The Sims 4 Blog: Whims, Aspirations & Goals Quick Guide

Blog Post

Hi Simmers –

We build big games with a lot of stuff to do. There’s a LOT of content in The Sims 4 that you might not know exists if we didn’t point it out. One of the ways we do this is with our Goal systems, including Whims and Aspirations. These goals create what we call a “breadcrumb” trail to the content and, when completed, give you a nice reward to change your strategy, options, and story in the game.

Today, I snapped some screenshots to go over a few of the things you might have missed.

Whims

I told my Sim to take a Brisk Shower. This gave her the Energized Emotion. Sims always have two basic Whims, which are the little fluffy clouds above their Portraits. However, when Sims have any Emotion other than Fine (which is our neutral Emotion), they get what we call an Emotional Whim. This Whim is in the far left and is based on their current Emotion.

Emotional Whims are designed to point you towards content that you can ONLY do while in that Emotion, OR ways to fix your current Emotion. If your Sim is Sad, for example, you might get a Whim to Water your Garden with Tears.

If you hover your cursor over any of the Whims, you can find information on that Whim. You’ll find the high level subject, where it came from (an Emotion, Trait, or Aspiration), how much Satisfaction you’ll receive for completing it (more on that in a second), and a detailed explanation. See the little red X? If you ever don’t want to complete a Whim, or want a different one, simply click that X, and it goes away.

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