Teens are boring

"Jenna2376;c-16264188" wrote:
I think of of the reasons teens are a bit too boring for me is I don't like to micromanage my game. I love to sit back and watch what they do autonomously. I don't have pre-made stories that I have my sims act out. I love watching what the AI makes them do. I actually hate it when I have to cancel some action to make them do something they should have done themselves, like eating or going to the bathroom when they are playing an instrument or on the computer.

Maybe I just play totally different than most people? I don't know. I just figure if Maxis worked so hard to make a "life like" AI what's the point of not using it? Also, if I wanted to pretend my sims were feeling or acting one way when they clearly aren't, I'd just write a sims story or go play with some dolls.

I'm sad to say that I don't think that EA spent enough time creating a "life-like" AI.

I created a household with a niece and an aunt. The niece was a teenager, still a minor. When her parents died, the aunt moved in to help her out. However, they didn't like each other at all. That was my initial set up. I used cheats to start them off as dire enemies. I expected a lot of drama and tension out of that household until the teen was old enough to kick the aunt out of her house.

Like you, I never liked to micromanage. I was the type of the player who liked setting up scenarios and watching them play out. I gave a little nudge now and then to make sure that Sims didn't die of starvation and such. However, I wanted to leave the "life choices" up to the Sims.

In the scenario that I described above, the two declared enemies couldn't stay away from each other. The aunt was constantly going to the niece to chat her up. Although the auntie was Evil and mean and I gave her a voodoo doll at the first possible opportunity, she and the niece ended up being besties.

Now, if that were a one off, I could live with it. I could use my imagination to say that the niece and her aunt found common ground and were able to overcome their differences to finally become genuine family. However, that is the outcome of every scenario, in every household. In the end, everyone ends up good friends who love each other dearly. It doesn't matter what the mix of traits and aspirations. It always trends exactly the same. At every opportunity, the game wants to push toward the positive, always.

Those are not always the kind of stories that I want to tell or to see. I shouldn't have to push so hard to get something other than a Disney ending. If I have conflicting traits and personalities, there should be some angst, no?

The answer is always: NO!