How The Sims 2 gave sense of purpose
Now that the dust has settled and we have experienced the addition of the fears and wants in The Sims 4, let’s reminisce about the simpler times. JK, Sims 2 is nothing but simple. Chaos, drama, and genuine uncertainty for the well-being of your Sims and your directorial vision in a game where death and despair were looming over, just like in real life.
The system is pretty simple – the top row contains wants and the bottom one contains fears. The more wants you to fulfill, the aspiration meter goes up and the opposite goes if the fears come true. Depending on how you play the game and how wholesome and/or chaotic you are, the Aspiration meter can be the end goal of The Sims 2.
Aspiration points can also allow you to access special items such as Money tree, and Cool Shades (not cool if you have to say it’s cool, but it gives your Sim a temporary boost in positive or negative effects of socialization) or my personal favorite – SimVac. For a measly 17500 simoleons and a limited amount of 5 uses, a Sim vacuums aspiration, and skill from other Sims. It does ruin the relationship with the vacuumed Sim, but hey, everything for that sweet APs!
But to complicate things even further, if a poor unfortunte Sim, who hasn’t got a good aspiration score uses these items, it can backfire! Instead of having all needs boosted by the Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer, the oposite happens.
This feature is a huge part of gameplay – depending on your specific Sim, their age, traits, and location – give a real sense of autonomy and individuality. For example, a romantic Sim would want to get married and a knowledge-loving one would want to meet the Aliens! In theory, that happens in the Sims 4, but not really. If I get another whim/want to buy bees, I’m going to lose it!
What do you want and what are you afraid of?
Wants and fears differ greatly, from minor ones like wanting to talk to someone or being afraid of seeing a vermin, to defeating the Grim Reaper and experiencing the death of a family member. All of these experiences influence the Aspiration meter in various ways. So, changing into PJs can add +500 aspiration points, but marrying a rich Sim (apparently, Sim is considered rich if they have more than §50,000) will set you up with the additional +15,000 AP!
Wants are divided into categories, updated as the DLCs came out. There are ones regarding romance, family, parties, occult, pets, career, vacation, etc.
| WANT | ASPIRATION POINTS | GAME DESCRIPTION |
| Change into Athletic Outfit | +500 | Sometimes a Sim wants to look active. To have your Sim wear their workout clothes, click on a Dresser or Armoire object and choose “Change to Athletic”. |
| Ask Sim on Date | +750 | Time to make the first move on that prospective Sim! Click on the Sim and choose “Ask …” and then “On Date”. To avoid being rejected make sure either your relationship is high or that there is good Chemistry between your Sim and their prospective date. Good Chemistry comes from mutual attraction, you can tell if your Sim is attracted by clicking on the other Sim and choosing “Check Out”. You can tell if this Sim is attracted to your Sim by clicking on them and choosing “Ask…” and then “Do You Like What You See?”. |
| Gain a (skill) Skill Point | +1,000 | To build a skill, make sure your Sim spends enough time with a skill object. Different objects build different skills; you can see which skill an object builds by looking at the object’s description in the Buy Catalog. |
| Sneak Out (with Sim) | +2,000 | Some Teens have to blow off some steam, and love bending the rules a little to do it. To have your Teen sneak out, click on the phone before midnight and choose “Sneak Out”. |
| Meet Aliens | +8,000 | Some Sims know in their bones that we are not alone. Try taking notice of aliens; they might take notice of you. |
| Marry a Rich Sim | +15,000 | Some Sims care more about the money they’ll get than the Sim they’ll get. To have your Sim tie the knot with a wealthy Sim, first make your Sim’s lover is loaded and then get them Engaged. After that, click on the other Sim and choose “Propose” and then “Marriage”. |
Fears usually mirror wants, usually, a Sim who wants to get married will be afraid of breaking up, and depending on the personality traits, one Sim’s want can be another’s fear. For instance, having children is a fear and a want, depending on what kind of person/Sim you are.
| FEARS | ASPIRATION POINTS | GAME DESCRIPTION |
| Burn Food | -500 | Some Sims hate to waste food. Avoid burning food by building your Sim’s cooking skill. You can do this through just cooking lots of food, or by clicking on a Bookcase and choosing “Study Cooking”. |
Be Rejected by Sim for a Date | -1,000 | Your Sim would hate to be shot down by a potential date. To ask a Sim on a date click on the Sim and choose “Ask …” and then “On Date”. To avoid being rejected make sure eitehr [sic] your relationship is high or that there is good Chemistry between your Sim and their prospective date. Good Chemistry comes from mutual attraction, you can tell if your Sim is attracted by clicking on the other Sim and choosing “Check Out”. You can tell if this Sim is attracted to your Sim by clicking on them and choosing “Ask…” and then “Do You Like What You See?”. |
| Fight with a Family Member | -2,000 | Your Sim would be pretty embarrassed to lose a fight today, so try to keep him or her out of scuffles. If you think a Fight’s on its way, work on Body skill. |
Have a Lousy Party | -3,500 | Some Sims are ashamed if they throw a lousy party. Get some good food on the table, give your guests some fun things to do, and make sure you spend time with them to get the conversation flowing. If the party is a Wedding party, make sure a Marriage or Joining occurs, and if it’s a Birthday Party, make sure someone Grows Up! |
| Be abducted by Aliens | -5,000 | Some Sims can feel the eyes of strange beings upon them. Be careful; if you take notice of them, they may just take notice of you. |
| Be Old and Childless | -5,000 | Growing old without children means that soon your Sim’s Family line will end. If your Sim is going to become an Elder soon, you might want to think about building a relationship high enough to Try for a Baby, or Adopt a new Sim. |
The extremes
What happens if you push your Sim in one way or another, fulfilling their every wants or traumatizing them with their fears? If it’s good, it’s good. Platinum aspiration bar, all the aspiration items available, good life indeed. If not, then things get sad. A phenomenon called Aspiration failure happens, and an NPC called Therapist arrives to save you Sim from their misery by slightly improving their state.
