Sims vs. Multiplicity Curiosity

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Does anyone else play Sims (or possibly other games with several characters playable at once), naming characters for their multiples? If so, does focusing attention on one particular character encourage that person to come forward? Or, alternately, does running a household with several members named for people who are either causing difficulty within the system, aren't understood well by the rest, or going through a period of change help sort that stuff out?

Okay, those questions I'm just curious, just want to know if we're completely weird for doing that sort of stuff. On a more serious note, we've tried the above mentioned stuff, tried getting and wearing the clothing she likes, getting the kind of things she likes and books she reads, looked up the kind of stuff online she's into and joined communities where applicable, tried thinking like her. We've been dealing with some difficult life issues recently, and could really benefit from her. She's so strong, so capable, so trustworthy... and absolutely unwilling to come out. In fact, she's only been twice in the past2-3 years, for brief periods each time, and never around anyone else. (We really want her to talk to the roommate, she'd get along with him great, and could sort out the issues very quickly.)

Anyone got any advice on how we might coax her out or at least get her to talk to us?

Comments

[kyouketsusha.livejournal.com]

I haven't played Sims in years, but when I played City of Heroes/Villains trial, one of my others made me make a character that resembled her. ^^; So I don't think you're weird!

I dunno about the other bit, though :(

From the other journal

[gremlynna.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with that game, but Shel just recently figured out that the dark elf character from Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion was mine, as well as quite a few paper, pencil & dice role-playing characters over the years.

It's mainly Shel, Wish, Mickey, and Strawberry that play Sims, but Joey and I love to watch, and Rhiannon grudgingly admits that they build the characters damn good, because when left unattended and happy, they go do exactly what they'd do in real life! Lynne paints, Joey plays music, pranks, flirts, or pillow fights, Mickey tries to talk to people and make them happy, I go find somebody to talk to, and so on.

About the other stuff, I just remembered that there are a couple of songs that she strongly identifies with; it might not work, but it's something.

I'm writing from the journal we're not supposed to use here!

~Gabby

Re: From the other journal

[gremlynna.livejournal.com]

Shel!

Screen capture on Sims for some of the icons. My eyes can be green if the amber doesn't work. Fleetwood Mac, music. You know the songs. I'll deal with Molokai. He's an ass. I know Janna. Quit worrying about her. Quit worrying so much! Quit biting your nails and paint them already!

Sorry if I move too fast for you to keep up. It's just me.

~Gab

Re: From the other journal

[teh-kerry.livejournal.com]

You have an Oblivion character? Cool. We were playing that earlier, and we've also had a few hints of someone who seems to be based around our game character too (she ran away back inside, though... guess finding herself typing at a computer all of a sudden was a bit of a culture shock).

Along the Sims 2 line, we tried to build a representation of the inside in there, and put everyone in. The 8 people limit makes it quite hard, and so does the whole 'free will' thing... someone here ended up getting engaged to her little brother :P

- Leah, Kerry and Jet

Re: From the other journal

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

I had an Oblivion character. She was on my roommate's X-Box 360, but he just recently set it up to play online and in making the online profile, all the previous characters got deleted. :(

On the 8 person limit on Sims though, oh yeah, it sucks! But it did recently give the roommate some insight about what it's like being multiple. He usually only plays small households, and when he saw Shel trying to do a screen capture of 1 of the 2 8-person households, he commented on that being a lot of people. Shel's still kind of shy discussing us with him, but she did manage to say something about "That's less than half of what I've got in my head." Poor thing. She get's so overstressed, but I have to give her credit for not using the money cheat codes like the boys usually do. She decided that since we physically don't have much income right now, it would be a more realistic portrayal if there were problems with people sleeping and stuff, because there's not enough beds and someone's guaranteed to go turn on the TV when they try to sleep on the couch, there's always a line for the bathroom, someone in the way of the bookshelf or kitchen stuff, etc.

[liliana-warsaw.livejournal.com]

We've got City of Heroes/Villains usses, too. XD

[padawanagain.livejournal.com]

We play Sims 2 all the time. :)

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Sims original was interesting enough, but when they added the aspirations and stuff with Sims 2, WOW! The characters really do act just like us!

Is that an Anakin refence in your icon? (We used to have a member that got nicknamed that, until he discovered that he was an unsuccessful merging of 4 other male personalities and split apart. We miss him, but most of the other boys are wonderful in their own ways, and it does help balance out the gender ratio in Sims households!)

[padawanagain.livejournal.com]

Anakin is my name as well. :)You can know more about me personally at my journal if you're interested.

I've got Strangetown all filled with people who share this body. LOL

[ex-suhina987.livejournal.com]

And the people he's married to! *waves*

Though I'm really glad he found the cheat code to get male Sims pregnant. I was a *stunning* Obi-Wanda, but male Sims giving birth are far more amusing. The look of terror on their faces is priceless!

[tej-agni.livejournal.com]

lol!

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

I'll have to run that by Shel. She's the one that's been playing Sims most, and it might amuse her. She could use a laugh! She stresses too much!

I'll add you as friend.

Gab

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Strangetown, yes! That's what we're occupying too. Shel's got 2 8-person households of us, and another of just a neat looking small family with the teenage daughters on a mission to breed with or get kidnapped by aliens.

I'll friend you, and your wife. Feel free to add us back!

Gab

[forever-alone.livejournal.com]

I play Sims 2 all the time, but I never thought of doing that... I'm gonna have to try that out.

[our-menagerie.livejournal.com]

sj bribed me with a poohbear so i started coming out again hehe. Thats true but it wasnt that simple. We do usually come out though if there is something we are interested in out here or something we want to do. We have made characters representing ourselves in games before and usually take turns playing on different days, whoever wants to be out. But if its someone who just really doesnt want to be out or cant come out for whatever reason, my focusing on it really isnt going to make them do it unless they kind of want to. We havent had any people here causing trouble in over a year now so I dunno about that we never tried that.

See if she will write on a notebook inside that one of you could read? Or if she can write through someone else when the other person is out..that is trickier though if you have no communication I dont know if it would be possible. Those are the only ideas I have right now.

lh

[our-menagerie.livejournal.com]

errr that first part was from me...i forgot to sign my name too! :)

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to come up with a bribe. No ideas yet, but Gabby reminded me about some music this one is partial to. Now I just have to see if I can get it.

I don't know if anything will work though. I know she's called the rest of us a bunch of little girls before, and Gab gave me the impression that this other one is sort kicking us out of the nest, forcing us to spread our own wings so she doesn't have to keep playing "mother hen."

I hope that doesn't mean she's going to leave us! O.o

[tej-agni.livejournal.com]

There are quite a few of us in Sims2 when we play it. :)

[tej-agni.livejournal.com]

My say hello. When I see that game my always say I love that game so very much. Malla say you a very good girl to play a game so nice. My say I always have my sim with yellow hairs. LeeAnne say Ashley you play with me so very good. My love that. Ashley

[inner-clique.livejournal.com]

hey Ash!!!! squeeze squeeze. XD

*LiSa*

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

Uhm... well, we had a lot of fun playing Sims when we tried to put each other in the game. I can't say it actually affected anything in our operating system, however; there's only so far you can really customize your Sims in terms of behavior, and after that, there's a big element of randomness in what the program makes them do, even if you try to control them most of the time. So you end up with them sometimes (or frequently) doing things that the real person would never actually do, although this can be really funny at times.

Unfortunately, we never really have found a good way to guarantee that someone will come to the front when we want them. Unexpected things sometimes happen in their own time, though.

~Y.

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

We haven't too much trouble with that, though Wish's character did have a high aspiration to make a friend, when in truth, he's really shy and half the time won't talk to people that he knows are our friends. Of course, the character did end up making friends with Myriad, who's one of his favorite people in here! :P

Of course, Shel was questioning my character cleaning on her own, cause I'm not known for being a neat freak, but that's exactly what I did do real world today! I had nervous energy, and the kitchen was a disaster area. I don't enjoy cleaning, but I did emerge in army boot camp, and believe me, you do a lot of cleaning there!

Gab

[sethrenn.livejournal.com]

What kind of a social score did you give him? If you give them a low social score, they just kind of keep to themselves and don't usually make friends unless someone engages them in conversation first. (In original-Sims, anyway. We never played 2.)

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Shel was near panicking, but I know the one she's trying to get forward quite well, since we pretty much ran together with only slight switching out for 2-3 years, and I've got the feeling that she's deliberately not coming forward because she wants us, and Shel in particular, to deal with stuff on her own, or at least start asking the rest for help instead of always her. Shel practically worships her, wants to be just like her, but she's not and never will be. Shel has her own unique abilities, but she's just barely starting to grasp that. She does need to step back for a little while though. She's prone to severe depression and doesn't tolerate stress well, gets migraines so severe she literally can't even move to switch off the TV even though the noise and flickering light is making the pain worse.

Gab

[chaostiny.livejournal.com]

We play sims2 far too much... we have an entire neighborhood filled with "us" and sometimes it is uncanny how well made each one is. I put the word out that if anyone wanted to, they could make a house and a character and play the game.... It did b ring out a few folks who normally wouldn't come out but only to play.
I did find it funny how many people chose to be other than human...

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Do you have special downloads that let you not be human? We have a few that while they're humanoid, they are not human. So far, they've had to be satisfied with just inhuman eyes and weird hair colors. Shoot, I wouldn't mind reptile eyes myself, but Jade already grabbed the one set we have and I'd want mine to be different.

Gab

[chaostiny.livejournal.com]

All the characters have to be basically humanoid but it's amazing what you can do with the various tools Maxis has out for manipulating your sims... I have over 40 different skin tones, I don't know how many eyes and costumes....WHEEEEEEE!!!! I spend way too much time playing with it....

[inner-clique.livejournal.com]

ugh I hate being here when the body is bleeding!!!!!!! and I'm not even a guy!!!!!!!!!!! rofl!!!!!!!!!!!

*LiSa*

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

Sorry you feel that way and I hope it stops soon, but you may have just given Shel and us some hope on getting this one person forward. She actually likes to be out when she's bleeding - says it makes her feel more "womanly." I don't claim to understand that, but I won't even try to talk her out of it!

Gab

[liliana-warsaw.livejournal.com]

I made a whole neighboorhood of both headspace people and people that we live with. =D No one in here is much of a gamer other than myself, but they all tend to pay attention when there's a digital version of them walking around. Heh. Often we find that the Sims usses end up acting like real usses.

[20splinters.livejournal.com]

I did something similar, well, really Shel did, but it was my idea to put the one family in! I had her make a family of our old role-playing group, who are some of my closest friends. The only problem there is that she gave the character of our physical body the name on the driver's license, which none of us associate with anymore, so nobody will play that family. :(

Oh well, gives the families we do play extra bodies to be friends with. ;)

Gab

[medius-tandem.livejournal.com]