History VideoGame / TheSims1

*** On the base game, there was no option whatsoever for sims to have sex, and children would spawn from two sims of opposite genders kissing a lot; while keeping this, ''Livin Large'' introduced a heart-shaped bed for that purpouse that had a chance to spawn a baby whenever two opposite-gender adult sims ''used'' it. And nearly every subsequent expansion gave options for sims to ''play''.

*** The Grim Reaper has a much more menacing air around him; his entrance and sound effects are chilling, everything about him (apart from one occasion where he'll perform a doorbell prank, or giving Bonehilda his autograph) is played much more seriously. And, depending on his mood, may actually ''turn'' down a sim's plea (which contrasts with later installments where he'll always accept a plea from a begging sim).

*** Calling a neighbour only gave the option to invite them. All subsequent expansions let you either talk or invite them over. Also, each family on the neighbourhood had a pie menu option; once townie (non-controllable neighbours) families were introduced from ''Vacation'' onwards, a phonebook interface would spawn in order to choose who to call.

* ''Makin' Magic'': In which sims [[OverlyLongGag can become magic]]. Magic and treachery is introduced to the series, with a new area, Magic Town, where sims can shop for ingredients, go on quests for magical items, or [[ItMakesSenseInContext battle other magicians]]. Magic Town also has a mix of a gypsy/carnival theme, so sims can go there too to ride roller coasters or just have fun; it also has three residential lots, marking this as the first time sims can live outside of the original neighbourhood on the series.

* DiscOneNuke: Bob&Betty Newbie's needs and moods will not decay during the Tutorial. As a result, a player who is patient can take advantage of this to get their skills maxed out. This will result in Bob&Betty having a pretty big advantage with jobs.

*** Makin' Magic:

* TheArtifact: When you place an item in a house (or just when sims movie into a house that you furnish), sometimes they will walk over to the item and react with approval or disapproval at it. This is a holdover from when the purpose of the Sims was to evaluate your house and decorations.

* SurpriseCreepy: The music tracks that play when something bad is going on. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Il5aZhYy8E Hear for yourself.]]

*** The Grim Reaper has a much more menacing air around him, as his entrance and sound effects are chilling, everything about him (apart from one occasion where he'll perform a doorbell prank, or giving Bonehilda his autograph) is played much more seriously. And, depending on his mood, may actually ''turn'' down a sim's plea (which contrasts with later installments where he'll always accept a plea from a begging sim).

*** The Grim Reaper is much more menacing here, as his entrance and sound effects are chilling, everything about him (apart from one occasion where he'll perform a doorbell prank, or giving Bonehilda his autograph) is played much more seriously. And, depending on his mood, may actually turn down a Sim's plea.

*** The Grim Reaper is much more menacing here, as his entrance and sound effects are chilling, everything about him (apart from one occasion where he'll perform a doorbell prank and giving Bonehilda his autograph) is played much more seriously, and depending on his mood, may actually turn down a Sim's plea.

*** A Sim's scream whenever they burn or starve to death (or by disease), is much more realistic and agonizing rather than comedic. Their "Slap" interaction is also not comical if used on sims of the same gender, with the cartoonish multi-hand slap (which is a standard for later games) being reserved for sims of the opposite gender.

* ''Unleashed'': In which sims can now own little and big pets -namely, the big ones are cats and dogs. Apart from the experience of owning pets, these can be trained, and sims can now have their own vegetables orchard too. Instead of adding a new area, this expansion [[IncrediblyLamePun expanded]] the base neighbourhood, adding over 40 lots to the original 10 and the possibility to have both community and residential areas in it. Interestingly enough, it also has a New Orleans theme.

* LostInTranslation: The spanish version of ''Unleashed'' replaced all Old Town families' surnames with [[AerithAndBob generic spanish surnames]]. This actually makes the relation between the Goth and Goth Sr families lost in the translation, as the latter is instead the Fernández family (while the former is the Lápida family), while Gunther and Cornelia's bios talk about their son Mortimer... who's called Homero in the spanish version.

** The last two EP also include some elements of collecting, making recipees and minigames. Those were features already present on the game, but here they were taken to the extreme and made the centerpieces of the expansions.

*** A Sims' scream whenever they burn or starve to death (or by disease), is much more realistic and agonizing rather than comedic. Their "Slap" interaction is also not comical if used on sims of the same gender, with the cartoonish multi-hand slap (which is a standard for later games) being reserved for sims of the opposite gender.
*** A Sims' Simlish is not as flexible like in the later games, which results in them speaking the same phrase, as evident when using certain interactions.

*** Electrocution in this game is considered an instant death, also it is impossible to save a Sim who was set a-lit; the moment they are set on fire, they are doomed no matter what. Even if a fire has been instantly extinguished by a spell attained from a Black Crystal.

*** This is the only game where cats and dogs can be starved or burned to death unlike in later games, where they can only die by old age. In addition, children can be starved to death or die by a disease, whereas in all games after, they'll be taken away by a social worker under such circumstances (only babies can be taken away by social workers); in the case of poor education grades, they're also sent to a MilitarySchool instead.

*** Same-sex couples can't get married in this version of the game. ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' would introduce a form of civil union only for same-gender partnerships, and from ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' onwards any couple could get married as long as both parties were of age and not married to anyone else. It's worth noting, however, that the fact that the original ''Sims'' allowed same-sex romances to take place ''at all'' was considered [[FairForItsDay highly progressive in the early 2000s]].

*** Aside from babies (which are treated as ''objects'' instead of a life stage) growing up into children, Sims do not age naturally. Adults will never die of old age and children will never grow up, barring the Age of Instant charm that magical children can create and use in ''Makin' Magic''.

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_sims_coverart_5946.png]]

*** Electrocution in this game is considered an instant death, also it is impossible to save a Sim who was set a-lit; the moment they are set on fire, they are doomed no matter what. Even if a fire has been instantly extinguished by a spell attained from a Black Crystal..

*** This is the only game where cats and dogs can be starved or burned to death unlike in later games where they can only die by old age. In addition, children can be starved to death, or die by a disease whereas in all games after, they'll be taken away by a social worker.

* MilitarySchool: Kids whose grades linger at F for several days are shipped off to such an institution for the rest of their lives and disappear from the game forever.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: The last two Expansion Packs, ''Superstar'' and ''Makin' Magic'', compared to the previous ones. While the base game and its expansions are based on portraying -and satirizing- [[Suburbia suburban lifestyles]] (give or take some fantastical or exaggerated elements), this two EP conpletely forget this pretense. ''Superstar'' centers on the Entertainment world and life of the rich and famous -and thus satirizes celebrity culture, while ''Makin' Magic'' just let the developers get crazy with magic spells and fantasy.
** The last two EP also include some elements of collecting, making recipees and minigames. Those were features already present on the game, but here they were taken to the extreme and made the centerpieces of the expansion.

** Aside from babies (which are treated as ''objects'' instead of a life stage) growing up into children, Sims do not age naturally. Adults will never die of old age and children will never grow up, barring the Age of Instant charm that magical children can create and use in ''Makin' Magic''.
** Relationships are a lot simpler than in future installments. Marriage is a one-time event without any long-lasting effects and familial bonds are not tracked, meaning that from a technical standpoint siblings don't exist and a child is not considered to be related to their parents.
** Same-sex couples can't get married in this version of the game. ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' would introduce a form of civil union only for same-gender partnerships, and from ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' onwards any couple could get married as long as both parties were of age and not married to anyone else. It's worth noting, however, that the fact that the original ''Sims'' allowed same-sex romances to take place ''at all'' was considered [[FairForItsDay highly progressive in the early 2000s]].
** A Sim who reaches the final level in a career is eventually forced into a new career, albeit halfway through.
** Electrocution in this game is considered an instant death, also it is impossible to save a Sim who was set a-lit; the moment they are set on fire, they are doomed no matter what. Even if a fire has been instantly extinguished by a spell attained from a Black Crystal..
** The game is fairly grounded in reality - with most of the fantastical things (such as the genie lamp or voodoo doll in ''Livin' Large'', or the magic societies in ''Makin' Magic'') being fairly easy to ignore or just being there for [[RuleOfFunny humour]]. See also EarthDrift.
** The Grim Reaper is much more menacing here, as his entrance and sound effects are chilling, everything about him (apart from one occasion where he'll perform a doorbell prank and giving Bonehilda his autograph) is played much more seriously, and depending on his mood, may actually turn down a Sim's plea.
** This is the only game where cats and dogs can be starved or burned to death unlike in later games where they can only die by old age. In addition, children can be starved to death, or die by a disease whereas in all games after, they'll be taken away by a social worker.
** A Sims' scream whenever they burn or starve to death (or by disease), is much more realistic and agonizing rather than comedic. Their "Slap" interaction is also not comical if used on sims of the same gender, with the cartoonish multi-hand slap (which is a standard for later games) being reserved for sims of the opposite gender.
** A Sims' Simlish is not as flexible like in the later games which results in them speaking the same phrase, as evident when using certain interactions.
** It's the only entry where the Japanese version was given the DubNameChange to ''[=SimPeople=]'' (to be more consistent with the ''Sim'' title. Accordingly, the player families (except the Goths) and homes were altered to give them an East Asian flavor. Later games kept the original name, and the playable household and homes unaltered.
** It also applies to the unpatched base game, which had some oddities that were patched out or changed on later expansion packs -and which were ported over to ''The Sims 2'':

*** All objects were grouped in a single category on the Buy Mode (so, for example, the ''Comfort'' category included both chaira and beds). Since they already had become too many, all EP from ''Hot Date'' onwards introduced both subcategories (so you had separated lists for "Seating" and "Bedding" in the ''Comfort'' category) and an option to order the catalogue by rooms.

* ''House Party'': In which sims [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin strive to have the best house... party]]. A lot of admittedly enormous party objects and mechanics were introduced.

* ''Livin' Large'': In which sims [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin do live to the max]]. This expansion introduced elements of chance and positive or negative outcomes to some objects, on a general theme of fantasy (i.e., it introduced the Grim Reaper to the series), and sci-fi. It also introduced the (in)famous [[VideogamePerversityPotential vibrating heart-shaped bed]] to the game. From this expansion on, players could have up to five neighbourhoods (savegames), on one install.

* ''Vacation'' (''On Holiday'' for UK): In which sims... [[RunningGag go on vacation]]. All the family can go now to a new area, Vacation Island, were they can relax and meet other families. As always, there's only a suggested objective to accomplish, but a games fair in-game offers a series of equally in-game vacation mementos. Sims can also gain prizes for their behaviour on the Island.

** It also applies to the unpatched base game, which had some oddities that were patched out or changed on later expansion packs:

*** On the base game, there was no option whatsoever for sims to have sex, and children would spawn from two sims of opposite genders kissing a lot; ''Livin Large'' introduced a heart-shaped bed for that purpouse that had a chance to spawn a baby whenever two opposite-gender adult sims ''used'' it. And nearly every subsequent expansion gave options for sims to ''play''.
*** Calling a neighbour only gave the option to invite them. All subsequent expansions let you either talk or invite them over. Also, each family on the neighbourhood had a pie menu option; once townies (non-controllable neighbours) were introduced from ''Hot Date'' onwards, a phonebook interface would spawn in order to choose who to call.

*** Sims had conversation interests right from the first version, but they were invisible and unmodifiable; all expansions [[OverlyLongGag from ''Hot Date'' onwards]] made them visible on the UI.

* ''Vacation'' (''On Holiday'' for UK): In which sims... [[RunningGag go on vacation]]. All the family can go now to a new area, Vacation Island, were they can relax and meet other families. As always, there's only a suggested objective to accomplisg, but a games fair in-game offers a series of equally in-game vacation mementos. Sims can always gain prizes for their behaviour on the Island.
* ''Unleashed'': In which sims can now own little and big pets -namely, the big ones are cats and dogs. Apart from the experience of owning pets, these can be trained, and sims can now have their own orchards too. Instead of adding a new area, this expansion [[IncrediblyLamePun expanded]] the base neighbourhood, adding over 40 lots to the original 10 and the possibility to have both community and residential areas in it. Interestingly enough, it also has a New Orleans theme.
* ''Superstar'': In which sims [[RunningGag can become celebrities]]. The expansion is centered on the Fame career track, the first active profession in the franchise which gives option for your sims to be singers, models and actors. Celebrity sims go to work and mingle in Studio Town, a new area based on a mix of Golden Era/early 2000s Hollywood.
* ''Makin' Magic'': In which sims [[OverlyLongGag can become magic]]. Magic and treachery is introduced to the series, with a new area, Magic Town, where sims can shop for ingredients, go on quests for magical items, or [[ItMakesSenseInContext battle other magicians]]. Magic Town also has a mix of a gypsy/carnival theme, so sims can go there too to ride roller coasters or just have fun; it also has three residential lots, marking this as the first time sims can leave outside of the original neighbourhood on the series.

* ''Livin' Large'': In which sims [[ExactlyWhatItSaysInTheTin do live to the max]]. This expansion introduced elements of chance and positive or negative outcomes to some objects, on a general theme of fantasy (i.e., it introduced the Grim Reaper to the series), and sci-fi. It also introduced the (in)famous [[VideogamePerversityPotential vibrating heart-shaped bed]] to the game. From this expansion on
* ''House Party'': In which sims [[ExactlyWhatItSaysInTheTin strive to have the best house... party]]. A lot of admittedly enormous party objects and mechanics were introduced.
* ''Hot Date'': In which sims [[ExactlyWhatItSaysInTheTin try to have the best romantic date ever]]. For the first time in the series, sims can leave their houses; a new game area, the Downtown, offers lots of dining, shopping and romantic options for the characters. It also greatly expanded the social system.

For the purpouse of giving the player more things to do, expanding the game and [MoneyDearBoy the creator's wallet], seven Expansion Packs were created, which the franchise would become infamous for: