I know way too much about The Sims franchise & now it is your problem: Part 2
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
While The Sims is a simple life simulation game in the surface, devout fans may recognize many Easter eggs and hidden lore regarding the families.
For the unaware, The Sims is a longstanding life-simulator style game that allows its players to create a character, or Sim, and move them into a home or lot to go about living their life. Advancing in their career, getting in fights, achieving aspirations, building a family, or becoming famous are some ways different players might play this 25-year-old franchise. For a game with a concept as simple as this, I think it is easy to discredit it as a thoughtless game. Through this article and its initial installment, however, I aim to prove that The Sims is full of as much lore as any Elder Scrolls or Final Fantasy game franchise.
In my previous article regarding The Sims, I broke down the conspiracies and intrigue surrounding the potential clone and highbrow aristocrat in a signature red dress: Bella Goth. This time, I bring you the humorously unfortunate lore behind the Sims 4 staple non-playable character, or townie, known as Johnny Zest.
At the start of a new save file on the base game of The Sims 4, Johnny Zest can be found living in a starter lot in the Oasis Springs world. His home is designed to be a rundown trailer, and his outfit is business casual with his fabulously quaffed blond hair, complimented by a “Jokestar” comedy aspiration.
At first glance, I think it is safe to say he seems like nothing more than a down-on-his-luck comedian trying to make it big. Reading his townie biography, though, reveals quite the torrid past. Hidden in this character description is the past of a man willing to sacrifice it all for his dreams—his description hints at the past of a disowned son.
Before we get into the complications of his parental issues, we should take a step back and allow me to provide you with some context. First appearing in the 1999 release of SimCity 3000, the Landgraabs are another notable aristocratic family within the franchise. Their family name is chosen in a “tongue-and-cheek” fashion as they own much of the property, buildings, and shops within The Sims world. In the fourth iteration of the main game, the Landgraab family lives in the world of Willow Creek in an ostentatious mansion and is composed of three Sims.
Nancy Landgraab is the mother and breadwinner of the family, living a secret and sordid life as a high-ranking member of the criminal career. She sports a white halter top and a glittery orange skirt. Her hair has a rather classic “Karen-cut” in blonde, and her makeup application is rather…liberal. As a character, she is snobbish and evil, walking about with her nose, rather literally, turned up.
Geoffrey Landgraab is the father and husband of the family. He works a more traditional nine-to-five in the business career path, and his high-ranking position serves as a ploy to explain the family’s dubiously earned financial situation. He sports a plaid dress shirt, khakis, brown loafers, and black, square-framed glasses. His hair is kept short and flat, also a blond shade. He is definitely supposed to fit under the traditional “dad” archetype, even sporting a rather impressive “dad-bod.”
Lastly is Malcolm Landgraab, the teenage prankster son of the aforementioned Landgraabs. He certainly is aware of his privilege and is marked for being quite a school bully. He wears a very 2000s version of preppy wear: a short-sleeved button-up with embroidered detailing and slightly ripped, light-wash jeans. His hair is somewhat spiked and very yellow-blond. This family is a pillar of not-so-kindhearted wealth and builds a legacy of conniving and questionable gains.
You might now be wondering, “How did we get here?” or “What does this have to do with Johnny Zest?” Well, well, well—remember that sneaky little character bio from earlier? While not included in the character family tree, Zest’s biography reveals to the player that Johnny Zest is but a stage name, disguising his true identity as Johnny Landgraab! I know, what a surprise.
The lore of Johnny Zest, then, actually turns out to be that he is a black sheep in a family of complicated and generally ill-intentioned individuals. What caused them to disown their child and remove his chance of receiving their financial benefits or inheritance? His dreams of comedy, of course!
If you take anything away from this article, remember this: you can be a criminal, a plain ol’ Joe, or a straight-up bully, but in the world of the Landgraabs, there is no greater sin than the desire to be a comedian.