Sunday 24 July 2005

Pic of the day: A novelist and his computer: Staring contest.

Sims2: Unmaking a novelist

I bought Marton Writingale a nice little house in Airdale Retreat, the alpine neighborhood which he has for himself for now. There are always the usual roaming townies, of course. His relationship with them is not the best. I have planned a career in Natural Science for him, just to get hold of a certain Sim-eating plant. Then every new visitor who think a great first impression is "ventrilo-fart" or "joy buzzer" would get to share a small cozy enclosure with the fascinating Laganaphyllis Simnovorii. But for now, Marton simply doesn't go out to great the neighbors.

Go out he does, though, to work. This was not my original plan. I still had a little money left after buying the necessary furniture (not enough to fill up all the rooms, but I got a complete home office and a decent bed). My plan was to just write for a living. But his want slots were almost completely filled with "get a job in ..." wants, 4 of that and 2 "influence someone to...". So I decided to take one of those jobs, which should clear them all out. Used the computer to search for work (because you then jump into a higher level job if you have the skills, while the paper will land you an entry-level job). He got a job in business, and after one day advanced to vice president. That's pretty impressive for someone who majored in Literature. Perhaps it was a publishing company. ^_^

After less than a week he got the "quit job" want, though, so I quit after one week and another promotion. By now he had §13000 (including the sale of one book) so money was not a problem. Then for a while I concentrating on novel writing with a little skill building and socializing with friends. (Still not the neighbors ... I am saving them for the Sim-eating plant. Especially Komei, who once again knocked over the garbage can for no good reason. Although Christy Stratton is OK. Met her in a chat room, of all places. And Chloe, the little girl I met at the shop. She is definitely going to be a popularity Sim when she grows up. Sometimes you can just see that some children are fated for a certain aspiration.)

***

After two bestsellers and a couple paintings, it seems clear that those wants never come back. I have no idea why. Perhaps it is because they first manifested at university, and when they were dispelled by moving back home, they were in some way erased. Or perhaps it is just some unreasonable series of random luck (or lack thereof). But it seems Marton is never going to want to write a bestseller, even though he writes bestsellers. That's pretty ironic. The pay per hour isn't much to write home about either, so without the aspiration reward there isn't much point, really. But at least he can decide his own working hours, to some extent. (He shouldn't work when he is hungry and dirty and lonely, or the book will suffer. But he can work all night and sleep in the day if he wants, or work one hour at a time. That's pretty cool.)

By now he has a job in natural science, but the cow plant is not unlocked. I am not sure if he has to work a certain length of time, perhaps a week like last time, or have a certain number of promotions. He already got the execu-putter mini-golf. (He actually got it after he quit.) We'll see. I'm sure Komei will come by again at some point. Marton is now about halfway through his natural adult lifespan, but there is always the elixir of life. (The plant makes this after eating Sims, but you can also buy it in water coolers for aspiration points. He has enough of them to rejuvenate himself several times over.)

I'll still try to get the plant before he quits again. That should make his happiness complete. A cozy home, a computer and espresso machine, and a rude-neighbor-eating plant: It's hard to see a writer's life getting any better than that. Even a writer who has no interest in writing...