From Love to Letting Go: My Journey with The Sims

Luv viboo fazoo — My guwago wiv The Sims

There’s one game I’ve always appreciated, but that I have absolutely no interest in playing anymore. Not because it wasn’t good — in fact, it was groundbreaking — but because of how it evolved over time. That game is The Sims.

Microsoft Windows cover art*

As you probably know (or maybe have read in my other posts), I was a big SimCity fan. I played every version I could get my hands on, and when I heard that Will Wright — the mind behind SimCity — was working on something entirely different, I was hooked before I even touched it.

When The Sims finally came out, it felt like a dream. The idea of living another life — or maybe the life you wish you had — was just fascinating. I created myself, my family, even my girlfriend at the time, and we’d play out these fantasy lives together.

The best part? It wasn’t just about the sandbox of possibilities. The game had this quirky, almost satirical charm. And the music — oh, the music — was pure magic. If you’ve ever sat in Build Mode with that jazzy, upbeat soundtrack looping in the background, you know what I mean. You could throw on that music and be productive without even touching the game. I’ll be embedding a YouTube link below, so if you’ve never heard it, give it a try while you do chores or work. You’ll thank me later.

I stuck with the series for a while, right up until The Sims Online. I even bought it. For a brief moment, it was like stepping into a digital future — the kind of early social VR space that would eventually become common. You could interact with other people in real time, build spaces together, and roleplay whole lives. It was exciting… except for one thing: I had dial-up internet. And The Sims Online had a monthly fee (if memory serves, around $10 a month). Between the lag and the cost, my time there was short-lived.

I grew up in these streets.*

The shift to console was where I started to lose interest completely. I tried it on PlayStation, but it just didn’t feel right. The Sims had always been a “mouse-and-click” experience for me, and translating that to a controller took away some of the magic.

These days, I see The Sims 4 available for free and think, “Maybe I should dive back in.” But honestly? I don’t have the time. I’m glad the series is still going strong and that people can even play the original games again without digging up old CDs. But for me, The Sims is a beautiful piece of gaming history that I’ll probably leave in the past — with a smile.

And if there’s one thing I’ll never let go of, it’s that soundtrack. Because no music — and I mean no music — boosts productivity quite like The Sims Build Mode theme.

*Images in article taken from The Sims Wikipedia.

---

UPDATE

I haven’t been posting much over the summer because I wanted to focus on being with my family. I didn’t feel like sitting behind the computer, trying to come up with something to write—especially with so many great posts already out there to read.

But today, in the rush of going back to the day-to-day grind of work, this Sims memory hit me again: I remembered SimCity, The Sims, and above all, the music. Sometimes I play these tracks for my students while they’re working. They don’t know the source, but I’ll hear, “Oh, this catchy little song!” or “I like that!”—and that’s such a light, energizing way to keep the atmosphere going.

I’m going to aim for about one post per week moving forward, so I can really focus on quality and balance it with everything else on my plate. In the meantime, don’t forget you can check out my Grammar Through Video Games series. It's completely available and free to share with any teacher, parent, or friend who wants to practice grammar through gaming.

— Prof Rock