Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Sims 3: Kamal Campbell

I created Kamal Campbell especially for the new Sims 3: Ambitions town of Twinbrook.  In my Sim playing, I usually stick to the "happy family" scenarios with family members who possess only positive traits. I decided to try something different with Kamal. Kamal has commitment issues and is flirty, which makes for an interesting character.  He's also athletic, hot-headed and brave.  In addition, I chose the Heart Breaker lifetime wish.  Let's just say that this flirty fire fighter lands himself into more than one tough spot.  

 Kamal is a firefighter in the new bayou town called Twinbrook.
 When he’s not handling emergencies, he spends his time at the fire station maintaining the equipment.
He’s off to deal with an emergency.
 He quickly puts out this small house fire.  Not bad for the first day at work. His efficient firefighting will take him far very quickly.
Kamal always finds time to flirt with the ladies, but his commitment issues keep him from sticking with just one.
 His flirting with fellow firefighter, Sophia, doesn’t really lead anywhere, so Kamal sets his sights on Penny Pincher (I didn’t name her – LOL).
Penny’s flirty ways leads to a kiss on the first night that she and Kamal meets.
It doesn’t take long before she accepts Kamal’s invitation to this house.
Kamal remains a gentleman that first night.
But Penny is a bit insulted by this.  A sure sign that she may not be the type of woman that Kamal should be dealing with.
He doesn’t pick up on that right away however, and quickly makes an enemy out of Penny’s roommate, after he expects that there may be more than friendship going on between them.
Maybe Kamal let his hot-headedness take it too far, but he ends up in a full-out brawl with Penny’s roommate.
Not long after their relationship becomes intimate, Penny becomes pregnant. She reveals to Kamal that she is pregnant with his child. This causes Kamal to be even more upset with the relationship that Penny seems to have with her roommate.
Kamal breaks off his brief relationship with Penny. She is appalled by this… or maybe it’s the less than respectful names he calls her that upsets her.
Penny is deeply hurt by Kamal’s disrespect and the fact that he breaks up with her (despite the fact that she is expecting his child).
After he hears of the birth of his son Clark, Kamal stops by after work to meet his son, but is obviously unwelcomed.
He is not too happy about being closed out of his son’s life and drives off in a huff.
After Penny calms down, Kamal is allowed to finally meet his son Clark Pincher.
He never thought he’d make a good father, but Clark quickly finds a place in Kamal’s heart.
The fact that Penny’s roommate gets to be around Clark all the time is too much for Kamal to take.  He lets his anger get the best of him.
Penny seems to be in a relationship with her roommate, so Kamal once again turns his attention towards his co-worker Sophia.
The fact that Sophia is already in a relationship with one of the other firefighters does not deter him from pursuing her.  Kamal does not mind making enemies.
Kamal does not get to see his son Clark as much as he’d like, but cherishes the moments that he does have with him.
Clark seems to enjoy being around his father and Kamal definitely loves being around his son.
Kamal attempts to teach Clark to walk.
He really enjoys being a part of his son’s life.
And Clark benefits from it.
Things seem to be going well for Kamal on the relationship side as well, because fellow fire fighter Sophia finally breaks up with her boyfriend and agrees to go out with Kamal.
They meet up at a romantic restaurant.
And have their first kiss.
Kamal really likes Sophia and she seems to really like him as well.  But she decides that she wants to take things very slow.
At the fire station, a fellow co-worker is taken away by the Grim reaper.
After this sad event at work, Kamal’s only comfort is going to visit with his son Clark, now in grade school.
And in his relationship with Sophia, until…
He meets gorgeous Mercedes Price, who he is immediately attracted to.
He has all intentions on developing a relationship with Sophia, but his attraction to Mercedes throws him for a loop.
He just has to get to know Mercedes a little bit better.  He can’t resist moving in for a kiss.
This leads to a date.  Hopefully Sophia is nowhere around to catch him.
The date leads to other things and Kamal finds himself in a situation that he just didn’t bargain for.  He likes Mercedes, but his heart is truly with Sophia at the firehouse.




Click for more of The Price Family  (spinoff of the Kamal Campbell slides)





Monday, August 30, 2010

The Sims 3: The Deans

The Deans live in Riverview.  This family begins with Tansy Parker (created in CAS), a vegetarian party animal, who later marries brave, athletic police officer George Dean.  Tansy & George wait until reaching the top of their careers before having a child which leaves their only son, George Jr., parent-less in his teen years. He is forced to grow up way too quickly. 

Please Note: Part 1 is not really a story, but more of a progression of the Dean Family as they grew, sort of like a photo album.



Please refresh your browser if the slide show does not appear below.





Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sims 3: The Pratts

The Pratt family derived from the Murphys (click to check them out first).  Candy is the daughter of Yasmin & Jess Murphy.  She was born in-game to a family that I was not actively playing, so I had no control of her name or traits. I decided to start playing with her after she grew into a young adult. Soon after I started playing her, she marries her high school sweet heart Sam Pratt.  The marriage has a great beginning, but Candy's workaholism and Sam's couch potato trait leads to problems. Please refresh your browser if the slide show does not appear below.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sims 3 The Murphys

Here is the first family that I created in the Sims 3. The Murphys live in Sunset Valley. I created Malcolm and Savannah as a married couple in CAS (Create A Sim) and they later had five children. Find out more about the Murphys by viewing the series of slides below. Please note: this is not exactly a story, but more of a progression of the family as they grew (like a family photo album). 

Read the Pratt Family (descendant of the Murphys):



Please refresh your browser if the slide show does not appear below.


My Little Get-A-Way

I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past 8 years. I have a busy two-year-old who is at the peak of her fall-out tantruming phase and an inquisitive 8-year-old, that I home school, who has a hundred questions that demand answers. Although I love being home with my children, I sometimes get bored, burned out and at times I'd just like to get away. However, living on one income, get-a-ways are not very feasible and I have responsibilities with my children and could not just leave them with someone else while I vacation. So I have to find fairly inexpensive ways to unwind, during nap times or when the children are otherwise occupied, that doesn't require me to leave the house.

This is where The Sims come in. I have been a fan of The Sims franchise for 8 years. My love for the games started with the Sims 1 where I became fastinated with these little virtual people that I had full control over. I had control over when they ate, when they slept, what they wore, what form of entertainment they use, etc. Now, as a stay-at-home mom, this may sound like what I do with my children, but can you really have full control over a tantrum filled two-year-old who seems to reject everything? Nope, not happening and no way.

Anyway, back to the Sims. A few years after the introduction of the Sims 1, the Sims 2 came out. With the Sims 2, not only did I have full control of little virtual lives, but the virtual people now had the ability to have pregnancies and gave birth to children that looked just like them. These same virtual children had the ability to grow up, get married, have their own children and die. Thus the introduction of generations. Now, I could not only have full control over a few sims, but whole generations of sims!

If that was not enough...the Sims 3 came out over a year ago. I am now exploring the Sims 3 and I have to say, I am nothing short of impressed. My virtual families now live in a seamless neighborhood where they can jog around town and visit their next door neighbors. While I play my virtual family, the townies around them continue to age, get married, have children and live out a full life cycle...without my control. You would have to play it to see how cool this feature is!

But why is this considered a get-a-way? With the Sims franchise, I have the ability to briefly leave my sometimes chaotic full time job of mothering and jump into a virtual world where I can have full control of something. (No, I'm not a control freak by-the-way!!) I control whether these virtual people have happy-go-lucky lives or lives full of drama. The sims gives me a chance to take my mind off of everyday worries, even if it's just for a short amount of time. The games also allow me to be creative and build houses, businesses, design outfits and build whole towns. With the Sims 3 World Adventures expansion pack, I'm able to visit France, China or Egypt with my sims. I may not be able to visit these places whenever I want to in real life, but these places are just a phone call away in my virtual sim's world. Check out this trailer: