The Sims - Presumed Dead

The Sims – Presumed Dead… 

The Sims 4 is coming out soon, and it got me thinking back to the old Sims, back to the Sims Deluxe edition and “The Sims” stand-alone version. What really got me concerned though is when I brought the game, once again, only the strange part to this so-called experience was that I didn’t even plan on purchasing another Sims game; not an old one at-least.

It was early 2000’s (around 2001 and 2002) – I had decided to buy another PlayStation console. After many attempts of trying to fix my friends gaming board and his controller; I never managed to repair his problems. My problems however got in the way of what seemed more important at the time. Friend-ship is what some would say, but me? I’d laugh a few times and rock back in my gaming chair; if you could call it a gaming chair.

It was a night I almost forgot of, dark and around midnight. The depths to my problems at home got deeper, my aunt moved out leaving me alone with my step-dad. Obviously it was already a tough situation to deal with. And the crisis had to come in the time when I weren’t prepared, the time when I was weak and upset over losing my real parents to a car accident.

Just after midnight, I had decided to take a stroll down one of the roads near my old friend’s house. His old house was left empty due to many issues with the maintaining. He also told me before leaving that his home had a bad history for the ones that lived there previously. I swore to god that he was lying, although I did ask myself near 1AM in the morning what kind of sick joke is he playing at?

Since I was near his old house, I decided to take a peek from the outside window. He weren’t kidding, it was pretty dark in there… Old wooden chairs rested against a cracked looking wall and a television that looked pretty old. On top of the sights I had seen, I could also see one or two shadows in the distance, the shadows were also against the wall. Instead of breaking in and having to deal with the authorities. I had decided that it was best to go home. Before leaving with nothing in hand, I noticed an old looking mailbox, something that had the initials, “01OPA,” the initials weren’t really eye catching…

Since the mailbox was quite old looking, and the house must have been re-established after the placement of this old mailbox. I quickly wrote a post-card, using the nearest wall to lean on. After writing a friendly hello and goodbye, I posted it through the dodgy mailbox. In just under 2 minutes of closing the mailbox, a package dropped out near my feet. I didn’t think twice to be nosy, or, even look down at the mysterious package that obviously didn’t belong to me…

<span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Before heading home, I had taken the package with me. At the time the package was resting against my feet, I just felt the urge to look through my friend’s mail. It may have seemed very rude and impolite to a loyal friend who once lived near me… However, like I said before, I didn’t think twice. After finally managing to rest at home, I relaxed on my gaming chair once more and fiddled with the package for around five minutes. After a lot of fiddling, my mind jumped to the thought of gaming, and just like that, the package was opened.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">I tore through the package acting like my hands were sharp blades. And my fingers were super quick claws. Talk about a wild imagination, although I just had the urge to rip things. With every I urge I had in my mind, I just did it. It was as simple as that… With the package now opened, I could finally see the wrapping paper. Bubble wrap all around the sides, and the front was like a frosted over picture. It didn’t look too clear, and I didn’t even think twice to rip through the bubble wrap either… I guess I was excited, packages do this to me, you see. Even after that I felt quite queasy and guilty for opening my friend’s mail.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Another hour had passed, and my eyes already felt quite determined to close. My mind was all over the place at this point. However, with the bubble wrap finally off this frosted over artwork, I could reveal to my dreary face what the package really had inside. With shock, I jumped back a little – almost falling off my gaming chair. However, the artwork didn’t impress me, it did however startle me. What looked like The Sims Deluxe Edition, it turned out that the cover was written in Japanese or some kind of language. I weren’t too sure to be honest, even to this day, I’m still confused on what I had witnessed.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">The artwork didn’t bother me anymore, I threw it away and placed the silver disk that was recommended for PC in my PlayStation. With the game now inside, it was only a matter of time until my television connected and revealed me the game I wanted to see.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">“The Sims – Deluxe Edition 2’0” what a strange name, I thought to myself.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Although the title looked a little strange, with it being 2’0 – I presumed it was just the amount of disks required, which usually would be around two – three. After a deep breath and a loud yawn, I smashed the start button. “Loading…” The Sims was about to begin…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">“The Sims,” the title said it all. Looks like it had returned back to normal? The background however weren’t too normal, it had a bright blue tint flashing over The Sims title screen. When the start screen reloaded once again! I slapped the cheat code my friend taught me in the past. Typing in the code allowed me to access hidden items and Unlimited Cash. What a relief, instead of having to work and wait for a newspaper to get here after-all…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">In-game, I managed to finally play the game properly. My family however, their names weren’t correct. “Jill,” and “Jervis,” two teenagers apparently… As I rotated my camera on the nice view of the house that seemed already established. The two teenagers walked in the same direction. Something that I found a little unusual, in all my life of playing The Sims, I’ve never experienced two Sims following each-other, unless it’s a relationship between the man and the woman, and of course the obvious… “Both assigned to the same tasks.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">This wasn’t the case though, I clicked on Jervis first, and his name looked a little blocky. Whether it was the PlayStation playing up, I couldn’t really tell. When I rotated the camera to face Jervis’s face. I couldn’t see his face too clearly. Maybe it was my screen/monitor. Maybe it’s a little dusty or something. After realising that Jervis was actually naked, this startled me a little. Obviously, the naked Sim was blurry. However, it’s not normal for a Sim to get changed into “naked.” – Unless he was going to have a shower, or, something…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">12:00 AM – it was a strange time to see Jervis wake up. Usually, he’d wake up around noon, 12AM was definitely something new in my Sims household. Jill was nowhere to be seen, I presumed that she had left for College or something. However, without knowing, I didn’t want to find out any time soon.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">12:30 AM – Jervis has been walking around the household, he keeps on picking up his phone and asking for jobs. I’m a little curious to why my Sim is desperate for a job. One moment he sleeps and the next he is up and about. Jill must’ve left the household for a reason, although I didn’t really know too much about the Sims. Jill & Jervis felt like adopted children to me…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">13:00 – I didn’t find anything unusual, just some strange happenings around the kitchen. It turns out that the Fridge was still open, this was quite strange indeed. After a second rotation, I noticed strange behaviour in Jervis. (Yes, he was still naked.) Once he was up and moving again, he made strange sounds. It sounded like the Sims language, however, his voice sounded robotic. I didn’t want to push this mystery any further. After-all it could just be a glitch in the system.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">15:00 – No sign of Jervis, he must’ve gone out shopping. I scrolled down to my Sims, and I clicked on Jervis’s face. To my shock, he wasn’t at work and he wasn’t shopping… My point of view changed dramatically on this character, as he left a school. Okay, College maybe, but a school? This didn’t feel right. What Sim goes to school, I’m sure it’s not in the programming, Jervis was only 1 more month away from becoming an Adult. So it did raise a question to why he was at a school.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">17:00 – I found an error with the disk, apparently the game had crashed. I restarted my PlayStation and loaded up my save. To my horror, I found Jill… She wasn’t exactly moving, so – maybe the movement in the house was Jill, maybe she was actually there. As I checked for more clues around the household, I managed to find Jill’s body. She was laying on the ground. Before attempting to wake her up, I checked her status. To my surprise, I found she was miserable. How is this possible? I’ve only had her for a few days…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">20:00 Jill is still on the floor, no sleep I had thought. After a few minutes in, I found Jill’s old dinner. She must’ve left it there, and the chair she should have pushed in was out. Jervis returned home with a newspaper, and like any other player. I wanted Jervis to check the newspaper. (Instead, I was greeted almost instantly by the Grim Reaper…)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Midnight hit my household, I was shocked and surprised. The Grim reaper walked away with Jill’s body. Jervis had a funny reaction, he didn’t exactly run away, or whatever the Sims are supposed to do in the Grim Reaper’s presence. He became unresponsive. And I couldn’t make him walk or even move, his age raised… I was shocked to see him growing so quickly. Adulthood was his next milestone, as I checked his status – I found he was older…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Jill must’ve been younger, no way am I playing Sims using an elderly families save. I was too confused, I had to take my mind off this crap. If Jill had been here, what would she do? Jervis on the other hand, he followed the Grim Reaper out the front door. Still unclear to me whether this was basic behaviours for any Sim. I watched Jervis disappear off my screen, and the Grim Reaper leaving with Jill. Both helpless, I didn’t know what else to do.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">I’d have been watching the Sims, not some kind of Ant farm. So why do I feel like a monster? This raised the question even further… Jervis was no longer in the household, he had moved out. And Jill was actually still around, I was so confused at this point in the game. I wanted to turn off my PlayStation, and with a deep breath, I did. Before I knew it, Jervis had returned. And I was greeted with a new neighbour. His name was quite strange really, it read something in Japanese. (I’ll try to find a picture of this, I didn’t quite understand the Japanese language at the time.)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Jervis turned Adult, and I was happy to see the game had been working better than before. More responsive, and I had control over my SIm. The neighbour left and didn’t’ say a word, what was left on my doorstep is the only word he could have left for me. Jervis walked over to the door, and I told him to fetch the newspaper. Instead of newspaper, he also brought back a strange pod shaped blanket. I didn’t quite understand what was going on…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">“The Neighbour left, and I felt helpless once again. Without some company, how am I going to boost this guy’s status?”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Jervis came back with the blanket, and just like that… I was greeted by some pop-up. “Congratulations, (Name your Baby…) – I didn’t have any idea what the fuck was going on here… Rather my game got reset, or my save was corrupted. I didn’t understand, Jervis however started crying. And then after I had named the baby “Jervis Junior.” My baby didn’t seem to have a name anymore… Just blocked text and some strange speech bubble.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">Jervis had become seriously depressed. And so did I, I wanted to play The Sims – not some sad family. I didn’t want to take control of a messed up game. It may not sound too much to you, since you haven’t experienced this, right?

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">But to me, it’s a going nightmare, and it returns to me as a runaway thought. – It returns to me as a new born, something I don’t see too often, thank goodness. Wait until Sims 4 is released, I’ll start a new family, and this family will be Version 2 of my creations…

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:107%;color:white;mso-themecolor:background1">- Written By, Rockyz -