Greetings, fellow simmers! Welcome to the landing page for our Family Dynamics Challenge, specifically created for The Sims 4. This challenge was created by @jaanie, originally pastellapixels (hence this pages name) and @solaria-plays, originally known as standingsimmer, with the goal to set forth a unique (and fun!) set of guidelines for a ten-generation legacy challenge centered around a variety of family dynamics.
So the original post for this challenge was deleted so I took it upon myself as the part-owner to post it since not very many people know of this challenge. I also plan on updating this challenge for future packs (and all of the packs that have come out since this challenge’s original release).
If you choose to play this challenge on any platform, please feel free to use the hashtag #familydynamicschallenge or #fdc so we can enjoy your gameplay too!
Translations: Korean by @moraeplays… and more coming soon!
Last Update: Island Living Expansion
Other Editions: Sims 3
Rules Below the Cut >>>
General Rules:
- Begin with a single sim
- No cheats or mods that serve to enhance gameplay over other simmers (MC Command Center is permitted for baby gender/number control and risky woohoo only)
- May use “freerealestate on” when starting the first generation ONLY
- Custom saves are allowed, and encouraged, to add an infusion of new gameplay opportunities
- Each career and aspiration must be completed unless expressly stated otherwise (if a career branch is not specified, then the choice is completely up to you!)
- Have fun! Don’t let the rules of this challenge confine you and inhibit your creativity. Unless the rules explicitly direct you, we encourage you to make the gameplay your own
Rest of the rules below the cut!
Generation One: “White picket fence”
From the time that you strike out on your own as a young adult, you dream of cultivating loving familial relationships as rich and unique as the dishes you love to create. You marry younger than some of your friends, raise a bundle of children, and enjoy gardening and entertaining in your spare time. Yet, you still devote a portion of your life to your hidden dream of becoming a master chef.
Traits: Outgoing, Foodie, Family-Oriented
Aspiration: Successful Lineage
Career: Culinary (Master Chef branch)*
Rules:
- Complete at least five (5) gold-level dinner parties
- Master cooking and baking skills
- Marry as a YA and stay happily married until “death do us part”
- Have 3-4 children
- Maintain a garden with at least 10 different plants, including a cowplant
- Complete at least ¾ levels of aspiration
*Upon completing level 5 of the Culinary career, you may also choose to leave the career and open a restaurant instead
Generation Two: “Why ever leave?”
You were raised to believe that “home is where the heart is.” And because of this, you rarely venture into the outside world unless given a really good reason to do so. You choose not to leave your parents’ home to pursue your own path at the same time that a lot of others do. Video games and programming became your passion while holed up in your basem*nt bedroom, and thankfully your career of choice doesn’t require a lot of socialization. Leftover pizza, anyone?
Traits: Lazy, Slob, Geek
Aspiration: Computer Whiz
Career: Tech Guru (eSport Gamer branch)
Rules:
- Win a GeekCon competition while cosplaying
- Meet spouse at GeekCon
- Master programming and video gaming skills
- Play the guitar as a hobby (no skill requirement)
- Order pizza for dinner at least one night per week
- Never move out of childhood home until parents have died
Generation Three: “Support my family”
Being raised by a parent with an affinity for keeping close to home never quelled your sense of adventure and love for the outdoors when growing up. You love finding hidden treasures and collecting “useless” items, hoping to convince others of their value. Being made a single parent at a young age only helped to build the desire within you to remain free of the clutches of a “normal” job or relationship. And so, you devote your heart to running your own business and being the best parent that you can.
Traits: Cheerful, Unflirty, Loves the Outdoors
Aspiration: The Curator
Career: Self-employed (owns a retail store and sells collectibles/woodworking creations)
Rules:
- Become a single parent as a young adult
- Master handiness and charisma skills
- May sell items at Flea Market whenever possible
- Visit the secret lot in Oasis Springs
- Travel to a vacation world at least 3 times
Generation Four: “Laugh away the pain”
Let’s be honest: you had a pretty good upbringing. Even though there were some rough patches, you know that your parent did the best they could to raise you alone. But, deep down, being alone is the very thing you fear more than anything. So, you cover it up with laughter,…both the laughter which bubbles from inside you and that which you try to create in others. You marry young in a desperate attempt to fill the emptiness that drives you, only to find later that your spouse has chosen another. Eventually, you have to face the fact that your family and the laughter are enough to hold you up. Oh, and did we mention you mix some crazy DJ tapes in your free time?
Traits: Goofball, Romantic, Active
Aspiration: Joke Star
Career: Entertainer (Comedian branch)
Rules:
- Master DJ and comedy skills
- Reach level 5 of the fitness skill (jogging only)
- DJ at a club at least once per week
- Marry first GF/BFas a YA
- Turn blind eye to spouse’s cheating
- Eventually divorce spouse; never remarry
Generation Five: “Struggling in the city”
You come from a broken home. Growing up, you witnessed first-hand the havoc that infidelity can bring on a family. You determine from a young age that you will pour your soul into forging close relationships with your spouse and children. The city draws you, and it is there that you decide to make your home. However, despite your best efforts as a doctor later in life, tragedy claims one of your children long before their time. You wear a shroud of sadness from then on, but find that the love of your remaining child(ren) and your ability to express yourself through song might just pull you through in the end.
Traits: Gloomy, Genius, Music Lover
Aspiration: Super Parent
Career: Doctor
Rules:
- Master singing and parenting skills
- Reach level 5 of the logic skill
- Live in an apartment from YA onwards
- Have more than one child
- Win at karaoke night at least once
- Lose one child to death
- Visit child’s grave at least once per week; leave their bedroom untouched
Generation Six: “Living with a broken heart”
You lost a sibling at a very young age and witnessed your parents’ grief while still trying to process it yourself. Rather than trying to pick up the pieces, you let the sadness consume you. You give into your darkest thoughts. Theft and criminal activity appeal to you, and eventually you give yourself over to that lifestyle. Even though you’re more at home in your contemplative solitude, you take comfort once in a one-night-stand. But there’s a surprising side to you; the raging in your heart is only calmed by the time you spend cultivating life in the soil.
Traits: Kleptomaniac, Loner, Vegetarian
Aspiration: Public Enemy
Career: Criminal
Rules:
- Run away from home as a teen & never speak to parents again
- Do not “inherit” any money from parents
- Garden as a coping method
- Master mischief and gardening skills
- Steal at least 10 items over the course of generation
- Have a one-night-stand with a coworker that results in pregnancy
Generation Seven: “Here to make a difference”
There is only one word to describe your childhood: lonely. You knew from a young age that the parent you lived with took no pleasure in your company, and you’ve always felt that you were the “mistake” that resulted from a careless decision. As a result, you pour effort into building relationships with those who truly care about you, and even attempt to mend relationships with those who don’t. You have a core group of people who mean the world to you, and you spend as much time with them as you can. Becoming a politician was an obvious choice, as it provides you with the tools you need to reach others. And while you’re a social creature by nature, you never turn down the opportunity to curl up with a good book.
Traits: Good, Insider, Bookworm
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Career: Politician (Charity Organizer branch)
Rules:
- Attempt to mend relationships with estranged grandparents and parent
- Maintain a club of “besties” from YA onwards
- Have a movie night with club once per week
- Master the charisma and wellness skills
- Marry a club member
- Read at least 10 unique books over the course of the generation
- Have at least two biological children and adopt at least one child
- Volunteer with family at least twice
Generation Eight: “Working with animals is my passion”
Growing up, you were constantly surrounded by family and close friends who loved you. But you desired more than just human interaction. Animals are your passion, and your biggest dream is becoming a vet and opening your own clinic someday. Even though starting up your own business means you have to live with your parents longer than most of your friends, you don’t mind because it means you’re close the people you love. In fact, closeness and similar interests cause you to fall in love with someone who works at your vet clinic, and they don’t mind that you can’t yet afford a place of your own. In your “spare time” (hah!), you enjoy photographing places near and far, searching for that perfect shot. Between trying to run a successful clinic and your photography hobby, you’re not able to spend as much time with your children as you like. But that’s okay; you’re out there living your dreams.
Traits: Cheerful, Self-Assured, Cat Lover OR Dog Lover (player chooses)
Aspiration: Friend of the Animals
Career: Self-Employed (runs a vet clinic)
Rules:
- Live with parents until they die while trying to get clinic off the ground
- Have a child as a YA with someone who works at vet clinic
- Marry the father/mother of their child once parents die
- Master veterinarian, pet training, and photography skills
- Achieve 4/5 star vet clinic rating
- Must take at least one photo in every world
- Have collage wall in their clinic of pets
Generation Nine: “Business-minded and musically-inclined”
Your parents worked hard for every penny that they earned, but you were just left feeling like they didn’t care about you as much as the animals they tended. Your grandparents are your closest friends while they’re still alive. After all, they practically raised you. As a young adult, you desire the family you feel you never had and start a family quickly…only to find out that you’re married to someone you don’t love as much as you should. You have a “responsible” 9-5 at the local business office, but you also possess real musical talent. Even though you would never consider leaving your job at the office, investing in your music is something you do quite regularly. You eventually remarry after finding real love, and enjoy the rest of your life mediating a mixed family. Will you find true happiness amidst the wealth and your high-powered job?
Traits: Ambitious, Clumsy, Snob
Aspiration: Musical Genius
Career: Business (Management branch)
Rules:
- Become good friends with one or both grandparents
- Marry and have at least one child; divorce spouse
- Later remarry and have at least one child (think “Yours, Mine & Ours”)
- Master piano and charisma skills
- Achieve level 5 of either the violin or guitar skill
- Hire and keep a butler
- Eat out at a restaurant at least once per week
Generation Ten: “I will make our happy ending”
Objectively speaking, your life is great. You never really wanted for anything as a child. The overactive imagination that you possess lends itself perfectly to your love of writing. The supernatural fascinates you, but more than anything you desire to find true love. When your significant other suddenly dies prematurely, you immediately begin to seek out a way to bring them back to you. As you search, drinking becomes your method to quiet a broken heart and provide a false sense of peace. But at a time when your hope begins to lag, your decision to adopt a child despite your own childlessness is the final push you need to persevere. You succeed in creating your own happy ending following a long line of sims with odd stories: some happy, and some not.
Traits: Hot-Headed, Creative, Erratic
Aspiration: Soulmate
Career: Self-employed (writer)
Rules:
- Master writing and gourmet cooking skills
- Achieve level 5 of mixology skill
- Find true love at a young age, significant other dies prematurely
- Successfully resurrect significant other
- Adopt a child before spouse is resurrected
