7 Easy Ways To Create Backstory For Your Sims

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[00:00:00] Gloria from Yellow Llama Co.: Welcome to Sentimental Simmer, a podcast made for emotionally attached Simmers and storytellers with wild imaginations. I’m your host Gloria, and I run Yellow llama Co, a planner shop made to help Simmers play with purpose. Every week, I talk all about things Sim life planning, storytelling and memory keeping. I’ll also brainstorm new ways to obsess over our pixel people, whether they be The Sims or another life Sim game. And now let’s get into it. Creating backstory for your Sims doesn’t have to be hard. Today I’m going to share seven unique ways you can create strong backstories for your Sims in a jiffy. There’s nothing quite like spending hours and hours in cast to make the perfect Sim.

Gloria [00:00:47]:

We give them the perfect outfit, whether it’s everyday sleepwear, party. It’s something that exudes personality and expresses who they are. So by the time we’re done, let’s say by hour two, we already have a good feeling of who this Sim is. We can spend a lot of time and create a Sim, but after maybe the first hour in cast, you just want to get on with it, right? You want to play the game, but you don’t have any creative energy left to come up with a backstory. I totally get that. I used to reserve backstory only for The Sims destined for let’s Plays and machinima, but my gameplay Sims deserve history just as much as the other ones do as well, and in the end, it really makes gameplay more fun. I’m actually currently working on a let’s play. I’m creating the backstory for all of the important characters.

Gloria [00:01:31]:

I’m trying to understand where they’ve come from, what their background is, because based on that, they have certain values and it’ll help me also better understand their motivations for the story moving forward, and how they would also naturally interact with each other. It also shows where there could be potential for conflict. Backstory is also one of the major things that makes playing pre-mades so intriguing. Bella Goth and Mrs. Crumplebottom would be nothing without their amazing history. Sure, they’re very charming with their quirky personalities and their snazzy outfit choices, but it’s really the lore, their rich backstory that really makes it feel like we know them and it inspires us to continue their story. So, as mentioned in the previous episode, I really believe that creating a strong backstory for your Sim can make it easier to bond with them if they have that identity from their history, and it allows you to empathize and relate to their past and tribulations. It ultimately helps you build a stronger connection with the Sim and have a stronger investment in their journey.

Gloria [00:02:29]:

Backstory also gives your Sim depth, provides context, and gives the game a sense of history. It can make playing them feel more meaningful. The better you know your Sim, the easier it’ll be to make decisions for them, to make them feel authentic to their story. It can also be a great way to get to know your Sim better. I mean, Mrs. Crumple bottom’s past and her history, or the Caliente sisters. We feel like we know them already because we know of know scandalous ways with Don Lothario or how Mrs. Crumplebottom just doesn’t get along with anybody. If you were to play Mrs. Crumplebottom, you could probably already think of ways how she would interact with people that would be true to her authentic self, so to say.

Gloria [00:03:07]:

So backstory is not only important to kickstart your game, but really also to inspire future sessions. It gives you a starting point from which the Sim can evolve and progress in life. But it doesn’t have to be a five page essay on your life story. Sometimes just a couple of sentences can give you all you need to know about where your Sim has been and where they’re headed. Because let’s face it, not everyone is a born storyteller or just has Simply the time and patience to come up with a huge backstory. But no worries, I’m going to share seven different ways you can create a convincing backstory, easy and quick, that also inspires gameplay. The first and probably easiest way to come up with backstory is to let AI create it for you. You can use Chat GDT to expand on the seed of an idea.

Gloria [00:03:49]:

And this is actually a tip I found on Twitter by SisiSimss. She actually uses two different prompts to create her backstory. For example, what she listed in her Twitter was, tell me a three sentence background story about two groups of young adult women that don’t like each other for dramatic pay reason. The other prompt was create a character list of seven people with background info about their separate relationships. So obviously she had a general idea of where she wanted her story to go or who her Sims were going to be, but she didn’t really know where they came from, like, what was their history. So she asked Chat GB to help her jumpstart her idea to answer some questions that were open. So basically, take the base story seed you have and turn it into a question Chat GBT can answer for you. So, for example, if I have a single mother that has moved to a new town, I’m like, okay, so that’s her present, her current status, she’s moving to a new town.

Gloria [00:04:44]:

But why? Actually, I could also ask, why is Emily a single parent? Or list ten reasons why a single woman would or somebody would be a single parent. Or for example, list ten reasons why Emily would move to a new town. The prompt to list things can spawn more ideas in just one go, rather than typing ten times, give me a reason. And so I think that’s also a tip that I like to use whenever I’m creating a story or a character. You can see Chat GBT a bit as your sparring partner, somebody to brainstorm with. You give it your story seed, it gives you something back and then you build off of that. It’s really fun and an easy and quick way to create some backstory for your Sim. Another way to create backstory for your Sim is with a story generator.

Gloria [00:05:25]:

A Simmer called Tplumbabber actually created an app that you can use, you can download onto your PC and it’s an app that helps you randomly design a Sim in their lives. It gives you traits, wants and fears. It generates these for your Sim and it really helps take some of the guessing away and predetermine the path that they can go. So it also gives you a bit of their goals and motivation, but it also gives you history about their childhood and traits they had then, or goals and aspirations. So it can help you have a strong starting point for your Sim and their backstory. Another helpful app is by Andy De Forrest. This is online in his Sims story. Generator.

Gloria [00:06:04]:

It basically generates a family with children, a pet and a grandparent or parents. And it also rolls the jobs, likes and aspirations that they have. And this really inspires the direction your story can take. But it also at the same time gives you an example for any background details about a family member. And from those details you can spin off your backstory and heck, why don’t you let the game give you a backstory? You could just Simply play a scenario. It always gives you a little bit of a backstory behind maybe the relationship of two Sims where the conflict is coming from and from that you can just jump into the game and have fun. You’ve already got not only of course goal that’s also the main part of the scenario is to check off the to dos but it also gives you a bit of a background. So two arguing parents or conflicts at the workplace.

Gloria [00:06:52]:

It’s really fun to just use a scenario that the game comes with. There’s a mod called Play a scenario that unlocks all of the scenarios. They usually expire after a certain amount of time. But with the mod all scenarios by twisted mexi, they never expire. There’s also a nifty mod called Life Manager Family Tree Generator by Sacrificial mods that lets you generate a family for your Sim. So you don’t start off the game with just one lonely Sim. It actually generates their parents, their grandparents, their ancestors in that in itself it gives your Sim relational backstory. So now they have a parent, they have maybe even an aunt and uncle.

Gloria [00:07:30]:

Another way you can inspire backstory is by asking key questions. For example, what is your Sim’s biggest flaw? You can base this off of a trait that they already have or one that you’ve entirely made up. And this flaw will inherently cause conflict and affect your character moving forward. But how did they develop that why are they the way they are? That is part of their backstory. Where is the Sim from? Are they from Oasis Springs? Or are they from the bustling city of San Minchuno? What are they afraid of? Are they afraid of every little thing around their way? Or is it something big, ominous? Is it maybe a person that they’re afraid of? Does it have something to do with their career? Why or how have they developed that type of fear? What are their goals? You don’t have a goal out of nowhere. It’s usually based off of something you’ve experienced in the past, a lack that you’ve had that you now want to move forward to. Who are their enemies? Who are your Sims friends? Again, something that doesn’t come out from thin air. I mean, it can.

Gloria [00:08:33]:

We were talking about that mod just a second ago where with a snap of a finger, you can generate an entire family, but usually you don’t have an enemy after two minutes. How did your Sim develop those kinds of relationships with those Sims? That’s all part of their backstory. Some more questions you can ask to prompt your backstory. Are do they own anything or are they wearing anything that has a deeper meaning for them? So that’s coming back. To create a Sim, did you give them anything, whether it be a color even or a jewelry choice or anything that has to or could pertain to their backstory? For example, I created a Sim that was Kleptomaniac. So she was a Kleptomaniac and she likes to steal things. And I have her wear a specific ring for every outfit. It’s more of like an olden day looking ring.

Gloria [00:09:28]:

It’s basically a ring that she nicked from her grandmother while she was a child, and her grandmother just let her keep it. But that was kind of like the first time where she fell in love with sparkly things, kind of basically turned into a magpie. She now always wears that ring. And so that ring ties into her childhood to her kleptomaniac personality. It’s basically tied to her backstory as well. Does your Sim have a secret? Maybe they have a history of crime? Or do they have a secret relationship? Are they part of any clubs or organizations? For example? Is your Sim part of the mafia? A secret society or a Simple tea club? What juicy backstory could be connected with any of those things? And what are some of the past experiences that have shaped who this Sim is? Maybe it’s something that has changed their mindset or the way they see the world. So that could be any form of tragedy, betrayal, trauma.

Gloria [00:10:21]:

It could be something culturally related. Or maybe it has to do with a relationship in their past. Maybe a parent, a sister, a role model, or a mentor. It doesn’t also always have to be negative. I know that’s where a lot of us usually naturally go because it’s fun to play. But maybe they had a really good relationship with their sister and maybe their backstory is how they lived their whole life together with their Simmer. And also during university they did everything with them. And now moving forward they actually kind of want to become more independent.

Gloria [00:10:56]:

That might put a strain on their relationship with their sister because the sister is still longing for that super close relationship. They themselves are as well. But at the same time they’re really curious on exploring the world, maybe leaving their hometown finally where the other sister is maybe still attached. And so there’s some conflict there but it’s still a positive relationship. You need conflict for a good story and also good backstory I find. So not every experience has to be negative to actually have shaped someone’s mindset. Role model or mentor could be somebody who taught the Sim kung fu if we’re playing Sims Three. And it’s taught them endurance and hard work and ambition.

Gloria [00:11:36]:

And so that Sim has that personality trait because of those experiences. For example, another way you can inspire a strong backstory without too much effort is using music. So you can tap into the catalog of Simulous songs that already exist or you can use a real one. You can let the melody or the lyrics inspire the Sims backstory. Perhaps the song you found is the Sim’s favorite. What memories do they associate with that song and why is it their favorite? For example, I created a Sim called Keith Fox and he Sims the same song in the shower every morning. It’s called like no one’s watching by the henningsons. When I think of why he likes this song so much, why he has to sing it every morning while he’s taking his morning shower, I thought, okay, maybe it’s the first song he’s ever performed on stage during a karaoke night.

Gloria [00:12:27]:

And he felt right at home on the stage. And in that very moment, he fell in love with performing. And so every morning when he’s in the shower he loves to relive that exhilarating feeling when he’s singing that song. And I probably don’t even need to tell you this after giving you that snippet of backstory that you know already that Keith is a musician, he’s obviously passionate and I think he has a fun personality. Like if you know that song like no One’s Watching by the Hanging Scenes which I advise you to check out. Also the stimulusr version, it’s very fun and upbeat. It’s got a lot of energy and positivity in it and that’s totally Keith’s vibe. And so just knowing that little bit of his history, it really informs who the Sim is.

Gloria [00:13:09]:

You want to get to know him by the way, you can download him on the gallery ID is Yellow llama Co. And if you want to find more about him and what kind of person he’s looking for because he’s a single Sim check out his dating profile on BelovedSims.com. Check under Love Finder and you’ll find him in his profile picture and then you can click on it and find more about the special person he’s looking for in his life. Another fun way to build is to play with Tarot cards. So this is also a way that storytellers love to come up with story and spark ideas. And I actually found this idea on an RPG forum. You basically just draw three cards from the deck. One signifies your Sims past, one is for their present situation and one is for their goals.

Gloria [00:13:55]:

Now that of course creates an entire story, but if we just focus on backstory, maybe we draw three cards and they all have to do with their backstory. Now of course, not everybody has a pile of tarot cards waiting for them at home to do this with, but you can do this online for free. I found a website that lets you do this for free at Labyrintos co I’ll link it in the show notes below. But basically they let you choose from four different decks. When you draw that card, it also gives you explanations, so that’s really useful. Depending on whether the card is upright or reversed, it actually has a different meaning. And so, for example, I pulled the reversed card six of cups and that’s usually associated with being stuck in the past and it actually had a suggestion for what that meaning could be in relation to love. So I’m just going to read what it says on the website.

Gloria [00:14:44]:

You may be living in the past instead of the present. It is likely that a past relationship has been limiting you from opening yourself to love and making room in your heart for someone else. You may believe that you will never meet someone like your ex again, or that the love you once had was something of legend juicy. So that obviously inspires backstory. And I would think of something maybe that involves obviously a broken heart, maybe some unresolved feelings. And from there you can spin an idea of maybe what the Sim now plans to do about that, but that’s definitely laying heavy on their heart and it’s going to affect how they move forward in the story. It would probably also be fun to brainstorm their ex. What juicy backstory is there? Like why did they break up and what went down and why didn’t it work out? And is the ex a good or a bad guy? Is she a good or a bad guy? Or maybe it’s a guy and a guy.

Gloria [00:15:37]:

I don’t know yet what kind of Sim you would make for this scenario, but you definitely have a solid backstory there from which you can use as a springboard for your gameplay or your next. Let’s play. Another way you can create backstory in a pinch is by building off of existing lore. So you can integrate that into your own Sim story. Your Sim doesn’t have to be brand new to Willow Creek and Co. You can actually tie in the history you already know from other Sims and see how that can shape the backstory of your Sim. Perhaps your Sim went to school with Mrs. Crumplebottom or used to be colleagues with Bella Goth.

Gloria [00:16:12]:

Were they besties or are they holding a grudge and why? Or perhaps your Sim or their family has suffered at the hands of the land grabs at the hands of their greed. In what way? Were they cheated by this powerful family? Lost land, perhaps? Are they gunning for revenge? Or maybe you’re playing a Sim later in the future. They are a secret love child of Dina Caliente in Mortimer Goth and in the middle of a conspiracy to blackmail the Goth family. Yes, drama, bring it on. And last but not least, another way to build your backstory is to lean on personality types. This is actually one of my favorite ways to better understand my Sim and where they’re coming from. So there are three different personality types that are quite popular. We have the Jungian archetypes, the Meyer Briggs MBTI and the enneagram.

Gloria [00:17:04]:

The Jungian Archetypes, or however you pronounce them, it’s a tool often used by writers and seen in stories. Examples of archetypes could be the hero, the rebel or the creator. So I grabbed one of the examples. So, for example, the personality, the ruler, and that’s actually an archetype that is responsible and organized, but very controlling. Perhaps this type of Sim has had to take the reins early in childhood and has developed the need to be in control, to be safe that can stand in their way. And so maybe they have to work through some childhood trauma or suffering to overcome that strong need to control, to feel safe. They need to learn to feel safe without being in control. But the reason that they have that feeling is based off of things that has happened in their past.

Gloria [00:17:51]:

So there we go. Backstory inspired by an archetype. The next personality system is the Meyer Briggs MBTI. This consists of 16 different personality types, such as INFP or ESTP, and these are based on four different dimensions extroversion and introversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and perceiving. Basically, they all kind of describe how the mind works and processes things. And then last but not least, my personal favorite is the Enneagram, which comes with nine different personality types and their accompanied wing. So the main personality types could be, for example, the achiever, the enthusiast or the peacemaker. One reason I really like this system is because it dives into core beliefs, fears, motivations and devices of people.

Gloria [00:18:43]:

It not only describes a bit about how the mind works, but also it predicts how you would react to things. And so, for example, if we take the enthusiast, if we were to think of a backstory for a Sim there. The enthusiast basically loves to have a good time and avoids pain at all costs. So this type of Sim could be a world traveler with a history of broken non starter relationships and they’re constantly focused on where they are going to get their next adrenaline boost. They’re always about the endorphins and not about actually working through things and conflicts. So they are definitely not the most confrontational Sim. They will laugh things off. They maybe won’t take things seriously if that means getting off the hook easy or avoiding maybe uncomfortable situations or conversations and understanding that that’s their personality.

Gloria [00:19:29]:

That’s that kind of Sim. It makes you think, okay, well, why have they become this way? In my initial thinking of this Sim, just not what I explained. You didn’t really understand maybe how they developed that personality type, but it showed you maybe what the last couple of years looked like for them. They have traveled the world. They haven’t been able to be committed. That is already a bit of backstory. So backstory doesn’t always necessarily mean like their whole life story, right? You don’t have to know from crib to now what has happened in their life. It helps if you understand how and why they’ve become who they are because it helps inform also how they can improve and change.

Gloria [00:20:11]:

But already understanding where they were last week or last year and what they’ve experienced definitely helps you better understand that Sim and maybe what they would do moving forward and also where maybe conflict couldn’t come up. So I hope that these tips help you to build a backstory quicker and easier than usual so that all of your Sims can have some form of history, whether it’s entire history from A to Z or just enough. So you know what they ate for lunch last week, where they’ve been the last few days so that you know a little bit of what’s going on in their lives. I think these tips would definitely apply not only to the Sims, but upcoming life Sims as well. For example, paralyzed or life by you? I don’t know too much about the traits that Paralyzed would have yet, but I’m really curious about how Life By You will handle this because as far as I can tell, they will have traits specific to backstory. And so it seems like the game itself already in cast, helps you build that backstory. I’m also really curious to see to what extent Paralyzed in Life by you will have lore built in. I think that’s a Simple opportunity to really add charm and personality to the world and the game as a whole.

Gloria [00:21:23]:

And so to summarize, can you build backstory in a quick way? You can use AI as your sparring partner, get into Chat GBT, throw them some prompts and have them throw you some backstory back. You can use some story generators made by Simmer. You can ask key questions that inspire backstory and help you get to know your Sim better. You can have a play with Tarot cards. You can integrate your Sim within existing lore to create backstory that’s connected with history that already exists. You can use a song or melody to inspire your backstory, or you can lean on personality types such as Archetypes, MBTI, or the Enneagram. I invite you to explore towny backstories that already exist and see how you can build upon them, or loop in your Sims backstory to connect with them in a fun way. I hope this has been helpful, and I’m really looking forward to you tuning into the next episode, which will be about juggling a gazillion, unborn storylines and what to do with them all.

Gloria [00:22:22]:

!Thank you for listening. Until next time. Happy Simming!