Hey all! I’ve been trying to think of a name for my Sunset Valley re-do (where my “Friends” project is taking place), and I thought, well, hey…why not Mt. Geneva? Sunset Valley has a mountain, after all. A pretty majestic one. And I’ve been “greeting” people from Mt. Geneva for years, even though none of my Sims have lived there since the early Sims 2 days. Why not resurrect it?
So…welcome to Mt. Geneva, folks! Now for some pics of random stuffs…
While I was putting the finishing touches on Vanora’s house, a fire broke out in her living room. Fortunately she was able to extinguish the flames before they reached her painting supplies…
…but they completely roasted her beloved suitcase Victrola.
The whole incident upset Vanora, understandably. And I was sad because she didn’t have enough money to replace it just yet. It sucks to be penniless. Or in this case, Simoleonless.
Vanora put out the fire after that, frowning grumpily at it the whole time. She liked it for the warmth and ambience, but it wasn’t worth burning the whole house down.
She had a lot of fire dreams that night. (Also something involving clowns. Not sure how they fit in.)
While Vanora got her first night’s sleep in Mt. Geneva, I switched over to another new Sim, her neighbor Drew Marston.
(Drew’s face sculpt is by Arisuka at MTS. I usually don’t download Sims, just because I enjoy making them myself, but I loved his unique look.)
Drew has mixed feelings about starting afresh in Mt. Geneva. His parents kicked him out of their basement, and Pigeondale wasn’t exactly the most inspiring setting for his songwriting anyway, so he decided to try something new, and Mt. Geneva seemed like as good a place as any. But the town has no music scene whatsoever…so Drew will just have to create one.
Step 1: Work on those piano skills. Shirtless, apparently.
Step 2: Drink juice for every meal. If you stop to cook, it might interrupt the creative flow.
Step 3: Watch crappy sci fi shows on your crappy TV so you can insert witty pop culture references into your songs.
OK, so Drew isn’t going to take Mt. Geneva’s non-existent music scene by storm anytime soon…but he’ll get there someday. Maybe.
Drew took a break from piano and TV to chat with Skippy the paperboy, who maybe has a little crush on Drew (or just has romance on the brain, who knows — kind of odd for a child).
He does seem to be looking at him admiringly. Heh. Maybe in 15 years, kid.
Skippy didn’t stick around to chat for long, though, so Drew was forced to recycle a newspaper (I made him do it — he’s a Slob so he probably wouldn’t on his own) and lament his utter aloneness in the world.
(continued on Page 2)
I feel like there is so much I want to say! Let’s start with Skippy. Looks like Drew has his first fan, Skippy was definitely looking at him with longing. The expression really made me laugh!
Vanora seems like a super fun sim to play, completely aloof and utterly random. I am looking forward to more from her.
She is a fun Sim to play, what little I’ve played her. I wish I had more time to do so — I keep getting sidetracked!
Absolutely fabulous and hilarious update! I love your writing and those facial expressions are just amazing. Looking forward to more :-)
Thank you, Dee! :)
Oh I like Drew, he’s cute and expressive.
Gah, Vanora get back and talk to Drew, he’s cute!
Ha love the scary story. how fun!
Yeah, Drew makes some fun faces!
Hey Jen! lovely post as always! Drew is sooo cool! he kinda remind me of Joey from friends! I love friends so this project of yours is a great idea! btw out of topic My pc crash a while ago losing everything! even my photoshop but now I’m back at my domain and is funny cause I’m playing the second edition of Sunset Valley and soooo much better! so just to let you know to remove the link of my old dead legacy and if we can exchange links with my domain? anyway “hugs” <3
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about your PC crashing! That’s awful. I’m glad you’re back up and running, though. I will definitely update your link! Thanks for letting me know. :)
I absolutely adored the random pseudo-story pics. :O) And Drew really is quite adorable. If not for Hank, I’d totally … well … ;O) Hehe! These sims are gonna drive you batty, jenba. I just know it. But you’ll probably love every second of it! Hehe!
LOL, it’s cute how loyal you are to Hank! ;)
Hi I’ve been following you for a while and just wanted to say how much i love the homes, sims, and stories you create! I’m sure you get this alot, but do you ever post any downloads for the towns or homes you work on? Anywho, thanks links and posts!
Hi Shana, welcome and thanks so much for your comment! I do post houses for download once in awhile — if you click on my “Parade of Homes” category, you can see some of them there. A lot of my latest ones have been just for fun, so I’m using a lot of custom content, which makes them harder to share, unfortunately.
Thanks! All the time I’ve been coming here, I never clicked on that one link :) I so understand about the CC and not being able to share. It’s so hard to track CC, especially if you’re a CC junkie like I am. Thanks, and btw, I charge you and Living Sims with my uncontrollable need to amass clutter :P
Blimey, I’d forgotten how completely freaky-looking Vita Alto was. That’s enough to give you nightmares, that is! And yay for new Mt Geneva! Are we going to be blessed with Maude’s presence as well? Nice update, Jen.
Believe it or not, I have actually contemplated bringing Maude back! She wouldn’t narrate stories, though — well, maybe a guest appearance once in awhile — she would just be another resident in the town. I will say no more! :)
And yes, Vita Alto is a bit on the scary side!
Oh. My Gosh.
I giggled and laughed all the way through this. I love you, my dear! I love how you write, and your sense of humour with this game, and your freakin’ funny Sims! LOL That ghost story seriously cracked me right up! This is gonna be a cool ride, I can tell. ;)
Aw, thank you, Webby! I think you and your Sims are freakin’ funny, too! ;)
Oh lol Skippy is funny, he looked creepy! I like the whole idea how you have set friends up…really cool. Though I must admit, you can make even the most boring thing look most awesome if you ever want to do that. More more more….and fast!
That’s so sweet, Speechless, thanks!! I’m not doing too well on the “more” and “fast” thing, LOL…
Jen, I love how this is gently rolling along. The chance meeting for Drew and Vanora was perfect. Isn’t it always sooo much better when the game actually plays along. I don’t blame you for downloading Drew’s face (maaan is that going to look weird to anyone that wanders across your website and has no clue what Sims 3 is!), he’s rather beautiful and looks totally invested in Vanora’s ghost story – I can imagine him as a little boy with that exact same expression.
Is it just me, or does your SV (Mt Geneva) look incredibly atmospheric, misty and foggy? Bit like Twinbrook in the swamps.
Thanks, Lily! And yeah, I think dDefinder’s lighting mod does some weather/sky effects, so that some days are foggy and cloudy. Adds some variety and atmosphere for sure!
Thanks for the house image. I really like the odd square in the centre from where you can enter various rooms.
The newest friend looks quite handsome :)
Yeah, Arisuka did an amazing job on that face sculpt!
Aw, it’s great that they meet each other spontaneously! I love Drew, this red hairdo was made for him! (and I love how you “slobbed” his house! :D)
It’s so nice to meet all those Sunset Valley citizens in Mt Geneva! It makes me regret to have bulldozed most of them. Connor was cute. I love how they were all hooked by Vanora’s stories!
I really enjoyed using the clutter you made to “slob” Drew’s house! So thank you for that. :D I’ll probably get rid of the SV citizens bit by bit and replace them with my own, but you’re right Connor is cute — I might have to keep him!
Hey Jen! :D I’ve gotten myself a new graphics card, which means I can finally run Sims 3 at max settings without any lag. This means I’ve gotten a renewed interest in the game. <3
Could you tell us a bit more about this Friends story you're setting up? How many Sims are you making, are there any particular limitations, etc? It sounds like fun!
Kay!!!!! I was just thinking about you the other day — even checked your LJ to see if you had posted anything recently! So glad you’re still around and playing — yay for new graphics cards!! So what have you been doing in your game? Have any pics to share? :)
I’ll probably do a more in-depth post on my “Friends” set-up once I get all of my “rules” ironed out. Not that the rules are strict — I’m leaving things open-ended because I want it to be fun and organic — but I do want some structure so that I challenge myself gameplay-wise and hopefully develop some good stories. Thanks for requesting it — great idea!
Sounds perfect! *votes yes for Mt. Geneva*
Yikes! Fires are BAD! Glad she was able to put it out instead of doing the Ack!Fire Dance.
Oh nos! No music to paint by now? :(
Aww poor Vanora. *comfort*
Drew is a cutie! I don’t blame you for downloading him.
Mmm, yumm. Yup, shirtless is definitely the way to work on those piano skills!
He just needs to keep practicing (shirtless, of course) and he’ll definitely set Mt. Geneva’s music scene’s on its ear!
His house definitely looks like a true bachelor pad. *grins*
Maybe Skippy thinks it’s weird that a kewl musician like Drew doesn’t have a girlfriend yet? *shrugs*
Yay for his new job! And yikes, Vita, not a graceful looking walk.
Most great painters are more than a little batty, so Vanora will do wonderfully with her art. *snickers*
*giggles* Now that’s some awesome storytelling, if you leave your audience stunned afterwards! (Or that’s some really REALLY BAD storyteling… take your pick.)
Poor Drew. The music scene needed YOU to jump start it!
Aer, thanks so much for all of your comments — they’re always so much fun to read. :) LOL at the Ack!Fire Dance! That is very apt.