The Joy of Playing the Same Sims Family for Years
One day in 2014, 32-year-old musician AJ Luca texted her friend with some sad and shocking news. “Gina Marie’s mom,” the message began, “just died on the kitchen floor.” Immediately, without hesitation, Luca’s friend replied with her condolences. Gina Marie’s mom, Marie LaRosa, was a successful businesswoman who founded a large resort company with her husband. She died suddenly, of old age, while cooking. Gina Marie took over the family business after both of her parents passed. And all of this makes sense—none of this is weird—if you ignore the fact that Gina Marie and her mom are Sims.
It’s safe to say that New Jersey-based Luca has always been invested in her Sims. Her (real life) friend immediately knew what Luca’s text about Marie LaRosa meant—and sent commiserations, even though Marie was just a bunch of pixels in one of the best-selling video game series of all time. “My husband and my parents are on a first-name basis with my Sims,” Luca says, “I talk about them like they’re humans.” When catching up with family in the evening, Luca might say something like, “Cash Covington married Alysha today!”
Gina Marie and her mom were characters Luca created in The Sims 3, but when she bought a gaming laptop to play The Sims 4 in 2017, she made a new family: The Holts. Elementary school teacher Amy O’Grady married detective Jon Holt, and together they had five children: master painter Sadie, programmer Jon David, famous athlete Bobby, pro-gamer Paul, and veterinarian Andrea. Today, Amy and Jon have eight grandchildren. All it took was five years of Luca’s life.
For half a decade, Luca has been playing with the same Sims family—which has expanded through marriage to include the
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