It's been almost 70 years...
If these posts feel like you're being dropped into the middle of things, it's because you are. I've played the same* Pleasantview off and on since the game came out in 2004.
*I rebuilt it around 2010 because it got corrupted.
I've been trying since before I started this gameplay simblr to figure out how to introduce readers to my enormous, very old game. I decided I'll break it down by family, since I tag my posts that way. This post will be an overview of the major families in my game.
I'll make another post about how I play, but the basics are that one round is equal to a season and there are two seasons per year. Pregnancy takes almost a year. Babies become toddlers at one year old. Four year old toddlers become children. At 12 they become teens. College is 18-21. Adults become elders at 60. Elders usually die somewhere between 75 and 90, but it varies. Not every household gets played every round. There are dozens of households and somewhere around 1000 playables.
On to the recappery!
Pleasantview families:
Broke: Brandi gave birth to the first baby born in my game. His name is Harold and he's 69 years old now. She married Darren Dreamer soon after. More on that in the Dreamer recap. Dustin resented the implications of the name Broke and changed it to Brock, for himself and his two brothers. He straightened up, flew right, and dedicated his life to business. And to Angela Pleasant. They had four kids, including twin boys Heath and Stephen. Sadly, Stephan fell victim to a house fire when he became trapped in a poorly laid out kitchen. Angela and Dustin are raising Stephan's daughter. Beau grew up and married Lucy Burb. They had five kids.
Dreamer: Darren and Brandi had twin girls, then two boys, as well as adopting another son and daughter. They had a happy life together until Darren's death from old age. Brandi married the widower John Burb and they shared their sunset years in the Dreamer house. Brandi and Darren's son Bob and his family live in that house now. Dirk went into business in Dustin's footsteps, but didn't marry a Pleasant sister. Instead, he married Mercedes Garcia, a sim I made. They raised two sons and her daughter from a brief fling with Don Lothario.
Burb: John and Jennifer had two more girls and a boy. All three girls married Brock boys. Then John married Brandi, after Jennifer died. The Brock/Burb combined lineage is probably the biggest in my game.
Pleasant: I'm boring. I patched things up between Mary-Sue and Daniel. He didn't quit cheating, but he got smarter about it. He had a daughter with a sim I made. He and Mary-Sue also had a son, who still lives in the Pleasant house, married to one of Brandi and Darren's twin daughters. Angela married Dustin, described above. Lilith married a sim I made for her, Sebastian Porter. They had two daughters, then he left her for someone else. Life shits on Lilith. We know it does. She's happy now, living with her oldest daughter and her family.
Goth/Broadback: Cassandra had two kids with Don Lothario before giving up on that relationship. They never married. I made a guy for her, named Arthur Broadback. They had four sons and decades of happiness before he died of old age. When I rebuilt, I reunited Bella and Mortimer. They got a few final years together. I really thought Alexander was always gonna be a weird loner, living in the mansion's attic, above Cassandra's family. He had a brief relationship with one of Brandi and Darren's twins. They had a son, Alex, but never got serious about each other. Then OFB came out and Alexander met Florence Delarosa. They were "it" right away. I never would have planned that, but they're in a very happy thruple with a robot named Synthetic Sylvester. They had two sets of twins, both boy/girl.
Caliente/Lothario: Nina and Don had a couple of kids together and a few more apart. She married townie Joe Carr, but it didn't last. She was also briefly married to a sim I made, named Tom Lewis. When she died of old age a couple of rounds ago, her name was still Nina Lewis. She and Don never made it official, but kept seeing each other until he died. Dina had a few romances, but money was her true love. She opened a home design store when OFB came out. I was sure she'd be single forever, but in late old age, she suddenly wanted to get married. She is now Mrs. Dina St. Julien. He's some bland old man, but the name suits her, right? The current round is sadly going to be her last. 90 is a very respectable age though.
EP families:
Stacks/Pitts: Jane and Ashley don't make the most sense together, but it seems to work. They have a ton of kids, and he has a few more she doesn't know about.
Sampson/Beare: Tiffany and Kevin make perfect sense. They're kinda boring, but they're very happy. Their little house is packed with kids and cats.
Huffington: Heather has a bunch of kids and is the ok-est mom. She's a celebrated actress.
Gorey/Nova: Another pairing that just made sense to me. Allegra and Castor seemed like they were gonna be forever. A cute young neighbor had other plans. Allegra turns up in their front yard -a lot- to steal their newspaper or just hang around and be angry.
Roque: Gunther relocated and married one of Lilith's daughters. He was too perfect for her. I had to import him. They run a very successful music shop, and Lilith recently came to live with them in her old age.
Katt/Stone: Tara married a townie named Neal Stone. They have a bunch of kids and a plethora of cats.
Roseland: Cyd married a former dormie named Rebecka. I had meant for him to be a dog trainer, but somehow they have a farm instead. So many kids too.
Traveler: Tina is in her final year of college. Trent and Trisha have been too busy raising Triana and Tamilla and haven't travelled in a few years.
Families I created:
Harrity/Beecher/Lewis/Ogden: Annette (last name lost to time and marriage) was the first sim I made in TS2, back in fall 2004. She's long gone, but her legacy is pretty strong. The previously mentioned Tom Lewis was a sleazy Romance sim I made as "competition" for Don. He and Annette had a fling, and a daughter named Susan, but she was too good for him. David Beecher was made as a partner for Annette, when she wanted to marry someone, but didn't like any of her options. They were perfect together. Beulah Harrity, adult daughter Deanna and teen son Geo came to Pleasantview about 15 game years into the timeline. Deanna wound up "stealing" Lilith's husband, after a fling with Daniel. Bruce Ogden was made as a partner for Deanna and Daniel's daughter Regan.
Garcia: Created as an adult brother and teen sister, Paul and Mercedes settled into Pleasantview pretty seamlessly. Paul fell head over heels with Kaylynn Langerak. She forgot all about Daniel Pleasant, quit the cleaning business, and had around a dozen kids with Paul. Mercedes had a fling with Don Caliente early in her adulthood, and a daughter with him, then met and married Dirk Dreamer.
Anderson: Brothers Leon and Perry came to Sim State because my game needed some new faces. My game also really likes the surname Anderson. There are Andersons who aren't related to the brothers.
Other:
Carr: Another name my game likes. There are multiple Carr families, though most game-born Carrs are descendants of former townie Joe Carr.
There are some smaller families too, but those are the big ones. You can view my spreadsheet here, if you'd like. It's not 100% correct, but it's fairly reliable.