The Story Behind the Story

Thought I'd start off with some background on my Sims.
I play the Sims 2 differently from many people, it seems. To me, it's less about the generational aspect and more about the storylines. I have one main family and I play them pretty much in real time. No quick aging for my simmies!

Joe Bayfield and I go way back. I actually started playing the Sims on my Gamecube before getting into the pc version of Sims1. The Gamecube version seems so primitive to me, now! Anyway, bought the game and created a life. Joe was not my first sim, but he's the one who's stuck with me. My first sim was a female named Robyn Banks. After taking her through the "Start a life" segment of the console game, I decided to try a male character. Joe's original name was Joe Shmoe. Original, huh?

Anyone who has played a console version of the Sims knows that there are 2 ways to play the game. The start a life mode, and the free play mode. Joe Shmoe was my start a life, but for the free play I went with Joe Bayfield. Same physical appearance and personality, different name.
Some background on the Bayfield name: When I was a little girl I drew comics by the hundreds. I've always been both a story teller and an artist, so the comics were a nice little way to combine the best of both worlds. Looking back, I know the real appeal for me was that I didn't have to put too much time into either the writing or the drawing. I could just roughly sketch a picture and add some dialogue. Add water and instant story! I have ADHD, so that could explain things further. Too impatient to spend too much time on just the drawings or just the story. I still have all my old comic books (actually, my mom has most of them), and it's funny to see how I would often have just a "floating head" with a dialogue bubble around it. I'd forget to draw the body! But I got my point across pretty well, all things considered.

Anyhoo, my main character was a mouse named Nutmeg Bayfield. I had a stuffed animal mouse named Nutmeg (my dad suggested the name), and for whatever reason, Bayfield became the last name. I guess I thought it sounded distinguished. The character was created after him.Nutmeg was really my alter ego, I think. Forget the fact that he was a.) a mouse and b.) a boy. He was me. I was a very mischievous child, and Nutmeg was 100 times worse. I was also a tomboy. Much to my mother's relief, I'm sure, I turned out to be heterosexual. Not that there's anything wrong with the other way!

So, I revived the Bayfield name for ol' Joe Shmoe in Free Play mode. I also gave Joe a twin brother named Gary. Whereas Joe is a fun-lovin' easy going kind of guy, like Sam Malone on Cheers,maybe, Gary is more Frasier Krane. Uptight and very neat. Much to my frustration (and disgust), Joe and Gary refused to accept that they were brothers and kept falling in love with each other. Thank God for family ties in Sims 2!

I bought the Sims 1 for pc after I had done with the Gamecube version all that could be done. At first, I was put off by the lack of 3d graphics on the pc, but I got accustomed to it fairly quickly. Joe and Gary were my first and main sims for the sims1, as well. I remember being so frustrated that I could not find a blue backwards baseball cap for Joe, like he wore in the Gamecube sims. I searched high and low, and even attempted to make one myself. Since there weren't a whole lot of customization options on the gamecube CAS, the blue backwards cap became Joe's "thing". It also set him apart physically from Gary. Never mind the fact that Joe could go on a hot date or have a pet if he wanted to. I just wouldn't be satisfied unless I found him that hat!

When the sims2 came out, I had to have it, even though it meant I also had to have a new computer. It was so worth it, though, because now Joe and Gary could be actual brothers! I recreated them as soon as I got the game. I wasn't satisfied with their appearance, though, and decided I wanted to give them some background, so I re-recreated them as kids, and gave them parents, Gregory and Maryann Bayfield. I did not turn aging off, so they went through childhood and the teen years pretty quickly. I kind of wish I had turned aging off, though, so I could have spent more time with them as kids.

Ready for a story? Heh heh heh...