Creating your first Sim

Starting out with the Sims 4 can be overwhelming if you are a beginner. There are so many functions in the game, and you might wonder what the different features are. Starting from the beginning of the game, you might already have questions already such as the different features when creating your first Sim.

Don’t worry, in this guide we’ll help you familiarize yourself with how the Sims 4 works. We’ll be covering Create a Sim (CaS), knowing their needs, as well as what neighborhoods are. There can be more specific details in the different features in the game, but we’ll provide you with the basics first so let’s get started.

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How to Create a Sim

So how do you create a Sim? Your first Sim will be the one who’ll inhabit the world that you have chosen. When starting out the game, you’ll have to create your first Sim through character creation. This feature is also known as “Create a Sim” or “CaS”. You’ll be seeing this feature in the game a lot if you plan to add different households and Sims in your neighborhood.



In order for you to familiarize yourself with the different aspects a Sims have, you’ll be able to see a glimpse of what to expect through character creation. Sims that you create can be complex characters since they’ll be living their lives in a world that you create in. This means that they will have different needs in order to progress and become successful, they also have different aspects in their life that you will have to attend to such as their emotions, aspirations, careers, and so much more.

When creating your character, you can get to choose a variety of options. This can include different looks such as your gender, hair, built, skin tone, and more. Different sections can be looked into so you can alter specific details. For example, you can zoom to the face of a Sim in order for you to fine tune the details of their facial features such as their nose shape, eye size, and more.

All of your character’s looks do not alter or affect your gameplay, it’s only for aesthetics so you can create Sims up to your imagination. Once you have created a specific look for your Sim, you’ll then have to attend to their other characteristics which are the ones that affect your game.

Your Sim’s Age and Lifespan:

What does Age and Lifespan do for your Sim? Depending on the options that you choose in your game, you can let a Sim go through different stages of life. You can start out as an adult, or even a child.
This is an option that you can toggle in your gameplay settings if you want your Sims to age normally. This means that you can choose their stage of life, and let them progress normally on their own. If you have this setting enabled, this means that your Sims can eventually age up and pass away once they get too old, or if something happens to them that causes their death.



You can choose the speed of their lifespan through the gameplay settings, and there are three options available: Long, Normal, and Short. This means that the number of days in-game for a Sim will determine how fast they’ll go through life.

Providing a Sim with a Long lifespan will provide them the most living period through the stages, however playing the game with a Sim’s life on a Normal lifespan is enough in order for you to fulfill your Sim’s needs and aspirations in life. If you choose the Short lifespan option, it may not be enough and your Sim can pass away fast without having their needs met.

How can you make your sims age faster?

What if you choose your Sim to age normally, but you suddenly want them to go through their life stage faster? Aside from waiting for the automatic growth of your Sim based on their lifespan, you can also speed up the process by providing them cakes and adding candles. This is one way for you to speed up the process for certain life stages if you do not want to attend to much such as being babies or toddlers. Each Sim that you create also has their own birthdays, so this can affect their aging process.

If you wish your Sim to avoid death, you can provide them items that enable them to do so. This is a method you can use aside from changing the gameplay settings in terms of aging. A Sim can be provided a Potion of Youth to keep themselves young, you can also provide them with an Essence from a Dead Sim which can be provided through Cow Plants.

Editing your Sim’s looks

Now that you have chosen the life stage of your Sim, you’ll want to edit your character’s looks. In the Sims 4, the character creation section lets you have different options that you can use to change your sim’s look. In order to begin, simply click any part of your Sim’s body in order to look into more details.



In the “Detail Edit Mode” you can drag your sim’s body parts in order to change their shape according to your liking. Additional options will be shown as icons on the right side for the specific body part you’re looking at. You can change the option for your Sim’s head, body shape, chest, torso, hips, legs, and skin tone. Your Sim’s voice can be changed by choosing the different options beneath the life stage section.

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This is how you begin your Sim's journey by providing them their first look. Next, we'll be looking into your Sim's personality by learning more about their Aspirations and Traits. After all, each Sim is an individual, therefore you'll want to make them unique by providing them with different goals in life.

Please check our following section of the guide in order to continue with your Sim creation by following these pages:

The Sims 4: Giving your Sims Aspirations