Erik Swain: Week 1

Welcome to No. 35, Mendoza Lane, in Desiderata Valley's Downtown. Several freshly graduated students have recently moved to this neighbourhood. 

One of them is Erik Swain. 

Unlike what his Maxis-written bio says: "Erik is here to follow his dreams of being a successful artist. Maybe he'll meet the love of his life along the way", Erik fancies himself as a future Captain Hero and has NOT met the love of his life at uni. Maybe that special someone is out there somewhere - we shall see. 

This is the first time I really play him this round - so far, he has been seen and heard but not been focused on. His last few days at uni are here.

His modest house comes with only very basic and not very nice furniture. Because he has been parsimonious with his student grants, Erik is able to do something about this right away.

The house looks better now (and soon after I had taken this picture, I made a few more improvements), and all he has to do at the moment is to wait for Mr Humble to deliver his computer and start the job hunt.

Unfortunately, on this Monday there is nothing available in Law Enforcement. Not to worry; it is only the first day, and Erik can use his time off to build some more skills and get a good head start once he'll find a job in his dream career. 

Hannah Bell, Cyd Roseland and Trish Traveller are the Welcome Wagon and share a meal with Erik before the phone rings and one of his many friends from uni invites him for an outing to Crypt-O-Night Club. 

Sadly, my game crashed just as the group got off the taxi, and so there are no pictures of the outing - but the next time I played, Erik was getting off the taxi in front of his house, so he must have "been there" somehow.

On Tuesday, luck is definitely on Erik's side: First he finds a job as Patrol Officer and has all morning off, making good use of the time by doing the crosswords, talking to a friend on the phone, paying the bills and acquiring another body skill point.

Then, after a long shift on his beat, an exhausted but happy Erik returns with a promotion to Desk Sergeant. He had the necessary skills and was in a good mood, so I guess he would have been promoted anyway, but the right decision with a chance card didn't hurt, either. 

His time behind a desk at Police Headquarters is already over when Erik is promoted to Vice Squad on Wednesday. 

Since logic skill is now needed, he invests his bonus in a chess table and two more chairs.

But playing chess on his own, although useful, doesn't really satisfy him, and so Erik invites two of his former uni mates over. Kevin Beare and Castor Nova live just round the corner and are happy to join their friend for a meal first and some games of chess later. 

And of course, Thursday sees another promotion for Erik: He is now a Detective, and the first thing he detects upon coming home from work is a stray cat named Noodle.

The fingerprint gun is now his, and strangely, he finds fingerprints from an unknown elderly lady on his settee. Did he buy it second hand?

Just as Thursday slips into Friday, a burglar approaches Erik's house. Maybe not the wisest of moves, since a representative of the Police force lives here!

What have you spotted worth stealing, Sierra? - Believe it or not, she nicks the mirror cabinet from the bathroom! Then she proceeds to take the chess table and the colourful rug. Erik, aware of strange noises coming from his open-plan living/dining/kitchen area, calls his colleagues for help. But by the time they arrive, the burglar has gone. 

"My rug! She has taken my rug!" Erik can't believe it, and of course he instantly wishes for a burglar alarm, which I buy of course. There are still several hours left of this night, and so Erik goes back to sleep.

His traumatic experience of being burgled doesn't deter him from his job, and he is rewarded by yet another promotion: Meet the Valley's latest Lieutenant! Erik has the weekend off, and so this was his last promotion before I will play him again. 

To celebrate, Erik invites his latest friends over, Hannah Bell (who was part of the welcome wagon) and her husband Issac. They enjoy a fresh batch of vegetable soup together before the rest of the evening is spent between the chess board and just talking.

Saturday gives Erik a chance to sleep as long as he likes, and then he makes himself a sumptuous and leisurely breakfast of omelette.

He passes the day doing this and that and the other, and when Opal Contrary walks by, he greets her and politely invites her to help him finish the leftovers of yesterday's veggie stew. Opal (slightly cross-eyed) wonders how anyone would choose to live here in Downtown - she loves her suburban family home in Desiderata Valley. 

Every day of this week, some stray dog or other (not always the same one) has been digging up Erik's front garden, and he has diligently filled in the hole every time. Sunday is no exception. 

With no work to do and no urgent skills that want acquiring, he decides a bit of culture is in order and walks to the Mostly Modern Art Museum. 

Several Sims he knows - and some he don't - are there, but he doesn't stick around very long.

Instead, he heads home and invites seven of his friends old and new to a house party, which ends a roof raiser.

I enjoyed playing Erik's single Sim household - he was uncomplicated and easy to keep happy, as well as being out for work much of the time.

His friends are mostly still from his time at college, but he is branching out with the Bells and has met some other residents of The Valley. So far, nobody has really caught his attention, but we'll se what happens next time I play him and it'll be spring, or maybe another playable Sim will meet him while I am playing them.

Puck Summerdream: Freshman Year

Puck Summerdream didn't get his full week when I played the Summerdreams, because he left the family home for college before the week was over. Therefore, we're here at Boggs Hall Dorms, the largest dorms at Veronaville's Académie Le Tour, to accompany him through his Freshman Year. 

Much to his dismay, Puck finds he has come dressed way too lightly - spring was well underway back home, but here at college, there is still plenty of snow and it is very cold. He doesn't have time to get changed, though, since class has already started, and he hurries off the lot.

Meanwhile, at the dorm Tybalt Capp his having his graduation party. His diploma says Magna Cum Laude, his Major was Politics. Here he is with his girlfriend Marla Biggs, who finished college ahead of him and has of course come to the party. 

Tybalt's sister Hermia has been invited, too, and that's it - because of the size of the dorm, only two guests were allowed, and I am not going to try and add more guests with the help of a cheat just to have the game crash.

Back from class, Puck quickly claims his room and changes into a woolly jumper and a pair of jeans. Some of the girls at the dorm are checking him out quite unashamedly as the new guy when he has a bowl of Mac & Cheese at the canteen. 

He ends his first day by watching the cooking channel - a fun way to gain the cooking skill required this semester.

To Puck, friends and family are everything. Even before he gets dressed the next morning, he is on the phone to tell the folks back home that he has arrived and is settling in well. 

20 best friends are his lifetime want, and he makes his 9th and 10th best friends today talking to Benedick and Beatrice Monty.

No semester can go by without at least one fight between the cow and llama mascots. As usual, the Llama wins. 

"I am not one of those who end up being enrolled in Philosophy as their Major because they can't decide for themselves - I know what I want!" he tells a fellow dorm resident in the canteen. Yes, he wants Drama, and he gets Drama :-)

Puck wants to meet someone new, and so he and Mercutio walk to the Romara Coffee Shop. 

Puck meets Mitch Indie as the only other playable visitor to the lot, and apparently they have happened to visit on Boys' Day - apart from the Barista, everyone else on the lot is male (including the Unsavoury Charlatan, who puts in an appearance just as Puck and Mercutio are about to leave). 

Back at the dorm, Puck trims the hedges and shrubs around the dorm entirely on his own initiative. Maybe this reminds him of home, where he often helped his father taking care of their vast garden.

Over breakfast the next morning, Puck thinks about the best friends he already has made and the ones he still has to work on.

His first semester has gone well; both he and Monty return from their exams at the same time, and while Puck happily sees his name on the Dean's List, Monty "only" managed to achieve an A-, which means he is not on the list but still gets the full grant of 1,200 Simoleons. 

Exams make hungry, and Puck's first stop is in the canteen, where he sits opposite one of his female dorm mates who is in her undies. Love is a subject close to most Sims' hearts this time of year, and Puck is no exception. But he doesn't feel attracted to this particular fellow student (or to anyone else).

"Professor Rusewicz! How nice of you to call. Yes, I have already handed in my Term Paper. I like to get things done early, you know." Puck's professor rings almost every day, and maybe she'll be one of his 20 best friends eventually. 

While Puck was diligently typing away at his term paper, Mercutio wished to influence someone to write his, and spent most of his spare time dancing while a fellow student was slaving away in the common room doing the work for him.

"I wish I met someone here on campus, that special someone," Puck tells his friend over their plates of spaghetti with meatballs one evening. The second semester of his first year here is half way over, and while there are many girls and boys about, none has yet captured his interest, let alone his heart. 

Mercutio wants to play a video game and heads to the downstairs common room, where he is soon joined by Demi Long. She is the one who wrote his Term Paper for him, but apparently she feels he does not appreciate her efforts enough - when Monty is not busy otherwise, she constantly seeks him out and pokes him. They have not yet reached enemy status, but are not far off.

Oh Puck, you really should know better than to knock at the glass of the fish tank! (I really think EA should NOT have programmed that into the game.) 

I find Puck throwing pink hearts for a fellow student, but when I have him talk to her and check her out properly, they have two bolts only. With three, I would of course have made an exception and let them become closer. 

Is it possible that it is Exam Day already again? Yes, it is!

The boys have worked hard (well, sort of) over the last half year, and so they both return from their exams with A+ grades, their names on the Dean's List and 1,200 Simoleons each. 

For Puck, it's the start of his Sophomore Year, while Mercutio is now a Junior. Puck wishes for his sister and some of his younger friends to join him at college, but it's a while yet before we shall return to Académie Le Tour for one of them.

The Summerdreams: Week 1

A change of scene for this week - welcome back to Veronaville! This time, the address is 71 Bard Boulevard, the mansion-like house of the Summerdream family.

From the back, it looks very much like a theatre. The outdoors area has different levels, with a jaccuzzi taking centre stage, plus various lounge chairs, a bar and buffet table and other things. It looks like some sort of party is going on; it is Tuesday evening 9:00 pm when I enter the lot. 

The family plus guests are all out there, with Titania standing on the "stage" (and obviously thinking about either having been cheated on or herself cheating on her lover). The line-up in front of the jaccuzzi is, left to right: Puck Summerdream, Hermia Capp, Oberon Summerdream, Romeo Monty and Bottom Summerdream. 

According to Maxis, "The Summerdreams' kindly nature and zest for life have cast a romantic spell over Veronaville's youth. But will there be any magic left for Puck?" Before starting to play, let's check out the history Maxis have provided us with.

Here, Oberon and Titania are seen as childhood sweethearts. They are cute together, aren't they! 

About them as adults, Maxis says: "Trying to master the art of home video editing, Oberon has been neglecting his lovely long-time companion Titania. Is it too late for him to recapture their love?" And: "Though devoted to her adopted children Puck and Bottom, Titania is feeling restless. Can she again find the peace, love, and happiness she used to share with Oberon or will she look for attention elsewhere?" 

Oberon is a Knowledge Sim and wants to become Chief of Staff, while Titania has the typical Family Sim lifetime want of having six grandchildren. 

A couple of unknown Sims are giving their red-haired toddler up for adoption. Puck's biological parents do not show in either his memories or his family tree; he feels as much Titania and Oberon's son as they feel his parents. 

Here is Puck again, now a teenager, sharing the jaccuzzi with the friendly sisters Hermia and Juliet Capp and friend Romeo Monty. He "has been blessed with two loving parents—and a bratty kid sister—but sometimes he still finds himself lonely. Can he find a companion in Hermia?" As his aspiration is Popularity, it does not come as a surprise that Puck wants nothing more than to have 20 best friends.

Oberon hugs the youngest member of the family, Bottom. She, too, was adopted, and "sometimes gets herself into trouble attempting to get attention from her parents and big brother. Will she grow up to be more respectful and responsible?" 

By rights, Bottom should not yet have a lifetime want, but strangely enough, she already dreams of becoming General Summerdream one day (sounds rather nice, doesn't it). She has no aspiration yet, and I wonder whether her lifetime want will change once she grows to a teenager and has an aspiration. 

Oberon and Titania do not have any biological children and are not (yet) married.

The house is large and relatively well (and in some parts, luxuriously) furnished, but its layout makes it hard to play: 

To get from the street to the front door - which is at the back of the house - and vice versa takes forever. On the ground floor we have a large open plan hallway with two stairs leading to the upper floor and double doors opening to the "stage" and garden. Off to the left is the kitchen/dining area, and to the right a toilet and a room that holds little more than a settee. 

Upstairs, there are two bedrooms with double beds, with the red one probably meant to be Titania's and the blue one Oberon's. 

The green room with the single bed is Puck's, and the pink one Bottom's. There is only one bathroom here, which I will change for the sake of time management. 

The family have comparably little cash with 6,573 Simoleons on their account, but some of the furniture and other things can easily be sold, and if Oberon joins the Medical Career, he will make more money than what he gets right now in the Slacker career. Titania is in the same career, but since she needs neither the money nor the job for her lifetime want, I shall have her quit. 

The game informs me that Puck wants to have his first kiss with Hermia, and so they get their first kiss. Red hearts are the result :-)

Meanwhile, Oberon unsuccessfully tries to patch things up with Titania - apparently, he really did cheat on her (according to his memories), but it is unclear who with, since she is the only person in his relationship panel with a heart. 

Still, Titania reminds them of the magic they once had, and the two of them talk until they nearly fall asleep right there on the floor.

On Wednesday, Oberon starts his new career: He is now an EMT.

While he is at work and the children at school, Emily Lee kicks over the rubbish bin, clearly having a grudge against Titania. Is she the one Titania thinks Oberon cheated with?

Mother and son share a moment of joy when Puck brings home his first A+.

Bottom isn't quite at A+ level yet, but she brings home Jace Lee, a boy who will be made playable eventually because of his surname.

The Summerdreams are all gathered at the dining table so that young Bottom does not have to eat alone. See the way Oberon looks at Titania, and the way she does NOT look at him? She is still mad at him, even though their relationship is back to 100.

On Thursday, one of the first things Titania does is to put her tiara in a drawer (it IS difficult to keep in place while doing the cooking and everything elsee) and change her hairstyle. The more modern look really suits her, and she is as happy with it as I am.

Oberon has had a good day at work and returns with a promotion to Paramedic. He sleeps for a couple of hours before going back to the hospital for a night shift. 

Today, it is Bottom's turn to bring home her first A+ report.

Before he changes back into scrubs, Oberon gets rid of the makeup; it is not allowed in the operating theatre anyway, and if he wants to move on to surgeon, he has to change his look - and as you can see from his smile, he likes what he now sees in the mirror.

With Puck and Bottom at school and Oberon not having to leave for the night shift until 7:00 pm, he hopes to spend time with Titania so that they can finally leave their silly quarrel behind. However, at first she is busy making phone calls to friends, turning her back on him while he eats his sandwich alone. 

Eventually, though, she joins him at the table. "Can't we at least be best friends again?" he asks - and a smile is the answer. 

Seconds later, she reaches across the table, and Oberon tenderly touches her hand. Finally, the two are in love again!

The afternoon is spent raking leaves and at the same time increasing the cleaning skill so important in the medical career.

At night, with Titania fast asleep in her bed, Oberon quietly slips between the sheets next to her. (He did that on his own accord, instead of using his own bed as he has been doing all week.)

Saturday morning sees the whole family at breakfast. 

Then the kids play chess on the porch for a while until Bottom gets bored, and Oberon takes her place. 

She is much more interested in making friends with her classmate Jace Lee. 

Oberon's night shift went all wrong when he was driving to an emergency and couldn't get through because of heavy traffic. He chose to drive on the sidewalk, but this was NOT a good idea, and he was fired.

While the firing made him unhappy, he was glad to find Titania still up... and ready to restore his self-esteem and happiness :-)

A gardener is called on Saturday. Even though Oberon is unemployed at the moment, he wants to get back into the medical career as soon as possible, and will use his spare time to brush up on skills while this is made easier by it being autumn.

Titania and Oberon hugging romantically on their own accord is so nice! 

For the last time, Puck can dance like that with his little sister... 

...because shortly afterwards, she grows up into a teenager. 

My dice decides on her aspiration to be Pleasure; her lifetime want (which she should not have had in the first place, while she was till only a child) remains unchanged: One day, there will be a General Summerdream in Veronaville :-) 

Because the week at this house started on a Tuesday, I play Monday in order to complete their week. Titania can now harvest the plants the family have been tending all week. 

Oberon has not yet got his former job back, but he is forever skilling, and only interrupts that activity to say good-bye to Puck, who moves to college today - a big wish of his comes true.

One of Bottom's newly rolled wishes is to flirt, and who better to do this with than with her classmate and friend Jace Lee :-) 

This is where the week with the Summerdreams ends. 

It was a relief when Titania stopped being mad at Oberon. Although it was unfortunate that he lost his job, I am confident that he'll get back into the medical career and reaches his lifetime want eventually. Puck will no doubt do well at college, while Bottom has already begun to explore the joys of being a teenager. 

I had fun with the family, but not the house; the children's rooms are windowless and small, the front door is at the back, and the garden is full of useless outdoor furniture. I have changed a few things, mainly adding steps from the front porch to road level, so that now the doors facing that way are used as front doors.