The Sims 2 demonstration being shown at E3 focused on an element of gameplay that was not a part of the original The Sims game, fears and aspirations. Sims will each have their own personal motivation that is tied to their personality and that drives their aspirations and fears. For adult sims this motivation may be family, popularity, or romance, to name a few. Kids share the same motivation – to grow up. Each motivation will have its own set of aspirations that you’ll need to fulfill and fears that you’ll need to avoid in order to have a happy, fulfilled sim. And in The Sims 2, keeping your sim happy and fulfilled is the name of the game.

Sims motivated by fame.

At any given time a sim will have three current aspirations and three fears. These are chosen based on a sim’s motivation and relationships. For example, a romantic sim might aspire to kiss another sim that has caught his interest, while a family sim may fear that her spouse will cheat on her. Meeting aspirations will require a varying amount of effort – an aspiration may be as simple as giving a child a hug or it may take a little bit of work such as trying to score a makeout session with another sim. If fulfilling an aspiration proves to be difficult, then all you that will need to do is wait for a little bit as unfulfilled aspirations will eventually be replaced by new ones. You won’t want to make a habit of this, though, as your sim’s happiness will suffer as a result.

Fears may be linked to the failure of an aspiration, or to something which goes counter to the sim’s motivation. A sim may fear that the sim that they want so desperately to kiss will slap them instead. Or a sim concerned with popularity may fear becoming too fat.

Aspirations and fears carry different weights when it comes to their effect on a sim’s state of mind. Fulfilling a sim’s aspiration to hug a friend will have a small positive effect on her happiness, while fulfilling an aspiration to get married will have a much larger and long term effect. The same goes for fears – having a kiss rejected will be a minor setback for a sim while seeing his wife making out with another guy will be devastating. If a sim faces too many setbacks don’t be surprised if he or she has a mental breakdown and is reduced to a gibbering idiot for a little while…

 

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