game for a few weeks. Then all of the sudden without knowing why or how I get bored of it and I quit for a month or even longer. And that is followed by being addicted to it again. It's the circle of life y'all. If you're bored of it, just let it be for a while. You'll be drawn back in eventually!

I can honestly say I have never gotten bored with any of the sims games. I may go for a while, anywhere from a week to a month, without playing but only because I do have other interests. My playing style is goal based and although the sims is sandbox I play to win. And for me that means an objective driven gameplay style where my objective is to do it all. I play one family, aging off, and usually focus on the matriarch. She does all the careers, collecting, aspirations, skills, owns businesses, etc. I change her traits to correspond with whatever career or aspiration she's working on. That way I get to experience all the different traits. Right now she's working in the critic career as a food critic and on her way to becoming a vampire. I do wish there was some way to get around having to choose only one branch in some careers. In between focusing on my main sim I do manage regular family play that centers around the other members of the household.

If you took a look at my family tree you'd see some of the kids have aged up to catch up with their mother and there are children who are cousins and some children who are aunts/uncles to other children and teens. :p

Just wanted to add this is my only save and the one I started in 2014.

"DonnaKnoble;c-16305645" wrote:
@fewlines Thanks! I do too (obvs)! ;)

ever created her in-game? ;)

i usually find myself getting bored with a sim after he has reached the top of his career, accomplished his aspirations, and max'd out his skills. at which time, i would create a new sim and start all over.

i started playing rotationally off of one save about a year ago, as some other simmers have mentioned. it kept my sims from running out of things to do and sims to meet as i was only playing one lot at a time for a week each. i was really enjoying that play style until pets came out. it totally messed up my game. i was so upset that i had to stop playing for a few months. giving them the time to get all the wrinkles ironed out and my developing a desire to get back at it.

as a lot of people have already said, i mainly play to have fun and escape from reality. it's nice to get away from everything and immerse myself in my "perfect" little world for awhile. after all, it's a game. so if i am not having fun, what's the point?

As of lately I don't have the motivation due to missing core stuff ( still )

But when I do feel motivated pets usually keep me playing though I do wish we got more fantasy stuff so I could play longer

Like many have mentioned, I play only when I feel the need to play. I don't play the sims habitually, so when I do play, it's because I am at that point of "awww, I miss my sims and REALLY want to play" I remember with Sims 2/3, I was what you would call seriously addicted sims addict and I played everyday, and every free moment outside of family life/work/adult reality, you could find me playing the sims. I never grew tired/bored of the sims. With sims 4, there's not enough to hold my attention for long periods of time, and yet there is enough there, coupled with my love for the sims, that enables me to actually enjoy playing the sims, whenever I do play the sims. Plus, I am such a slow player that I still have not attempted so much of this game. Seriously, a week for my sims is like a day for my daughter's sims. So there is still lots for me to do yet. For instance, I have never taken a sim family on a vacation in Outdoors Retreat. I've only been to the Flea market festival, I have never played even one of the GTW careers (I have played the city life careers), I have had very little actual club play, even though I basically set them up for much of my sims worlds. I'm sure there is more that I can add to this list. So, I haven't totally exhausted game play yet.

I suggest that you try playing the sims only when you really feel like playing, and only for as long as you feel like playing. Leave the game behind, and then allow that "I miss the sims" yearning to return, however long that may take.

"djacquelynstew;c-16309190" wrote:
Like many have mentioned, I play only when I feel the need to play. I don't play the sims habitually, so when I do play, it's because I am at that point of "awww, I miss my sims and REALLY want to play" I remember with Sims 2/3, I was what you would call seriously addicted sims addict and I played everyday, and every free moment outside of family life/work/adult reality, you could find me playing the sims. I never grew tired/bored of the sims. With sims 4, there's not enough to hold my attention for long periods of time, and yet there is enough there, coupled with my love for the sims, that enables me to actually enjoy playing the sims, whenever I do play the sims. Plus, I am such a slow player that I still have not attempted so much of this game. Seriously, a week for my sims is like a day for my daughter's sims. So there is still lots for me to do yet. For instance, I have never taken a sim family on a vacation in Outdoors Retreat. I've only been to the Flea market festival, I have never played even one of the GTW careers (I have played the city life careers), I have had very little actual club play, even though I basically set them up for much of my sims worlds. I'm sure there is more that I can add to this list. So, I haven't totally exhausted game play yet.

I suggest that you try playing the sims only when you really feel like playing, and only for as long as you feel like playing. Leave the game behind, and then allow that "I miss the sims" yearning to return, however long that may take.

ETA: I do a lot of building and revamping my worlds entirely, so that in itself keeps me occupied in my game, so maybe try designing your sims worlds, one world at a time, and adding your own sims.