Monday 9 April 2018

The Sims’ Worth Of Being Mobilised Lives On In The Sims Mobile

Sul sul once again, fellow gamers! One month ago, The Sims Mobile eventually became a worldwide life-simulating freebie after settling in Brazil, Spain and Australia [12]. Many simmers who got into it must have enjoyed partying at those splendid parties, buying new clothes for their sims, witnessing a small variety of relationships and watching the results of a risky action during an event [2] [12]. And yes, during one of the special events in the market square, they got to listen to an awesome simlish rock song. It is an example of a passable spin-off of The Sims franchise with convincing graphics and precise life-simulation gameplay [2]. The Sims Mobile, the supposed lovechild of The Sims Social and The Sims FreePlay has shown us how The Sims for mobile devices has evolved since the port of The Sims 2 for 2G and 3G mobile phones from 2006 [5] [11].

The Sims Mobile loading screen. [2]
My female sim singing a simlish rock song. [2]
A sim can eventually retire once the player’s experience reaches Level 16 [2]. The best time to retire a sim would be if a simmer gets tired of the option to do so being occasionally shoved in their face. Once a sim is ready to retire and no longer be playable after becoming an elder, he or she will leave a glorious box behind [2]. While it is heart-breaking to no longer be able to play as a sim who retired, at least enabling the retirement at any time will reward the player with an Heirloom that was in the box. If a simmer suddenly regrets retiring their beloved sim, the replacement can always be a clone of the retired sim instead of a fully grown offspring. Repeating the cycle can help the player expand their MySims character cameo collection, along with the variety of personality traits that the next playable sims can have [2]. Every cloud has a silver lining.

My female sim elaborates on the positive aspects of retiring the first generation of sims. [2]

My female sim elaborates on the positive aspects of retiring the first generation of sims. [2]
Holy smokes Ratticator! A box that contains an Heirloom can be given to the player if an elderly sim passes away in the eariler version of The Sims Mobile [6]. If an elderly sim’s life has not really been that fulfilling, he or she would simply shrug it off and move on in a cheery deposition, compared to how an elderly sim will desperately try and turn the Grim Reaper’s hourglass when their time is up and their aspiration meter is low in The Sims 2. Letting an elderly sim pass away in The Sims Mobile would at least add to the form of realism that The Sims has progressed since the Sims 2 era [6] [8]. Perhaps in a future update, there could be another way of earning Heirlooms that can make the progress of catching them all slightly more progressive, especially for those who would like to see how many MySims characters are in the app as cool cameos. Looks like the Grim Reaper will always be essential in The Sims, whether he did woohoo with another sim or not [8] [9].

If an elderly sim’s life has been fantastically fulfilling, the best character development of the Grim Reaper will be shown in an earlier version of the app. [6]

The way of earning an Heirloom might have been changed in a previous update of the app, which is why my elderly sims are still alive, unless there will eventually be a sign of their upcoming deaths in the current version. [2]
Again, trying to complete any of the twenty-nine stories is rather time-consuming. Despite this, at least a story’s progress that has been completed by a retired sim shall remain completed, even if a new sim within the new generation is repeating it as they follow the retired sim’s footsteps [2]. The green closed book icon that indicates a completed story is further proof and stays there after the next generation of sims arrives of the small form of challenge being at least fair for our fellow simmers. Maybe in a future update, there might be a new unique hobby, career or relationship story that will keep the aspect of developing a story fresh. There will always be a chance to fully complete a story, as long as the player allows the generation cycle to gradually continue in The Sims Mobile, even though the option to make a playable sim grow into a non-playable elder is optional.

One of the relationship chapters was completed by the previous generation of my sims before they retired. [2]
If you thought the price for a third playable sim was too big, the price for a fourth playable sim is even more outrageous [2]. 515 Simcash dollars! Despite the more expensive price for a fourth household member, it should not be a big deal for those who are okay with only playing as two sims and those who have waited long enough to get 175 Simcash dollars without spending any real-life currency for a third playable sim. The earned SimCash can always be spent on rushing events, household items, and stylish clothes if a player does not want to go through another period of patience that would be even longer. Alternatively, there’s always the option to get enough SimCash more efficiently by paying with real-life credit. In the United Kingdom, £9.99 for 600 Simcash dollars is a pretty decent deal [2]. Ultimately, it is up to the player if they would like more than two sims in their household.

515 Simcash dollars for a fourth playable sim. Really? [2]
Aside from the Freezer Bunny and the Social Bunny from the main Sims games [7] [10], there are cute pink bunny stickers that expand on The Sims Mobile’s cred [2]. Believe it or not, giving a sticker to at least three sims with a blue plumbob above each of them is on every single daily to do list. At least it would be worth it for two Fashion Gems if a simmer would like a new quirky clothing item from Izzy. Giving out stickers to other sims seems to be another sign of the app’s individuality, as well as a sign of the Freezer Bunny’s legacy [7]. New bunny stickers with different expressions and attire will come out about every week or so, which might make some simmers think that they could be the Sims equivalent of emojis [2]. The quirky stickers that resemble cute pink rabbits with a variety of expressions and attire might perk up the simmers who got annoyed at their furniture suddenly breaking.

Here you go, sweetcheeks. Have a bunny sticker! [2]
The app may still occasionally show off some goofs, such as a smartphone being stuck to a sim’s hand [2]. At least the bodies of the sims in a hot tub do not stretch across the household in my data anymore. That glitch might not have been good news for some people with photosensitive epilepsy. There are some moments when the two sims who are actually in a romantic relationship will actually woohoo together. Aside from the annoying hot tub time glitch being officially wiped out, one time in my data, the second generation’s toddler was completely invisible while being babysat by my third playable sim. The cute little rascal must have been pretending to be a friendly ghost or something. With hope and diligence, the developers of the app can ensure that the game will remain less glitchy for our fellow simmers. But nevertheless, since only a few silly glitches do not make a game unplayable, the gameplay remains untainted [2].

An invisible toddler being babysat by a third playable sim. [2]
A perfect woohoo scene, Much better than the boring standing up woohoo in The Sims FreePlay. [2]
Overall, for the rest of 2018, plenty of our fellow simmers may still go with the non-linear flow in the newest spin-off of The Sims. With the option to link the data with a Facebook account and check out the sims created by Facebook friends, The Sims Mobile is sure to be known as the spiritual successor of The Sims Social. Some mobile gamers out there might be thinking that The Sims FreePlay is so last lustrum, but it still seems quite relevant for its players with update after update, along with a new logo that replaced that original one in 2015 [1] [3] [4]. The same may apply for The Sims Mobile a few years later, as long as there will be updates that will add slight improvements and new aspects in order to prevent the app’s legacy from going stale. Dag dag…until I write again, gamers.

And this concludes another article. [2]

References:

  1. EA Mobile. (2012). The Sims FreePlay. iOS. California. United States.
  2. EA Mobile. (2017). The Sims Mobile. iOS. California. United States.
  3. Electronic Arts. (2011). The Sims™ FreePlay. Available: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-sims-freeplay/id466965151?mt=8. Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.
  4. Logopedia. (2012). The Sims FreePlay. Available: http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims_FreePlay. Last accessed 9th Apr 2018.
  5. mobilearcade. (2009). The Sims 2 by EA Mobile - Free Mobile Game Demo. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egple1udy5o. Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.
  6. Sims Community. (2017). Death in The Sims Mobile. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYJFPv51-c. Last accessed 5th Apr 2018.
  7. The Sims Wiki. (2010). Freezer Bunny. Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Freezer_Bunny. Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.
  8. The Sims Wiki. (2009). Grim Reaper. Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Grim_Reaper. Last accessed 5th Apr 2018.
  9. The Sims Wiki. (2009). Olive Specter. Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Olive_Specter. Last accessed 8th Apr 2018.
  10. The Sims Wiki. (2009). Social Bunny. Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/Social_Bunny. Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.
  11. The Sims Wiki. (2009). The Sims 2 (mobile). Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims_2_(mobile). Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.
  12. The Sims Wiki. (2017). The Sims Mobile. Available: http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sims_Mobile. Last accessed 4th Apr 2018.