For me, you can say it's not something I did, but something that naturally and unexpectedly developed. I used to be one of those very casual simmers who'd play for a few weeks then forget about the game entirely. Since TS3, the main thing that has kept me interested is the storytelling aspect of it. TS3 was the first time I made sims I grew attached to, and rather than have them go about mundane daily tasks to gain gameplay achievements, I've created details of their personalities and full life stories in my mind, with screenshots, and writing. They have now become my very own characters that I write full on novels about. I have carried them on to TS4 and will likely do the same for the next iteration. So it's not even the gameplay that keeps me going back. Without the deep fondness I have for my sims as characters with a story, I would have stopped playing after my brief stint with TS2 many years ago.
