Well, I am sad to say it, but it seems I’ve hit the end of the road with the Sims franchise, at least for the foreseeable future. I haven’t felt the urge to boot up the The Sims 3 in weeks now, and I’m not even remotely excited about the upcoming expansion pack. Strange that this should happen a mere two months after the game’s release, but there you go. I think, for me, it’s just too much like The Sims 2 in some ways (such as basic gameplay and recycled objects/animations) and not enough like TS2 in other ways (no neighborhood creation). At the same time, it killed TS2 forever for me because now that I’ve experienced TS3’s gorgeous graphics, TS2 feels very flat. I feel no desire to go back to it, despite it being (at least with all the EPs installed and loads of custom content) a superior game.
Of course, I’ll never say “never”; maybe once a neighborhood creation tool is released, I’ll find my way back to the game and its awesome community, but I think, having spent nearly nine years with Sims games and five years blogging about them, it’s time to move on to other creative pursuits. One thing I’ve been trying to do for the last 20 years is write a book. I’m going to focus on that for awhile and see how it goes.
Hope you’re all having fun with whatever you do, and thanks again for being such wonderful readers and fellow Simmers.
I was wondering how long it would take you to admit this. I felt it coming for awhile.
Good luck in all you do.
Awww, I’ll miss reading about your Sims, BUT I’m also very happy you’ve decided to work on a book! Your stories have always been brilliant and amusing, and your characters are always the quirky and nuanced kind of characters that I love to read about! And I hope you’ll let us all know when you finish something :)
My writing blog is linked on my blogger page, if you ever want to join me in complaining about the harrowing process! :)
I, too, have felt you leaving the sims franchise behind. For me … it’s still fun (both TS2 and TS3), but who knows how long that will last. :O) I’m thankful I have other gaming interests. :O)) Anyway, we’ll miss your updates. Maybe someday, some game will come out that you can sink your teeth into … and we’ll see you blogging again.
Wow, it’s like I’m reading my own thoughts – I feel exactly the same way as you. And I mean EXACTLY. So I completely understand why you’ve made this decision.
I’ll really miss your funny and brilliant stories, but writing a book sounds like an amazing idea (I’m an aspiring writer myself, but I can never find the inspiration I need) so I wish you all the best with that! :)
aww. :(
im sad that your simming is ending.
but good luck on your book! your a great writer!
Sad to hear that you’ve reached the end of the simming road, Jen. I haven’t quite reached that point yet, but I can almost feel the beginnings of it starting to set in. I had really hoped they would’ve picked something more exciting for the first Sims 3 expansion, since, as you mentioned, a lot of it just feels recycled from Sims 2 (but still missing key elements that made Sims 2 fun). I’ve been poking around with my two Sims 3 families, and while I enjoy Sims 3 I just don’t like it nearly as much as I did Sims 2 + expansion packs (weather, pets, etc). Maybe once they get a few expansion packs under their belt, we all might find Sims 3 more interesting.
Good luck with your book! <3
Good luck with your book, Jen, they’re hard work. I’ve been working on one for about six years now, and I seem to be getting nowhere fast! Never mind, hopefully you’ll have better luck at it, and all that stuff, and we might see you on the shelves at the local bookstores before long! What I’ve found with Sims 3 is that even on triple speed, it just seems a lot slower than 2, and I hate the fact that I can’t create my own neighborhood as well, so I can understand where you’re coming from there, anyway.
Enough rambling from me anyway, and again, good luck with your book!
Aww Jen. I can’t say that I’m surprised by this announcement. I’ve also felt it coming for a little while now. But I am still very sad about it. I have really enjoyed every single update of yours for all these years. I’m very sad to see you go, but I hope you find just as much fun in your new endeavors as you did with all us simmers! Good luck and keep in touch!
I’m sad to hear you’ll no longer be simming but I wish you luck with your book. Maybe we’ll see it in book stores one day!
Thanks for all the updates over the past years – I’ve really enjoyed them all. This was definitely one of my favourite blogs!
Aaw, I’ll miss your stories!
I did kind of expect this, because over the past 2 years I think of me reading your blog, your updates have become more sparse as time passed. Not that they were less loved of course. :P
Good luck on your book, and thanks for all the entertaining hours I had, reading your blog. <3
You will be missed, however enjoy the process of writing your book.
Well, my sim sob story is that I’ve been sim!sober since November, reinstalled last week then today realized that all I’ll ever do is direct them to scrub the counters, woo Goopy Gilscarbo, go to work, then upgrade their virtual house. Repeat.
Kind of dull, really.
You do NaNoWriMo, right? I seem to remember you mentioning at some point in the past. I’m making a first attempt this year.
I’ve always thought you were a great writer. I’d love to read more of your work. Put your mind to it and you’ll go far.
You’ll be greatly missed Jen! Since I’ve been reading (stalking :P) your blog since almost the very beginning it’s sad to think of the community without you :( Your stories are such inspiratation, I really hope you write that book, you have a wonderful skill for telling a simple, entertaining story with memorable characters. Unfortunatly I’m not surprised either – I gave the sims 3 my best, but have already reverted back to sims 2. Since I’ve never really used much CC, exploring it now is how I give the game more depth (which it seems to need after experiencing sims 3). That and a random maxis hood expansion challenge I’m creating… all attempts to fall back in love with a good game.