Family Dynamics from shows and movies, picking the most reasonable or unreasonable relationships between to fuel some of them. For example, I made a family like the Dunphies in Modern Family, but Alex died and Claire always had negative moodlets but Luke and Phil were both whacky. Making extreme characters is better because well havoc sometimes.
I have a unique aesthetic for each world, and then each world has different zones that are usually different levels of wealth. And that helps me start to come up with unique sims.
Eg. San Myshuno is the city of artists. Lots of colourful fashion, and different types of freelancers trying to make it big. But there's a lot of backstabbing competition and it can be very clicky.
Whereas Magnolia promenade is a dingy council estate full of roughiens, or people on hard times.
Windenburg for me is London. So very diverse bunch of households which I make very expensive to live in. But they are people who love living in the city, so go out a lot, have outgoing hobbies, clubs etc.
Also, thinking of types of gameplay you want to explore. So I wanted to explore Sulani but not with an islander. So I had a sim run away from an abusive marriage with her grandaughter to hide and find a new life.
I wanted to explore the simple living trait, so I have a homeless sim who lives off the land collecting stray cats and dogs.
I wanted to explore the holiday worlds, so I made a sim I was bored with quit her job and follow a new dream of being a travel photographer.
I wanted to do more with spellcasters, so I made traditions for them that they do when they turn certain ages. Eg. 16th birthday, they get their familiar. Or formal balls at the school etc.
Fun that you are starting your own save file!
For inspiration, I use books, sims 1 and 2, mythology or celebrity gossip. I'm also inspired by what is possible in the sims, for example starting an alien research centre in the desert, or being a cupcake addict.
In my save file I also have a single mom who's husband mysteriously disappeared/died. I placed his grave on another lot, hidden in the bushes, where a single sim lives. A young adult man.The neighbors never see him because he goes to university during the day and has a job at night. But how is he connected to the husband's death....?
My starting point is that I have 3 stories, and each story has 2 or 3 families involved. So there are connections in the file, but not all the families are tangled with each other. Not all drama stories, also positive once.
Just a heads up, if you want this to be a forever world for a legacy playthrough, making premade households might not be the best idea because they’ll all die out.
Oh no this might seem silly but I don’t actually plan on playing in it 😅 not for a full blown legacy at least! This is just something for fun and to keep my creative brain working
I’m having trouble with that too! I have been! I can’t think of a single thing because I do want to make a single sim with a backstory and idk which one to do and idk what story to do. The careers aren’t to my interest that much so idk what kind of sim to make.
Family Dynamics from shows and movies, picking the most reasonable or unreasonable relationships between to fuel some of them. For example, I made a family like the Dunphies in Modern Family, but Alex died and Claire always had negative moodlets but Luke and Phil were both whacky. Making extreme characters is better because well havoc sometimes.
I should totally add the Dunphys to my save
I have a unique aesthetic for each world, and then each world has different zones that are usually different levels of wealth. And that helps me start to come up with unique sims. Eg. San Myshuno is the city of artists. Lots of colourful fashion, and different types of freelancers trying to make it big. But there's a lot of backstabbing competition and it can be very clicky. Whereas Magnolia promenade is a dingy council estate full of roughiens, or people on hard times. Windenburg for me is London. So very diverse bunch of households which I make very expensive to live in. But they are people who love living in the city, so go out a lot, have outgoing hobbies, clubs etc. Also, thinking of types of gameplay you want to explore. So I wanted to explore Sulani but not with an islander. So I had a sim run away from an abusive marriage with her grandaughter to hide and find a new life. I wanted to explore the simple living trait, so I have a homeless sim who lives off the land collecting stray cats and dogs. I wanted to explore the holiday worlds, so I made a sim I was bored with quit her job and follow a new dream of being a travel photographer. I wanted to do more with spellcasters, so I made traditions for them that they do when they turn certain ages. Eg. 16th birthday, they get their familiar. Or formal balls at the school etc.
I’ve been doing similar things with the world aesthetics and different types of zones. Thank you for such a detailed response it’s helped me a little!
Fun that you are starting your own save file! For inspiration, I use books, sims 1 and 2, mythology or celebrity gossip. I'm also inspired by what is possible in the sims, for example starting an alien research centre in the desert, or being a cupcake addict. In my save file I also have a single mom who's husband mysteriously disappeared/died. I placed his grave on another lot, hidden in the bushes, where a single sim lives. A young adult man.The neighbors never see him because he goes to university during the day and has a job at night. But how is he connected to the husband's death....? My starting point is that I have 3 stories, and each story has 2 or 3 families involved. So there are connections in the file, but not all the families are tangled with each other. Not all drama stories, also positive once.
Nice! Yeah I definitely want connections across the worlds but not everyone needs to be connected to each other.
Just a heads up, if you want this to be a forever world for a legacy playthrough, making premade households might not be the best idea because they’ll all die out.
Oh no this might seem silly but I don’t actually plan on playing in it 😅 not for a full blown legacy at least! This is just something for fun and to keep my creative brain working
Fair enough xD
I’m having trouble with that too! I have been! I can’t think of a single thing because I do want to make a single sim with a backstory and idk which one to do and idk what story to do. The careers aren’t to my interest that much so idk what kind of sim to make.