As episode two of The Sims Spark'd rolled around viewers went in feeling more prepared. While the first episode in a brand new ser🎃ies is a surprise, the second usually feels more familiar, or at least that's what we expected. It turns out that while the basic format remained the same, we were about to be taken on an emotional rollercoaster we didn't sign up for.
Growing Up
The firs🔯t challenge followed the same format as before, a 90-minute task with a twist. Last time creators had to use three objects as inspiration, this time they had to create a sim in three stages of their life. What viewers didn't expect was the pure emotion that went into all these stories. Each team interpreted the task differently and we ended up with some very emotional tales.
Team Gnome, comprised of English Simmer, Plumbella, and Simproved, created a story based around the miners strikes in North East England in the mid-1980s. This piece of period stor🌠ytelling was inspired by Plumbella's father, who lived through that time, the effects of which are still felt in North East England to this day. Their three rooms included a working-class home for a child, a mine, and a pub, where the adult Sim would rallܫy others to the miner's cause.
The surprise here was that Plumbella was very much the weaver of this narrative, despite being the official stylist. However, fans of both Plumbella and Englis🎉h Simmer will know that both enjoy storytelling and creating sims. Team Gnome showcased these strengths when they worked together to produce something great, each willing to bend their role in order to produce something that they were🅘 all proud of.
Team Cowplant, comprised of StephOSims, Little Aisha, and Simlicy, chose to focus on gender identity and fluidity. They🔜 created a bedroom, classroom, and dorm for a character who was exploring their gender identity as they grew up.
Again the teamwork was evident here as the trio weaved the touching narrative toꦜgether, with Steph, in particular, seeming far more confident and like💧 herself in this second outing.
Finally, Team Llama, comprising Dr Gluon, Xmiramira, and Doctor Ashley, told a tale about an orphan who turned into a spellcaster after running away and 🌄being taken in by the owner of a mysterious potion store.
After a rough start in the first week, you could see the team finally beginning to gel a little more. Both Dr Gluon and Xmiramira are strong all-rounders with skills across the board and this had led to a little strife. Here they began to wrangle their very different approaches and ideas into something mor🅠e cohesive and it paid off.
Team Cowplant took first place for their well-executed story of finding yourself, Team Gnome's mining strike inspired tale was second and Team Llama came in third with their magical story. How🍸ever, things were about to be turned on their head.
A Twist In The Tale
The second round was more unexpected. Each team had to choose three packs and then use these to tell a supernatural story. They chose packs based on t🎃he order they came in the first round, meaning some teams didn't get their first choice. However, this would prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Team Cowplant chose Island Living, Seasons, and University. They used these to create a story about a group of mermaids who kidnapped frat students from Britechester. Team Gnome had Get To Work, Strangerville, and Dine Out and crafted a tale about the judges themselves, Kelsey Impicciche, Tayla Parx, and Dave Miotke, kidnapped by host (and alien) Rayvon Owen who forces them to work in his restaurant. Finally, Team Llama used Vampires, Get Famous, and Jungle Adventure to hook us with their story 🎃of an aging star desperately seeking a way to stay young.
The twist in this challenge was that each team had to incorporate their first 🐽challenge Sim into the story and that would prove to be one team's downfall.
Storytelling Gold
The standout team here from the start was Team Llama. After being unable to choose Dine Out scuppered Dr Gluon's original idea, he allowed Xmiramira to take a risk with her storyline idea and it paid o꧋ff.
Her idea of a washed-up adult filmstar seeking eternal youth gelled perfectly with🎶 their orphaned supernatural character from the first challenge.𒐪 As they revealed that the character's magic was actually down to vampiric powers the story came together perfectly. Everyone played a part in fleshing out the story, creating the video, and doing voiceovers. This teamwork produced arguably the best video we've seen so far, wowing judges and contestants alike. We even heard English Simmer proclaim that "this story is incredible" as Team Gnome and Team Cowplant watched from the workspace.
This leading video set a standard that unfortunately wasn't met by the other teams in this challenge and led to the most c😼ontroversial judging decisio♒n so far.
Team Llama's story seemed strong going in but their video ended up being high in dramatics but also in confusion. Their first challenge character was a natural fit here, being a university student at the end of the tale. We saw him attend a party where things took a turn when some students were revealed as mermaids, intent on kidnapping students. The problem was theไ story got lost in the dramatic video. As it played out on-screen panic set in with Little Aisha proclaiming "ꦺI'm starting to realize how confusing this is."
Finally, Team Gnome, runaway winners of the first show, struggled badly with the twist and it was to be their downfall. While their builds were incredible and their video incredibly funny, the incorporation of the child of a🌞 working-class miner from Middlesborough just didn't fit and it showed. They also struggled to showcase the Strangerville pack, another minor transgression that sealed their fate.
Dave Miotke "one of the closest calls of the competition" as the judges ultimately decided that Team Gnome had t⛎o go home in an incredibly emotional exit.