Hello!

Welcome to the tale of Alice and Kev.

This is an experiment in playing a homeless family in The Sims 3. I created two Sims, moved them in to a place made to look like an abandoned park, removed all of their remaining money, and then attempted to help them survive without taking any of the game’s unrealistically easy cash routes. It was inspired by the old ‘poverty challenge’ idea from players of The Sims 2, but it turned out to be a lot more interesting with The Sims 3’s new living neighborhood features.

I have attempted to tell my experiences with the minimum of embellishment. Everything I describe in here is something that happened in the game. What’s more, a surprising amount of the interesting things in this story were generated by just letting go and watching the Sims’ free will and personality traits take over.

If this is your first time visiting, click below to read the story from the start.

Go to the beginning

Alice

Alice hated her father. After all he’d done to her in his life, that’s not really surprising. But he was still the only family she ever had, so nor is it surprising when his death leaves her an emotional wreck for days.

Kev and Alice

Kev’s last wish is to speak with Alice. He finds her at their old park, passing the time with a book. On seeing him, Alice’s mood immediately drops. She really doesn’t want to see Kev.

Kev and Yvette

Next on Kev’s list is Yvette. He doesn’t get a warm welcome.

Celebration

When Alice isn’t working, she doesn’t really have anywhere else to go. Often, she ends up sitting on the bench outside the store where she’s employed, waiting for her next shift to start.

Kev and Robert Newbie

Robert Newbie was the man that Kev met in the park back at the beginning of this story. That was a long time ago, and they’ve never seen each other since. But Kev remembers. Kev remembers his old enemy.

It’s very early in the morning when Kev arrives at Robert’s house. So he waits. He sits on the lounge chair by the pool, and he waits.

Kev and Rhoda

Kev is feeling his age. You never know exactly how long someone has left to live in The Sims, but you can get some idea from the little green progress bar of their life. Kev’s is nearly full.

He has accumulated a lot of wishes in a short space of time. All of them are to say certain things to various people he’s met in his life. To tell them what he thinks of them. First on the list is Rhoda Bagley, who he wants to insult. Rhoda’s brother Sherman answers the door, and clearly remembers Kev.

A sofa is still better than a bench

That evening, Zedadias finally puts all of that practice in front of the mirror to use.

Shirley

It’s the weekend. Alice had a wish to see Zedadias again, so she’s back at his house to stay for a few days. When she wakes up about midday, though, she finds Zedadias has another guest.

Hugs and Nemeses

Kev is now fed, clean, and not terribly tired. Therefore, he’s having a day in town.

He begins the morning by trying to make friends with Alice’s old schoolfriend Anita.

Thankless

When Alice was young, Kev wanted nothing to do with her, and she mostly had to fend for herself. But now that Kev is growing old, she’s reluctantly making the decision that she can’t do the same to him.