How Much Personality Do You Give Your Sims?

I like to start them off in CAS knowing their personality basically. They almost all have a backstory no matter how loose. I don't usually play them as children though even though I know that would add layers to their personalities... I just don't have the patience to tell that backstory out .. unless the point is to tell that first part of their story also. Anyway, then I assign them the traits I know will work best in the game to express that. I also usually make it a point to get other traits (bought) quickly that will help them interact or live more in the way that seems right for them. I rarely give them traits that will take away tension, discomfort, sadness ect anymore unless it makes sense for them to not have these feelings. Although sometimes playing a supersim is fun still.

One thing that I think is very important for most of my sims is I "train" them for a few weeks by being on them actively directing and playing them and doing what I know they would do - actively playing that out. For instance if they aren't going to using a phone, computer or tv .. I give them a skill and interest that I know they will most often default to for fun (and often don't give them a tv or computer for a long time). When they finally do get a tv or computer they rarely show much interest in them because they would rather paint/garden/play an instrument/play a card game/listen to the radio/read a book already. Also mine never seem to default to cell phone use unless I've left them in the middle of no where away from home or locked them in somewhere with nothing to do. I think it helps that I play small sim households though and most of mine are single for a long time. They might have a live in helper or sig other or a child eventually so I do get to see them playing autonomously and I'm usually pleased with their choices and idiosyncrasies by then. They just don't have a big opportunity to go out of character with me on them frequently either way.

Some stories I tell can never really be expressed through the game and I simmify it. I have to know going in that they are going to do things in more of a slapstick way. So since I'm attracted to horror, sci-fi ect.. I end up with black comedies and funny (retroish) science fiction even if the character I'm basing it off of might not be that way precisely. Or I chose characters in the first place that I feel would adapt well to be simmified and who would be comfortable living in that universe.

Didn't give any examples so here's a few:

I'm dating myself hard but I use to love a song called Angie Baby when I was a weird little kid. So I made a family and loosely based the young adult daughter off Angie. She lives with her father and I put them in the house next to the Pancakes house. She has the erratic trait, music lover and creative traits. She fell in line very quickly with how I expected to her act. Of course she talks to objects around her for fun, she listens to the radio and dances and she paints. She lives with her dad that I gave a life of his own since the song didn't indicate much about him but parental concern. I made him a chef with interests having to do with being a caregiver for the most part and he lives a more normal life than she does, has a gf ect. It is fun to look over at what she's doing when I'm playing on him though.

Linus is a sim I based of the Stardew Valley (game) character. He lives outdoors, has a tent and even a little helter-skelter garden. I decided to give him a guitar for fun and he fishes for his dinner some days. He has a cooler so he's not going to starve either way. I often turn off weather effects now but in that save game I kept them on .. eventually I got him traits to better withstand the elements but not block them completely. He likes to play in the rain, gardens on his own, plays the guitar on his own and of course sits by the fire (there have been a few fires for him). He has a radio in his inventory .. sometimes I place it out on good days. When I sent him to Granite Falls he met the hermit and became fast friends with him then more.. Sometimes he invites the hermit over and woohoo bush or tent get used. I gave him Loves Outdoors and Loner traits and I'm not sure of the other (and not in game right now). I do know I'm really satisfied with how he turned out.

In my head I always create personalities, I'm an Altoholic so I create a lot of stuff like this in my mind, things that never is seen in game lol. I wish the game actually had personalities that actually affected how they act, what items they use more and so on. Chess lover, chess hater... they wouldn't get along and end up fighting. Right now everyone always gets along like, it's so passive :(

@Simmerville - I always like hearing about your game. You have the patience and creativity to take the time to make your game very detailed and add realistic touches, which makes it very interesting.

One of my favorite things to do in this game is to create and develop stories for my little pixel people, so I do almost always have a backstory and personality in mind for each of them. I take inspiration from a lot of places: TV, movies, books, and especially music. In fact, music has inspired not only an idea for the personality of a sim, but also a situation I plan to implement into their storyline. I honestly don't think I ever realized it until now, but one song alone can help me to determine the personality and story for a sims character.

If I had to put a number on it, I'd say their personalities are determined about 50% by me and the backstory I've given them, 25% by their traits, and 25% by the way they act in game. However, one of my all-time favorite sims definitely had more control over determining her personality than I did. I've played her many different times over many different save files, so when I first created her, I thought I had a good idea how she'd act. She quickly proved me wrong! :lol: She starts out my games as a child with the genius trait, but evolves into this little spitfire with a whole lot of attitude if you cross her. Seriously, if I let her run around with that full-autonomy on, there's no telling what she'll do. :joy:

Numbers aside, some saves really take me by surprise when curveballs pop-up into my story. It doesn't happen all too often, but I love when the game triggers an event that totally reshapes the way you think of your sims and their personalities.

Anyway, it's been so interesting reading everyone's different approaches to creating their sims on this thread. Some of these comments have really inspired me to create some new sims! :mrgreen:

This is how I view it:

The Sims is like an animated book written word by word as you play along. The different characters become more and more fleshed out the more time you spend with them and observe them. Knowing their three traits and first aspiration kinda gives you the same basics as reading about a character on the back of a book. Actual reading/playing then feeds then your imagination and perception with further input which in turn builds and expands the character's personality. It's pretty cool, actually. And because everyone is different, we all get a unique experience =)

@klestrella It’s so interesting that you’re guided partially by how your sims act in game. I love how sims will act in ways you wouldn’t expect, even if you know their traits. It’s one of my favorite things about the game.

@Nindigo I agree with you completely. Very well put!

"Nindigo;c-17278894" wrote:
This is how I view it:

The Sims is like an animated book written word by word as you play along. The different characters become more and more fleshed out the more time you spend with them and observe them. Knowing their three traits and first aspiration kinda gives you the same basics as reading about a character on the back of a book. Actual reading/playing then feeds then your imagination and perception with further input which in turn builds and expands the character's personality. It's pretty cool, actually. And because everyone is different, we all get a unique experience =)

Yes, I completely agree with this. It's like a book or film but you can spend time on the details that would get cut out or glanced over to the extent that you want to. You can develop the characters as much or as little as you want to.

The balancing act is to what extent it's a blank slate and to what extent it is not.

Usually my sims are evil or are in the middle when it comes to alignment, but I usually give them some kinda quirk or obsession with something. Like in Sims 3 I had a vampire that loved honey, maybe a little too much considering I built a "worshiping room" where the best honey was stored for him. It was actually pretty fun being a servant to our great buzzing overlords and if I had seasons I would probably recreate him in Sims 4.

If I do recreate him he would have his honey room again and I would decide who or who not to kill by gifting them honey. If they accept the gift, they live! If they don't....