After some thinking, my game is pretty semi-realistic. My sims do die of course, from old age to fires and mod related deaths, but I have a short list of sims that I adore so much that they're just not allowed to die. Ever. Occults live amongst normal sims so their stories intertwine with each other regularly. ( I actually have a vampire sim bent on vampire domination that Im debating filling every world with vampires, with perhaps one small area filled with humans as "cattle" )Depending on what Im doing and the story Im telling for a sim cheats will be used. Usually money cheats or skill cheats are used.
I really cant give my sims picture perfect lives at all. When I feel that their lives are getting too happy and stale, I gotta throw something in to shake things up. I do come up with realistic storylines with them, and they do get dark at times which really keep me engaged in their lives. There's always something brewing underneath their lives that helps keep them interesting. Besides the usual romance drama, but questionable "employment", scandalous affairs that could lead to danger for an entire family, connections to gangs behind horrific crimes and disappearances. My sims have a story to tell, even if its one they dont want to tell out loud.