This is the result of me wanting to do two things: one, to make a series in The Sims 3, and two, to make it '80s-themed. Well here we are! You can start with the first episode here.

So enjoy, have fun, and please let me know what you think!

Update on Episode 1, 27/5/18
Been having serious difficulty filming certain scenes. The game is slow, unstable and hard to work with. Other than that, it's all been going pretty well. I give it 2 weeks before the episode is done and uploaded.

Update on Episode 1, 25/6/18
Well I didn't get it done within that 2-week frame, but I have it done now and it's been living up to my personal expectations.

Update on Episode 2, 26/7/18
Severe issues with the game have made production all but impossible on the TS3 side of things. I don't know how long this is going to take to solve, but I'll try to get it fixed ASAP.

Update on Episode 2, 3/5/19
Been spending the past half year or so mostly experimenting with new techniques. Means the next episodes are a ways off, but will look and sound much better. I've also taken Episode 1 offline for a bit to do some upgrades.

Update on Episodes 1-2-3, 29/12/19
Holy shit, I failed to consider there'd be an entirely new decade after 2019? Well the implications of that aside, I got caught up in other stuff and am now working on 3 episodes at once. I'm talking 99% done, 90% done and uhm, 9% done? I've applied everything I've learned for Episode 2 to the new version of Episode 1, and that should at least get me halfway with Episode 3 by the end of January. The worst part of doing stuff with TS3 is the game itself! But yeah I'd never even considered that it'd be a completely differerent decade before I could bring this pet project to a logical conclusion.
So let's speculate:

Episode 1, Capitalism & Aerobics, January 2020
Episode 2, Domo Arigato, Mister Yomoshoto, January 2020
Episode 3, Relax....Nobody's Gonna Notice, March 2020
Episode 4, As Seen on Television, July 2020
Episode 5, Roaring Vice, November 2020

Aside from these and more casual Let's Plays, what else should I do for TS3 videos in 2020?

Score: 4/10

This is just really boring. The characters have no backstory whatsoever, your voice sounds like you felt awkward while filming this, and the painful 25 fps makes me, well, feel pain (thought that's just really a matter of preference but still). There isn't really anything happening, this was an absolute BORE to watch.

One of the most ridiculous moments was when you said, "Okay Laura, let's just go talk to her...." BORING!!!

Now let's see you'd react to this, especially when you were the one that got mad at the entire sims community, and made your "Project Vie" (which btw, just turned it's first anniversary.

I think those are valid points, yeah.
This whole thing really isn't what it ought to be. I'm pretty well aware of that; I realized it wasn't going to be great while I was still recording it, and the longer I worked on it the more obvious that became.
I knew it was probably going to be shit long before it was done, and I have a list of several dozen things I want to at least TRY to improve before the next episode. I absolutely agree that as a thing on it's own, this episode is mediocre at best. I'm only cautiously proud of it, and that small bit of pride comes from one particular aspect.

Namely, that I've never done this before. That about redeems it for me, but that's only a valid excuse as long as I haven't done anything better. Notice how I'm calling it a pilot, not a first episode; I don't want any subsequent episode to have anything to do with this because it'd just be dragging the whole thing down. It'd be me doing a thing but no one'll bother with it because you can't get past the first episode without falling the fuck asleep like I nearly did when I was putting it together.

Giving this experiment as much credit and attention as I have been isn't fair, it clashes with the actual goals I have in mind, and those paint a picture a lot prettier than me recording commentary and editing footage and thinking "god this is hopeless isn't it" along the way.

So would I say 4/10 is fair? Probably, yeah. You don't give a shit that this is my first shot at this, and neither should I or anyone else. It's mediocre. I can't make it through all 31 or so minutes of it and I'm the one who made the goddamn thing. The main reason I've been posting about it so much is because the idea has potential and because I was hoping anyone could be bothered to give the thing a fair judgement without some ass-kissing bullshit about how fun and original it is, because the IDEA is fun and original but the execution sure as hell isn't.

So thank you for your honest, bullshit-free, constructive feedback.

By the way if you could maybe compress that into one or two sentences and put in the video's comments so it can sit there and taunt me, I'd be really grateful for that. Thanks.

It's just that when you first announced it here, you made it seem so exciting and amazing. I was kinda let down when I saw it, heh. Oh, and by the way, here's that beautiful summary:

No backstory. Didn't hook me at all.

Also, the intro was really awesome. all those spins and stuff, hehehe.
BTW, right now, I'm trying to stop fucking myself, thank you very much.

I'm happy someone else said it, actually. I was really excited for this and when I saw the pilto had been posted I was like: "Finally!!!!" But...No. I couldn't watch the whole thing because nothign really happened. It was just sims talkign and...existing, not anything exciting and interesting, no big surprises just...Ohw, yes...This are indeed sims...This is a video.
I'm not the best at voicing my opinion and have quite a past of being a bit 'too' honest on the internet, so I didn't dare say anything at first, fearing you'd be offended. So I'm happy I'm not the only one who thinks so and that you indeed agree it could be a lot better. Of course it was, liek you said, a pilot episode. A try-out. I hope it will get better and more amazing once it actually starts.

I love that you guys have the same issues with it that I have, while you're also happy with the same bits I'm happy about.
I really like the theme, I can't wait to do more with it. I think the flashy intro came together pretty well. There's a couple of moments I liked, that I'll want to have more of in the future.
So it's great to hear others bring up the same cons and pros that I've found in it. It tells me that I have a pretty realistic opinion of my own work, and that I know what I should do with it.

It also tells me that I shouldn't confuse what I have PLANNED with what I have already DONE. Because that's how I keep talking about something that's great and really fun when I haven't gotten to that part of it quite yet.

Here's, in short, a few things I've made note of for subsequent episodes:

• IMPROVE PACING. Ideally I'd want to have an hour of gameplay footage for every 5 minutes of video. That allows me to be more selective in what to keep and what to cut out. For this pilot I had an hour of footage for every 15 minutes. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room to cut the boring bits out.
• PLAN AHEAD MORE. It's not enough to know where they'll be at the start, in the middle, and at the end like I did here. It's not just a matter of where they'll go but also what they'll do there and what their motives are for doing it.
• HAVE EVERYTHING PREPARED. Don't show anything, anywhere, anyone on-screen until you're done with them. Don't have any Sims without at least a short character bio. Don't go anywhere before you've decorated the place sufficently. Don't have people walking around in their EA-default outfits which WILL look out of place.
• GO SOMEWHERE NEW EVERYTIME, KEEP SOMETHING FAMILIAR EVERYTIME. The cinematic intro worked, people liked it. If you're going to have 45 minutes of episode you can get away with a minute-long opening montage or an intro sequence. But don't do the same thing twice and make sure to have new ideas for every episode.
• DO NEW RESEARCH FOR EVERY EPISODE. There's something new to learn everywhere you look, so make sure you have some new knowledge every time. Did you know many computers already had graphical interfaces in 1988? Great, I'll keep it mind should I need to have someone use a computer. Did you know acid wash jeans were really popular at the time? Great, I'll put a character in acid wash jeans. Who was Khomeini, again? Would a white person in 1988 call another white person "bro" unironically? Et cetera, et cetera.

Okay, so I have comments, I made it through about halfway and here's my thoughts:

- I do like that you committed to the whole 80s aesthetic, with the hairs and outfits for the main characters.

- Maybe use some sort of really whittled down story progression just to keep the game from bringing in puddings with default outfits? Something so that you can control exactly which sims are in the town at any point in the game.
OR - If you have specific SPs you're pulling content from I'm 95% sure there's a way to limit the game to only pulling clothing from those packs, using Master Controller's CAS settings.
OR - Create a bunch of sims that you know will suit your game and turn them loose in the world. You could probably get people to donate some 80s-fied sims to the cause, especially if they know they're gonna see them get used.

- I gotta say I loved the intro too, I felt like a kid watching reruns of 80s sitcoms with my parents again.

- Maybe run the copyrighted songs through a distortion filter or something? Youtube is notoriously snitchy and they've been known to randomly take out copyrighted music and swap it for other stuff.
I was humming along quite a bit, the 80s had awesome music.

- "IS THAT A CAT I HEAR? HANG ON A SECOND ... OMG LOOK AT IT WHAT A CUTIE" <--- #relatable.

- Make things happen- there were spots where I completely zoned out. Since I usually have multiple browser windows open I started doing other stuff while waiting for things to happen. If you use Retuner, you can modify the interaction queue to theoretically queue up as many interactions as you want instead of just 8, that way you won't have to keep pulling up the pie menu while recording.

- Try shorter episodes, sped up a bit, at least until you get going. Half an hour can be a big commitment for sims videos, and at least for me, 45 minutes would be a hard pass. Honestly unless I trust the content creator to make stuff that's going to be interesting, I usually don't even bother clicking on sims videos longer than 12-15 minutes, or if I do, I put the video on double time.

- Know where you're going. Generally when I do watch sims videos, there's a theme, and at least a basic sketch of the characters. Switching to tv viewer mode for a minute, I love a wide variety of shows, but the one thing that connects them all is that they made me care about the characters and the story, and that's why I keep tuning in.

This is all just from my perspective as a casual viewer so obviously take it with a grain of salt- I don't spend a ton of time watching sims vids, but I do know what I like.

And hey, good on ya for having an idea and giving it a shot!

I just turned on your vid and I am shook, No offence,but all this time I thougt you were a girl lol.
Now I know that you're not!Each day I discover so many things its ridiculous!
PS:You have very pleasant voice. You could do ASMR vids lol

Just to elaborate on a few points that I think are relevant and important:


Oh don't get me started on that sort of thing, I'm ANAL about it. Outfits, furnishings, hairdos, vehicles, even the more trivial stuff like editing style and color grading. If things aren't going to look right, why bother at all?
Also I'm doing a lot more with graphics for the next one, so I think that'll REALLY get the right vibes going.


Both certainly good ideas that have been given consideration and, in the future, will be acted upon.Anyone willing to contribute in that regard should feel more than free to approach me about it.


I check beforehand to see if I'm allowed to use all the songs I want to. If I'm not, I'll use another one. Thankfully I have a good bit of freedom in that since most older music isn't really enforced by copyright as much, and I also know where to look for music they'll let me use.
And me too. I mean I kind of HAVE to enjoy the music, because I have so sift through so much of it that it'd be an absolute CHORE if I didn't.


I'm fine with the length as-is; it's the amount of stuff happening in that time that needs work.


Laura Gallagher is doing very well for herself. She has a well-paying office job and owns lots of expensive stuff, and when she's not working, she's partying. She makes friends easily; when she's not around friends who wear ripped jeans and leather, she's around friends who wear expensive suits. And yet, she just can't help but get the idea that this life in this city is not what she wants. Will Laura find herself this year or will it take more time?

Things aren't always so easy for Isa Gausset. For one thing, she's as introverted as they come. She never quite fits in with the crowd, but she's sweet and she always means well. Could this be the year that Isa finds the courage to go out there and experience new things?

Jeremy Tackett isn't the brightest person in the world. He's never preoccupied with anything particularly substantial, but he'd really like to be more than just that jock guy at the bar. Now it's another year, and that means more chances to become someone new.

Hi! Had watched your video last week, hadn't come around to commenting on it.

I...actually liked it. I didn't find it specially boring, but the lack of commentary in some places could make it seem like that. That could be improved, not with more talking time, but with more talking that fleshes out the Let's Play, the characters, or the game. You obviously have some good sense of humor and witty commentaries; maybe throwing more of that type of commentary could make the vids more interesting. Another methode could be going on tangents, that explain more about what you're trying to do, what inspires you, what you remembered while playing, or what are the feelings you think those characters have. Anyways, I'm wxpecting the next installement, so keep on with your Let's Play!

Hope that was useful :D

Oops, I thought you were a woman. Unexpected male voice.
The intro was awesome and the sims and sets are pretty to look at, a nice and natural 80's feeling, not over the top. I think you got the visual part down, now it only needs more depth/interesting stuff happening. When is the next part coming out? You working on it now?

(For extra comedy turn on subtitles for when the characters are speaking simlish! "Arse off, behave!")

Working on it now. This was a proof-of-concept; I'm taking extra time to set things up properly for Episode 1 and beyond. I want to do a lot more with storytelling; with making Bridgeport bigger and more realistic; with authentic-looking visual effects, and with familiarizing myself with various in-depth creative tools and with the more in depth parts of filmmaking. That also involves planning and recording many hours of gameplay to make the end result more fun to watch than the pilot (which I'm not thrilled about).

I've been creating new assets, new sets, new Sims, new tunes and more over the past month and I'm seeing what I can do with Blender, After Effects, Photoshop, and with practical effects to add to the look and feel of 80s big city living. Without ruining the narrative itself, preferably.
I'd like for it to be done next week but unfortunately it'll probably be no earlier than May.

I don't want to spoil next episode, but I do kind of want to talk about it......so let's just say it's about capitalism and aerobics. Maybe both at the same time, maybe neither. Who knows?

Shallowness and lack of city-ness is actually my main complaint with Bridgeport; surely you will do something worth admiring! We should be expecting an Olivia Newton-John jab in next episode then?

So like I mentioned above, I've ran into a number of complications in putting together Episode 1. I'm still doing it; I'm still going to do it; it'll just be a drag and a chore. These issues are entirely related to the game itself, and only to specific parts of the episode. Parts that I'm having to rerecord, rerecord, and then rerecord yet again. I've managed to find a number of good tricks and methods to make the game easier to work with, but ultimately it's still a diva and it's still a bitch to work with.

The essence of the topic is, if you're expecting to see something that's genuine and impromptu, I'm afraid you're not going to find it in B'88. I'm having to split up lots and locations into different worlds to keep the game's framerate manageable and that in itself imposes a range of other, small limitations. It introduces inconsistencies, goofs and a whole load of visual effects to cover everything up. And I love doing those visual effects, but they take time. I had one VFX shot in the pilot; there's going to be about a dozen in this one. Such a shot can take anywhere between an hour and 24 hours to set up fully. That's 4 full afternoons of work. I spend these afternoons gladly, but they take up a hell of a lot of time that I can't spend on anything else.

So, god dammit, the game's not making it any easier for me. But I'm having a lot more fun with this one than with the last one*, and I promise you guys are going to notice.





*seriously though. I have so much fun making this. I'll put on some tunes, pull up my project folder, and I'll work my ass off for several hours without stopping. You'll know it when you see the end result.

I won't really care about plot inconsistencies. This is really a one-man thing, after all. I would care more if you had more snark and personality. Remember that crowded group post on your tumblr? (I keep forgetting it's the pi's stuff, not the piss stuff. You need to put a dash between the two ses.) One line really striked me. "If gay marriage were legal in the 80s, I suspect that [Amber] might be in her 3rd one by the end of the afternoon." THAT's the snark and personality we want. Take notes after your tumblr self than your awkward personality in the video self.

One more thing, instead of making your graphics card scream in agony due to your lighting mods, why don't you remove those mods and instead just use pure visual effects. Therefore, no more slow fps and gameplay issues. You have a top-tier PC right? I'm pretty sure you do.

That's not going to be an issue.
Removing the visual mods is, as I've found, not practical. I'd need to manually touch up all my footage, something which would take dozens and dozens of hours. And the only thing I'd gain from it is 2-3 frames a second extra. Really, the game's that bogged down. The performance gain is surprisingly underwhelming. So on the flip side, I've found a bunch of other ways to get around the framerate thing. This one's going to be a lot more watchable. Still, the game and I are not friends and some of the things I've had to set up have felt like total chores.

But I suspect talking about it is keeping me from actually doing it. So I'll just get it done and see what more I can do after that.

Not necessarily FPS; mostly stutter is what I was talking about.

I can't solve the stutter, but I can reduce it to a point where it's no longer jarringly distracting.

Also, if you make an Amber cameo I will make you my god. DO ITTTTTTT

Oh yeah, it's finally near completion now. All I'm spoiling for now is the video thumbnail I quickly threw together.
I spent many hours trying to come up with all sorts of clever episode titles. Unfortunately I couldn't come up with any, so you'll have to settle for.....

Hi! Finally came around to watching the first episode. I see you applied al those things I told you! As a result, it's quite more refined than the Pilot. I liked it, but maybe you're right that this Episode is a better introduction to your Bridgeport and your characters, I'm eager to see more and to see what you come up with!

Edit: I see you gave up with this thread. I think you definetly shouldn't! As far as I see, the stories and movies areas for the games in this forum are kinda dead, so I wouldn't think too much about it. Keep with the good work, please!