Q: Where did the name Pruett come from?
A: That is an excellent question, and the answer is very simple. I just used the dice in CAS! Funny, huh? I had already picked out the name Xavier, but I had no clue what his last name would be. I didn’t want a typical name like Jones, Smith, Williams, etc., and I’m also picky about the cadence of names. I want my Sims’ names to sound good and flow easily off the tongue. Because Xavier is a four-syllable name, I thought a two-syllable name would sound the best. So, I kept rolling the dice until I found one that I really liked. That’s it!
Q: What is your play style, and how do you rotate?
A: I don’t really have much of a style. I play because I want to have fun, but of course I keep in mind that I have a story to continue. Naturally, some days I want to forget about that responsibility and just play, but that wouldn’t be nice, would it?
I am horrible at rotating houses! I get so wrapped up in the main story/house that I really don’t make time to tell anyone else’s story. I hate that I do that, so as of late I’ve begun visiting other houses and graft them into the story. It really helps when it’s a character that I know and love like Cadence, or someone who has a pre-existing story that requires follow up like Melody.
Q: How do you choose what interactions you make your Sims do?
A: It really depends on the Sim and the situation. I’ll give you a few examples to illustrate. Usually, I like to let them exercise their free will and interact autonomously, but I also tend to micromanage my Sims and order their steps for them. Sometimes I give them what they want by making them do their whims. Sometimes their whims throw me off because they are unexpected or go against what I had planned for the story. I LOVE it when that happens although my initial reaction is frustration lol. It keeps things fresh for me. For example, I was completely surprised that Allen wanted to marry Harley Jean. He has the serial romantic aspiration, and I was like, “Seriously, Allen? You really want to marry her? Oooookaaaaaay!” But, when I go to their house as someone else, I see how he is with her, and that dude is seriously in love with her. He is a very doting husband. Who knew?
Other times, my poor Sims are subject to whatever is going on in the story or my future plans. For example, back in generation five and six, there was nothing really wrong with Jayden and Maliyah’s relationship. True, their romantic meter had taken a dip because for a while I had them concentrating on their skills so much they didn’t connect for a while. But, for story purposes, I had to make it seem like their relationship was falling apart even though it technically wasn’t. And then had to make them get divorced. Everyone saw it coming and half expected it, but honestly it was a little hard for me to do.
There have been just a few times when I made my Sims do things just because I wanted to see what would happen 🙂 When Jayden and Maliyah made up just before he died, remember they kissed? Yeah…I just wanted to see if they would actually do it seeing as how they weren’t together. I think that’s why I was a lot more excited about it than you all were lol.
Q: How much of the blog comes from you vs. your Sims?
A: Oooh…I don’t know! On one hand I would say a lot of it comes from me because I am directing this story. But on the other hand, there are so many things that have happened that I did not plan, and so many twists and turns that have been the result of what they do. Sometimes, I don’t know where to take the story or what to do next, and so in those times I count on them to do something exciting, inspiring, unexpected, or even maddening. So, I guess I’ll just be safe and say that this story is half me and half them. Sometimes I hear my own voice in the dialogue. I don’t really like that, but it’s something I working on.
Q: What inspires you the most in writing your blog?
A: Honestly? YOU do! There is no way in the world I could keep motivated enough to keep this story going on for this long if all of you weren’t so supportive. Previously, my Sim families never make it past the third generation. One family made it to the fourth and I was so proud, but after taking care of that baby, I was done lol.
I’m also inspired by my fellow writers. I’m part of an awesome community of writers, and we thrive off of each other. It’s one of the most amazing communities I have ever been a part of.
Q: How do you find the time to do this?
A: Ha! I have no life–that’s how! lol, seriously though…I’m very introverted, and I have periods where I go into what I call “hermit mode.” I’m actually not in hermit mode right now, but I love this game so much–and I find this story to be so compelling–I haven’t been interested in seeking out activities and people outside of my screen. I am the same way about writing this story that you all are about reading it; I can’t wait to get home at night and get started. During the week, I have to alternate playing and writing because I just can’t stay up all night. Well…I’m a night owl, so I can, but the Sandman broke up with me, so I shouldn’t. However, if I’m playing, and there is a short chapter I can write right away, then sometimes I play and write on the same nights. On the weekends, I play for a few hours, write, and then play some more–and fit my real life things in between all of that lol.
Q: What is the most amazing experience you’ve had in-game and in the blog?
A: Wow. I’m not sure about in-game, so I’ll answer the second part first. The most amazing experience with this blog is the amount of people who read and follow it who are not Simmers! I’ve been blogging since 2003, so this was not a new experience for me. I am very familiar with tagging and how to attract people, but I didn’t think any of that was necessary for this blog when I first started it. My thinking was this is just a story about a computer game and only people who play the game will enjoy it. I thought that way for a while! But, as the story began shaping up and the exposure grew, I started to rethink things. I thought about my real life writing in contrast to this, and I wasn’t really sure what the difference was. Yes, I use a computer game to generate characters, scenes, and parts of the storyline, but the rest comes from the same brain that creates characters, scenes, and storylines for other stories. Why should this be separated? So I decided to expand my audience a bit. I took some time to think about who would enjoy reading this story. Hark! Other storytellers would enjoy it! Out of nowhere, I’ve seen an influx of other storytellers, writers, and authors take an interest in this story, and it seriously blows my mind. I am beyond amazed.
In-game, probably the most amazing thing that happened was Lance & Myra’s triplets. Totally did not see that coming!
Q: How long will the Pruetts go on? Is it done after the tenth generation?
A: I would love for the Pruett Family Legacy to live on forever. But, at the pace at which I play this game, there is no way I’m going to be able to keep this up. I think I play as much as I do because there is a finish line. I have never played any version of The Sims as much as I play TS4, and I think that is way. I love this legacy challenge, and I’m glad I did it, but when it’s over, I will be glad. BUT…I CANNOT, I WILL NOT let go of the Pruetts! They are an amazing family, and I love these characters sooooooo much it’s unreal. I will not continue the legacy challenge after the 10th generation, but I will continue the story in a different way. The thing that makes a legacy challenge fun is all the restrictions and rules, but I can’t abide by them forever. I want to bring back some of your favorite characters from the past and present and create new stories in their own alternate realities. That’s all I’m gonna say about that right now 🙂
Q: Why did you decide to create the blog?
A: That is a good question. The answer may surprise you! I have a tendency to start things and not finish them. When I decided to do the legacy challenge, I was unsure of whether I wanted to write a story. Strange feeling coming from a writer, eh? But, I had previously read Sims stories before, and I enjoyed them. Also, in my personal life, I was struggling to find the inspiration to write regularly. And, I knew that there was a high chance I would quit the challenge if/when I got bored. So, I created the blog not only for fun and to have a creative outlet, but also to create some accountability for myself so I would not be able to quit. I’m more apt to do continue doing something (even if I don’t enjoy it) if I know that there are people counting on me. But, just to clear things up in case I’ve given you the wrong impressions, I have NEVER been bored with the Pruetts, I have NEVER felt like quitting (although I’ve wanted to pause for a while), and you all are more like fuel for the fire than wind under my wings. You don’t carry me because this is not drudgery :-).
Q: Have you done other Sims blogs?
A: Never! Previously, I had only ever known about legacy challenges as it relates to writing with The Sims. I always thought the rules were too restrictive and I was never interested in them until now. I read a story once in TS3 about a homeless Sim named Alice and her daughter. It was awesome! I was inspired to create my own homeless Sim, and I briefly thought about creating a story, but I didn’t.
Q: Who is your favorite and least favorite Sim and why?
A: Y’all trying to get me all emotional now! OK! (deep breath)
My all time favorite Sim is Bianca Janine Pruett-Sheridan, and I still miss her. I could be wrong, but I think she may be the first Sim that, a.) I ever gave deep feelings and emotions, and, b.) she was affected by them her entire life. I’m not saying that other Sims didn’t have deep feelings and emotions, but hers were different. I personally didn’t have the problems she had, but I could identify with her issues. I think because of that, I may have unknowingly inserted myself into the story through her. She’s nothing like me, but there were parts of her that reminded me of myself. Even the way she sometimes replied in the dialogue sounded like something I may have said. So, I suppose she is my favorite because she is the most like me? Sure. I’ll go with that.
My least favorite Sim–and I think she’s all of our least favorite–is Amira Quraishi-Pruett. To be honest, I had very good intentions for her! I did not intend for her and Brandon’s relationship to go sour. I wanted their life together to be happy and fruitful, but it just didn’t turn out that way. Amira was a Sim I created in the TS4 demo. I introduced her in the story at that point because I wanted to see how the family tree would change if I introduced some diversity in the heir line–I love genetics. That’s the only reason lol. I didn’t think about traits, aspirations, and compatibility. I just wanted Brandon to marry a non-black Sim. So they got married, and she joined the household, and I thought things were going to be great. First of all, practically as soon as she got to the house, she began autonomously flirting with Giancarlo! All she ever wanted to do was dance. Whenever I wanted her to clean up, she always cancelled the interactions to dance. I was getting bored with her, so I thought I’d spice things up with a baby, and thus Lance was born. It didn’t help. When new Sims come into the family, I like to leave them alone for a while just to get a sense of who they are and what they want so I know how they fit into the story. Amira didn’t want to do anything except flirt, dance, be outside, and woo hoo. She SUCKED as a mother! I made her into a good mom for the story, but that wasn’t who she really was. She had the family oriented trait, so she would get sad when she didn’t interact with family. She would desire to talk to Lance, and he would be right next to her, and she wouldn’t do it! So, you’re supposed to have a spare in these stories, so they had Allen. She didn’t improve, and I got increasingly bored with her. I made her get a job just to be rid of her. I was even frustrated with her the few hours she was at home! That’s when I decided to get rid of her. I just didn’t know how. So, as frustrated as you all were with her reading this, I was equally as frustrated writing it!