While waiting for this season's last Wickerwood chapter (it's in the works, but needs a few days more), I want to tell you how I deal with my sims' personality. Not saying this is a needed way, or even a good way, but at least it helps me keeping a focus for sims that figures in my stories.
Their personality is mainly set by the game, but I like to add to that. This helps me knowing how they will live, what their preferences are, how they react and some times how they communicate etc. Life want and traits make the foundation, but I often add my string of "additional DNA" as well as preferred styles. To keep all these details easily accessable, even if game is not running while I write my stories, I often make a personality card for the main characters. In the past I kept notes in a spread sheet, but I figured that creating a card gives me much more inspiration and ideas, it feels like I geet closer to the sim's true personality :)
This card shows Cathrina H. Wooblershield, you might recognize her from "Seagull Cottage Bed & Breakfast" - a story that takes place in my town of Galucca, and that had a long break but will return to this blog this Fall. Her card gives all essentials regarding her person, including pictures of her as well as the house she resides - Seagull Cottage.
Name is given, not much to add there, except that I always add the maiden name initial when a sim marries and takes anorther sim's lastname. Cathrina's maaiden name is Horgan. She is married to Alexander Wooblershield.
On top you see that her lifetime want is Heartbreaker. This I think of as a long term goal, not something that necessarily affects her everyday choices. She has 5 traits, and I choose to focus on 3 of them as main traits and the last 2 as additional flairs. Her main traits are Friendly, Slob and Ambitious. The weaker traits are Computer Whiz and Flirty, which might affect how those first 3 come into play. So what can we get out of that combo? She obviously is a social sim, network builder and often in a flirting way without necessarily wanting to cheat on her spouse. Being a slob might not only mean that she hates cleaning, but maybe her social relations becomes a mess, to? A few misunderstandings, a few conflicts - all caused by her not keeping her relsations clean and spotless? The Computer Whiz addiitional flair might mean that she tend to think technically abut others, forgetting that they have feelings and questions. She sure is an interesting character for running her late Great Aunt Gloria Moonster's old bed & breakfast, and we know she already did quite a few attempts to bringing the weird neighbors back to the open hood nights at the cottage.
There is also a number top right, number 4. It gives Cathrina's "success status" on a scale from 1 to 6. A 4 is pretty decent, she will probably just about succeed with her business, but not without working real hard. In all my games this factor is present, in some towns there is even regions where the most successful resides (5-6), and poor quarters where less fortunate families live (1-2). A child from a 6 family would never marry someone from a family with success factor 1 or 2. If a 4-sim marries a 5-sim, the household will count as a 4.5 household (the average). The couple's kids will normally inhherit 4.5 but a DNA factor might either rase it to 5.5 or lower iit to 3.5. This way kids will succeed differently, and some parents find it easier to pick the main heir. I often play my towns through generations, so this affects the long term developments of a community.
Cathrina being a Virgo means she will be interested in details, she might like science and she is not afraid to work hard to reach her goals.
The DNA string "Gg-hH-ff-bB-MF-Ii-Ss" is not existing in the game, but I invented it in order to deside a sim's looks and behavior. It might look complicated, but is easy to use once you get to it. I've also used this in my TS4 game.
Each set contain one from dad and one from mom. I use a dice to pass on the DNA, normally once a child is born.
"Gg" = average, no effect. "GG" would mean need of glasses. "gg" would mean no need of glasses.
"hH" = average, no effect. "HH" would mean lots of hair. "hh" would mean little hair. "HH"-men will have body hair, while "hh"-men will never have body hair. Cathrina will not have a very long or volumous hairstyle, neither will she have a very flat/short style.
"ff" = no freckles. "FF" would mean lots of freckles. The average "Ff" or "fF" would normally give no freckles, or just a few.
"bB" = average, no effect. "BB" would mean beautyspot. "bb" would mean no beautyspot.
"MF" = masculine/feminine. This gets more complex, but basicaly one f each will be neutral, while any form of "Ff", "fF", "ff" or "FF" will tend to more feminine. Bigger letters gives a bolder effect. In my games "MM"-women and "FF"-men are gay, but some might still live a normal family life. Masculine women will rarely were skirts/dresses, and feminine men might more often wear red/orange/pink/pastels.
"Ii" = neutral, no effect. "II would mean bright intellect (smart), while "ii" would mean dumb - but not necessarily unhappy. Cathrina is neutral, knowledge might not come easy, but she won't make many mistakes either.
"Ss" = neutral, no effect. "SS" would mean successful regarding social status, and 1 is added to the sim's success factor. "ss" would mean less successful and success factor is reduced by 1.
From the DNA I will know that Cathrina has no need for glasses before she turns elderly, she has average hair growth, no talent for freckles, no beautyspot (but can still pass on the "B" to her children). She is masculine/feminine balanced, but with both big letters, she might be very masculine and very feminine as required - like not being afraid of doing heavy body work, and enjoying to dress up very feminine with no need of doing so every single day. I also know that Cathrina's intellect is average, and her social success is average, too.
With a little experience, I can quickly see my sims' qualities from looking at their personality card. A tad complicated, but do feel free to adapt any ideas if you like.
