It's like Writing but with The Sims
Jun. 16th, 2010 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
breezeshadowSo I am making my characters in the Sims III.
And oh man.
It shouldn't be this DIFFICULT.
First off, Sims III is like "Uh-duh, I'm not gonna let Rose May be overweight and have a narrow face, uh-dur." Even though that's just how her body WORKS. She naturally has a relatively narrow face and narrow nose, while she is a little plump. But Sims III apparently does not agree with this.
Also, I kept her watch on for all outfits, even sleeping or swimming, for hahas. She's such a workaholic she must know the time AT EVERY MOMENT.
And her traits are fairly straightforward. We can tell relatively quickly that Rose May is hard-working. It becomes clear that she is actually a self-professed Workaholic (Trait I), and a perfectionist (Trait II) at that. But what else? Well, her disapproval of Gareth's actions shows she is, in fact, a Good (Trait III) person. Her actions during the invasion of Antelon indicate she loves her family and puts them high on her list of priorities, making her Family-Oriented (Trait IV).
But that last trait?
Well, it's not like I don't know my character. But she is not friendly enough to have that trait, for she can stand off a bit. She fits little of the Body traits. She is ambitious, but not enough to make it a trait. She is an average flirt, has no real commitment issues, and is neutral to the subject of art. Technology didn't exist very much back then but she isn't bothered by what is there.
Caffeine-Addicted, sadly, is not a trait I can choose. So that narrows it down to two: Heavy Sleeper, and Hydrophobic. Her heavy sleeping tendencies are implied in AG (or will be). As for Hydrophobic, I simply cannot imagine Rose May willingly going out to a pool and jumping in. She'd rather read, or go out shopping, or chat over some tea.
I think I will stick with Heavy Sleeper since it is novel-related.
And as usual, the Sims pops out my character: one lifetime wish is "Big Family". It doesn't come up often in the novel, but Rose May is BIG on family and friends; her mother dying at a young age probably influenced that. While I can't see her wanting five children like Sims wish, she does care deeply for her daughters and husband, and extended friends, and harming them would be like having killed her mother.
Favourites isn't too difficult. Rose May strikes me as a classical fan, and her fondness of sandwiches makes me choose "Cheesesteak" for a meal. But colour? I picked Orange, though I have dressed Rose May in mostly browns and pastels. Just because I can.
For voice I choose a pitch a little on the low end, but still feminine.
Next... Nur. Last name is a first issue because vampires don't HAVE last names, so picked something random. The next issue is that fact that she's human, but I can't stop that. So at the end, after giving her afro-textured mini braids (vampires have uber-thick hair and styles like tight, mini braids and other "afro" styles are extremely common), baby-blue eyes, and such, I gave her tiger costume make-up. Just to symbolize the non-humanness. I also give her tattoos, as I can see vampires being big on tattoos. From there I made most of her clothing revealing and pink, because Nur, when not stuck in sunlight, shows it all off. Soon the game automatically started giving me exposing, pink clothes. That's the spirit, Sims III!
Now for traits. Flirty (Trait I) is a big one for Nur, who flirts with anything that moves. Next is a vampire trait, Good Sense of Humor (Trait II). Nur is also protrayed as being very wild, willingly going out in day regularly, which for vampires is a Daredevil (Trait III). Nur also seems to get excited by Rose May's common charades, making her Excitable (Trait IV). At this point I notice Nur's traits follow the alphabet (DEFG), and decide I must complete this. I choose Hydrophobic (Trait V). Big bodies of water, for vampires, are associated with swamps and thus with Oerdum, a species they have a shaky truce with and choose to avoid.
The Lifetime wishes my game give me aren't very Nur-ish; but then, what is Nur's goal in life? As a vampire, she doesn't really have one beyond have fun. So I go for the one that involves Charisma, as vampires love to make friends. This also means she'll need to be a good guitar player, but I can see that in Nur.
Favourites? As a blood drinker, favourite food is... Tricky. I pick Sushi since it's raw, though vampires are not fish fans (fish = Oerdum prey = OERDUM AAAAH). The game has already picked Pink for her favourite colour; I'm telling you, this game reads my mind. And music? I think of Nur as a metal fan, but we'll choose Indie. Because this is NUR.
Next is Meander. I give him a splash of grey in his hair to differentiate from Nur's. The guy I'm given is a cute kid in glasses; not quite, Sims. We'll see if it figures it out. Meander is rather thin, with some muscle, and a naturally-bony and angular face. That's what a life of malnutrition does to you. Clothing is trickier, though; Meander doesn't strike me as terribly former or certain of what to wear, even in his later years. I throw random stuff together.
Next are traits. Meander is mostly defined by his bipolar, but he also has a Good Sense of Humor (Trait I). To show his bipolar, I choose Over-Emotional (Trait II), which makes a Sim's mood swings more severe. He is very focused on learning how to read, which makes me think that once he learns, he's probably a bit of a Bookworm (Trait III). He is also extremely shy, even once he understands society a bit more, making him somewhat of a Loner (Trait IV). The last trait is tricky. Meander strikes me as not being a big flirt, but he'se also extremely intelligent, though perhaps not genius-level. He's very polite, but that doesn't translate into friendly. So I think I'll just stick with Unflirty (Trait V).
The Lifetime wishes I'm given revolve around writing. This is odd, since in the novel Meander actually makes intricate jewerly for a job. However, considering his interest in news, I don't see "Star News Anchor" as being too odd except concerning how shy he is. However, novel!Meander has powerful telepathy, so he could probably avoid talking too much. Star News Anchor it is!
Favourites are next. Meander likes any food he can find due to being starved when young. And dammit, I totally forgot he's a natural chef! We'll replace Unflirty with Natural Chef. Sadly, this means we lose "Star News Anchor", so we'll pick the "Five Star Chef" trait.
For favourite food, I choose "Stu Surprise", as it strikes me as a cheap, warm comfort food. Music is Classical and Colour is "Sea Foam"; random choices, basically. Voice is tricky; Meander speaks with a thick accent even later on, so I pick a deeper voice, and find one that sounds accented.
Last but certainly not least is Almas. I would do Gareth and Andy too, but they are not in fact part of the household in Malanee. They will be their separate family.
Almas is paler than pale and also muscular, which gives him hilarious broad shoulders. I also give him cornrows because FUCK YES CORNROWS, then realize Almas really wouldn't wear that hairstyle. Boooo, Almas. But then I find this weird "I'm trying to shape my hair like a stereotypical Native American headdress" thing and it is PERFECT and I'm happy again.
Almas ends up as the sexiest Sim alive. I don't know either. I don't give him tattoos because he strikes me as not so crazy, but he does get the tiger face paint. His clothing is also going to be more normal. Almas is boring. He gets an earring for effort and almost a tuxedo for formal wear.
I fiddle with a bathrobe for pajamas before the more I work with it, the more I realize Almas would be ridiculous in his own way. BUNNY SLIPPERS FOR THE WIN.
Now for Traits. Like all vampires, Almas has a Good Sense of Humor (Trait I). He is also shown, time and again in AG, as being very Friendly (Trait II). Though not touched upon in AG (perhaps it will), Almas is a Light Sleeper (Trait III) since the last time he slept deeply, he almost died. Though also not extensively touched upon, Almas is very good with people (he used to be a bartender) and so is Charismatic (Trait IV). The last one is tricky, though. I don't want him to share too many traits with Nur so Hydrophobic is out of the question. He had a boyfriend, so he has no Commitment Issues. I choose Neat (Trait V) because he strikes me as very tidy.
Favourites are Sushi, Pop, and I think blue?
Now for pictures!
Rose May with her SO NOT RIGHT FACE AUGH. I just couldn't lose the look of the original Sim completely.
In the background bringing sexy back is...
Nur! Yes, she would totally wear something like that.
Almas with his mysterious hair.
Meander looking Asian, WHOOPS.
So yeah, this kind of failed, but it was fun and I did mainly for the Traits. Next will be Gareth and Andy when I get around to it.
Edit - Typos LOL
Tschuess.
And oh man.
It shouldn't be this DIFFICULT.
First off, Sims III is like "Uh-duh, I'm not gonna let Rose May be overweight and have a narrow face, uh-dur." Even though that's just how her body WORKS. She naturally has a relatively narrow face and narrow nose, while she is a little plump. But Sims III apparently does not agree with this.
Also, I kept her watch on for all outfits, even sleeping or swimming, for hahas. She's such a workaholic she must know the time AT EVERY MOMENT.
And her traits are fairly straightforward. We can tell relatively quickly that Rose May is hard-working. It becomes clear that she is actually a self-professed Workaholic (Trait I), and a perfectionist (Trait II) at that. But what else? Well, her disapproval of Gareth's actions shows she is, in fact, a Good (Trait III) person. Her actions during the invasion of Antelon indicate she loves her family and puts them high on her list of priorities, making her Family-Oriented (Trait IV).
But that last trait?
Well, it's not like I don't know my character. But she is not friendly enough to have that trait, for she can stand off a bit. She fits little of the Body traits. She is ambitious, but not enough to make it a trait. She is an average flirt, has no real commitment issues, and is neutral to the subject of art. Technology didn't exist very much back then but she isn't bothered by what is there.
Caffeine-Addicted, sadly, is not a trait I can choose. So that narrows it down to two: Heavy Sleeper, and Hydrophobic. Her heavy sleeping tendencies are implied in AG (or will be). As for Hydrophobic, I simply cannot imagine Rose May willingly going out to a pool and jumping in. She'd rather read, or go out shopping, or chat over some tea.
I think I will stick with Heavy Sleeper since it is novel-related.
And as usual, the Sims pops out my character: one lifetime wish is "Big Family". It doesn't come up often in the novel, but Rose May is BIG on family and friends; her mother dying at a young age probably influenced that. While I can't see her wanting five children like Sims wish, she does care deeply for her daughters and husband, and extended friends, and harming them would be like having killed her mother.
Favourites isn't too difficult. Rose May strikes me as a classical fan, and her fondness of sandwiches makes me choose "Cheesesteak" for a meal. But colour? I picked Orange, though I have dressed Rose May in mostly browns and pastels. Just because I can.
For voice I choose a pitch a little on the low end, but still feminine.
Next... Nur. Last name is a first issue because vampires don't HAVE last names, so picked something random. The next issue is that fact that she's human, but I can't stop that. So at the end, after giving her afro-textured mini braids (vampires have uber-thick hair and styles like tight, mini braids and other "afro" styles are extremely common), baby-blue eyes, and such, I gave her tiger costume make-up. Just to symbolize the non-humanness. I also give her tattoos, as I can see vampires being big on tattoos. From there I made most of her clothing revealing and pink, because Nur, when not stuck in sunlight, shows it all off. Soon the game automatically started giving me exposing, pink clothes. That's the spirit, Sims III!
Now for traits. Flirty (Trait I) is a big one for Nur, who flirts with anything that moves. Next is a vampire trait, Good Sense of Humor (Trait II). Nur is also protrayed as being very wild, willingly going out in day regularly, which for vampires is a Daredevil (Trait III). Nur also seems to get excited by Rose May's common charades, making her Excitable (Trait IV). At this point I notice Nur's traits follow the alphabet (DEFG), and decide I must complete this. I choose Hydrophobic (Trait V). Big bodies of water, for vampires, are associated with swamps and thus with Oerdum, a species they have a shaky truce with and choose to avoid.
The Lifetime wishes my game give me aren't very Nur-ish; but then, what is Nur's goal in life? As a vampire, she doesn't really have one beyond have fun. So I go for the one that involves Charisma, as vampires love to make friends. This also means she'll need to be a good guitar player, but I can see that in Nur.
Favourites? As a blood drinker, favourite food is... Tricky. I pick Sushi since it's raw, though vampires are not fish fans (fish = Oerdum prey = OERDUM AAAAH). The game has already picked Pink for her favourite colour; I'm telling you, this game reads my mind. And music? I think of Nur as a metal fan, but we'll choose Indie. Because this is NUR.
Next is Meander. I give him a splash of grey in his hair to differentiate from Nur's. The guy I'm given is a cute kid in glasses; not quite, Sims. We'll see if it figures it out. Meander is rather thin, with some muscle, and a naturally-bony and angular face. That's what a life of malnutrition does to you. Clothing is trickier, though; Meander doesn't strike me as terribly former or certain of what to wear, even in his later years. I throw random stuff together.
Next are traits. Meander is mostly defined by his bipolar, but he also has a Good Sense of Humor (Trait I). To show his bipolar, I choose Over-Emotional (Trait II), which makes a Sim's mood swings more severe. He is very focused on learning how to read, which makes me think that once he learns, he's probably a bit of a Bookworm (Trait III). He is also extremely shy, even once he understands society a bit more, making him somewhat of a Loner (Trait IV). The last trait is tricky. Meander strikes me as not being a big flirt, but he'se also extremely intelligent, though perhaps not genius-level. He's very polite, but that doesn't translate into friendly. So I think I'll just stick with Unflirty (Trait V).
The Lifetime wishes I'm given revolve around writing. This is odd, since in the novel Meander actually makes intricate jewerly for a job. However, considering his interest in news, I don't see "Star News Anchor" as being too odd except concerning how shy he is. However, novel!Meander has powerful telepathy, so he could probably avoid talking too much. Star News Anchor it is!
Favourites are next. Meander likes any food he can find due to being starved when young. And dammit, I totally forgot he's a natural chef! We'll replace Unflirty with Natural Chef. Sadly, this means we lose "Star News Anchor", so we'll pick the "Five Star Chef" trait.
For favourite food, I choose "Stu Surprise", as it strikes me as a cheap, warm comfort food. Music is Classical and Colour is "Sea Foam"; random choices, basically. Voice is tricky; Meander speaks with a thick accent even later on, so I pick a deeper voice, and find one that sounds accented.
Last but certainly not least is Almas. I would do Gareth and Andy too, but they are not in fact part of the household in Malanee. They will be their separate family.
Almas is paler than pale and also muscular, which gives him hilarious broad shoulders. I also give him cornrows because FUCK YES CORNROWS, then realize Almas really wouldn't wear that hairstyle. Boooo, Almas. But then I find this weird "I'm trying to shape my hair like a stereotypical Native American headdress" thing and it is PERFECT and I'm happy again.
Almas ends up as the sexiest Sim alive. I don't know either. I don't give him tattoos because he strikes me as not so crazy, but he does get the tiger face paint. His clothing is also going to be more normal. Almas is boring. He gets an earring for effort and almost a tuxedo for formal wear.
I fiddle with a bathrobe for pajamas before the more I work with it, the more I realize Almas would be ridiculous in his own way. BUNNY SLIPPERS FOR THE WIN.
Now for Traits. Like all vampires, Almas has a Good Sense of Humor (Trait I). He is also shown, time and again in AG, as being very Friendly (Trait II). Though not touched upon in AG (perhaps it will), Almas is a Light Sleeper (Trait III) since the last time he slept deeply, he almost died. Though also not extensively touched upon, Almas is very good with people (he used to be a bartender) and so is Charismatic (Trait IV). The last one is tricky, though. I don't want him to share too many traits with Nur so Hydrophobic is out of the question. He had a boyfriend, so he has no Commitment Issues. I choose Neat (Trait V) because he strikes me as very tidy.
Favourites are Sushi, Pop, and I think blue?
Now for pictures!
Rose May with her SO NOT RIGHT FACE AUGH. I just couldn't lose the look of the original Sim completely.
In the background bringing sexy back is...
Nur! Yes, she would totally wear something like that.
Almas with his mysterious hair.
Meander looking Asian, WHOOPS.
So yeah, this kind of failed, but it was fun and I did mainly for the Traits. Next will be Gareth and Andy when I get around to it.
Edit - Typos LOL
Tschuess.
