I have two sets of ages here, one being the one I play, one being the one my data has come up with, so please, bear with me. The first one is my research age span, the one I consider realistic but am to terrified to play with for fear of becoming bored. Straight from Word, here it is:
"The data I am using is from North America. Why? Because Electronic Arts is based in North America, and I feel that if they used any data whatsoever, it would come from there.
In North America, the average person lives 78.3 years. Rounded, that's 78 years.
In the Sims 3, a Sim pregnancy lasts 3 days. Assuming their bodies work similarly to our own, that means that 3 days is roughly equal to 9 months. Simple division determines that, therefore, 1 Sim Day = 3 Real Life, or RL, months.
Using these numbers, as well as data I have gotten from the internet, which is, in turn, mixed with my own slight tweeks for the Sims themselves, I have determined, roughly, how long each life state would for a Sim, if we set their ageing period to be the same as ours.
There are 12 months in 1 year. Therefore, in the Sims 3, 4 Sim days = 1 RL year. Also shown as 12/3 = 4 days. Using this calculation, we can now divide the number of months in an age group by 3, and come up with the number of Sim days in that life state it is equal to.
The age groups I am using are as follows:
Babies: 0-1 years.
Toddlers: 1-5 years.
Children: 5-12 years.
Teens: 12-18 years.
Young Adults: 18-35 years.
Adults: 35-60 years.
Elders: 60-78 years.
Now, before I continue, I would like to explain why I have chosen to split up the age groups this way. Babies are considered babies in the Sims 3 as long as they are "immobile, gooping bundles of joy", to quote Lazy Game Reviewer. At age 1, a human being is capable of basic speech, recognizing patterns, and begins to learn how to talk. Sound familiar? That's because toddlers in the Sims 3 are capable of just this. Therefore, in the Sims 3, a baby becomes a toddler at age 1.
Toddlers go from age 1-5 because, in the Sims 3, a Sim is only considered a child when they can walk, talk, use the toilet, prepare snacks for themselves, and attend school. Do you know of any 3 year old children that can do this? No? Neither do I. Beyond that, most children start school (kindergarten and up) at age 4 or 5, so I believe the cut off is reasonable.
Children range from 5-12 because that is when most children in North America attend elementary school, if we do not include 7th and 8th grade. At age 12, most children have graduated grade 6, and are moving on to grade 7. Beyond that, the average age to begin puberty in North America is age 12, which is when the body starts to develop into a more mature form. Children in the Sims 3 have not yet begun to mature into adults.
Teenagers range from 12-18, because that is, roughly, when most children attend middle/high school – grades 7-12 – and is also when most adolescents experience puberty, which matures the body. In the Sims 3, teens attend high school, get jobs, have crushes, and experience their first relationships, just like the teenagers of the real world. This age group ends at 18, because that is the average age a person graduates from high school. In the Sims 3, the last thing a teen Sim does before joining the work force, is graduate high school and attend their honour ceremony.
Young Adults range from 18-35, as that is when most people join the workforce, begin to have more serious relationships, and begin to grow and mature, while still maintaining their youthful joy in some or most cases. I chose to end this age group at 35, because that is when most people in North America begin to develop wrinkles and laugh or frown lines, which are the defining characteristics of adults in the Sims 3.
Adults range from 35-60, as this is roughly middle age. Adults are more mature, tend to have serious relationships that they settle down in (or not), and the end of Young Adulthood and the beginning of Adulthood, tends to be when many adults have children. Adults can suffer midlife crisis’s, much like those of the Sims 3, and tend to be higher up in the work force than their less-wrinkled counterparts. I ended this age group at 60, because that is when the average adult becomes very grey (if not before), begins to develop arthritis, and many begin to think about retirement.
Elders range from 60-78, simply because 60 is when I chose to begin considering adults, elders, and 78 years is the average lifespan of a North American person.
Using these age groups, their respective life states, and the data I have collected based on a Sims 3 pregnancy, I can determine how long a person should live in the Sims 3, and how many days each life state should be.
Let's begin:
Baby (0-1): 1 year = 12 months. 12 months/3 months per day = 4 Days.
Toddler (1-5): 5 - 1 = 4 years = 48 months. 48 months/3 months = 16 Days.
Child (5-12): 12 - 5 = 7 years = 84 months. 84 months/3 months = 28 Days.
Teen (12-18): 18 - 12 = 6 years = 72 months. 72 months/3 months = 24 Days.
Young Adult (18-35): 35 - 18 = 17 years = 204 months. 204 months/3 months = 68 Days.
Adult (35-60): 60 – 35 = 25 years = 300 months. 300 months/3 months = 100 Days.
Elder (60-78): 78 – 60 = 18 years = 216 months. 216 months/3 months = 72 Days.
In total, this would mean that a Sim, on average, should live: 312 Days.
Now, this isn't what I play with, but this would put everything into perspective. I wonder how it would turn out.
Thank you for listening to me rant."
The second one, is the life span I play on, which is:
Baby: 3 Days.
Toddler: 7 Days.
Child: 12 Days.
Teen: 18 Days.
Young Adult: 35 Days.
Adult: 30 Days.
Elder: 14 Days.
Total: 119 Days.
