Q&A - The Adventures of Kylie and Magnus Sims Stories Series

Q: What prompted you to start this series?

A: Summer and Fall 2019 I spent quite a bit of time reading the Sims forums, especially last fall when the huge inventory bug started and I just couldn't play. To keep my sanity I decided to just immerse myself in all things Sims. I was motivated to read the forums partially for tips on how to play the game and comradery with like minded people and also because I was getting a bit bored and I wanted to add something to my game play. 

I don't play with tons of mods, particularly because I want to play the game as the designers intended and mods are someone else's vision. Also, the challenges like 100 baby didn't interest me, although I did play my own version of rags to riches.

One day, I just was fed up with all the complaining on the forums. Some people just don't like change and they want all new iterations of the Sims to be exactly like the past. Or they just complain about every single aspect of the game. I said enough. I was being negative, their negativity was impacting me. I decided that instead of complaining about what is not in the Sims 4 that I would go back to previous games and play EPs I enjoyed and liked.

Q: OK, so you started down this path to champion positivity, but why time travel?

A: I was watching various Simmers' episodes on YouTube and everyone typically have a story they are playing out - some just play for 20 or 30 minutes and wrap up, that's their program, while others make a huge production of it. I knew I wanted to tell a story and fall somewhere in the middle. I didn't just want to play and whatever happens I put online, and I didn't want to do a full blown Machinima. So, the time travel piece came in with me wanting to first test out this theory is the Sims 2 THE BEST version of the Sims. I know when I played it, I thought is was great, but when the Sims 3 came out, I rarely played it. 

The other notion I had was I kept waxing nostalgic about certain aspects of the Sims 2 or 3. So, I had these two characters: Kylie - made by another simmer as Kylie Jenner, but I made some changes to her and made her a paranoid vegan who loves to fish and Magnus, also made by another simmer and I made no changes to him. I love the StrangerVille world so I created this story line about Kylie being too terrified & paranoid to live in the city and finding solace in StrangerVille. And Magnus being on the run for selling fake dragons to people. And with all the strangeness going on in StrangerVille he blended right in. It turns out that although Magnus and Kylie are very different, they are sorta right for each other.

Q: So, you started the time travel series to revisit what you loved in TS2 and TS3?

A: Yes, somewhat, within the framework of the story I was telling.

Q: What did you learn through working on the series?

A: That nostalgia is just that, nostalgia. Often we look back and are carried away by fond memories that we lose sight of the present. Playing TS2 again made me really really respect the growth that is evident in TS4. Yes, there are some things in TS2 I liked, like the picture in picture and the little movies that play when Sims get engaged, and the fact that expansion packs really expanded the game, unlike today where everything is watered down into game and stuff packs. But as for the graphics and build tools I will take TS4 all day. I do miss the open world in TS3, but TS4 has a somewhat open neighborhood so I guess that works. However, coming from SimCity I was initially drawn to the building and transport so I miss that aspect in the game.

Q: Piggy backing on that, so what do you want back in the game?

A: Let's not go down that path, because the one thing I noticed is that each Sims major release has a feel/theme to it. What I want is for them to do things that they haven't done before. Really wow us, don't just get bogged down on what they have already done. I really don't want a new game where I have to repurchase all of the EPs I had before just because it is a new game. Give me a compelling reason to buy packs.

Q: So, I see you stopped at the sixth episode, why?

A: This is a new channel that I launched, and when I initially launched it I had plans to do a variety of content. After doing some brief research I decided to niche my channel and created three different YouTube channels. So I am concurrently building content for two channels and about to start on the third channel. 

What I discovered with T-Logic Productions is that as much as I loved the videos I was producing and the stories I was telling, no one was watching. Competition is stiff in this space and I really don't have a foot in to build a viewership. So, before I became too heavily vested in one of the five series I have drafted I wanted to see which series really gained traction and a following and then grow that series. I also want to be ready to work on a new series should a really compelling Game or Expansion pack come out.

But don't worry, although I stopped season one at episode 6 I do have enough episodes mapped out to get them back to the future and that should happen in season 2. So, I have dedicated two seasons to this series. I am not a fan of a show being cancelled with a cliff hanger. So, this part of the story will be told before or when the show comes to an end. However, right now, we are just getting started.