Mind Control expansion mod concept development and brainstorm

[Isel]

Hi there. My name is Isel, and I'm here to discuss with you the enticing prospect of a fully-fledged Mind Control Mechanics and Roleplay Expansion for the Sims 4. No applause needed, thank you, thank you.

 

"But Isel," I hear you say. Loudly. Incredulously.

 

"But Isel, there's plenty of mind control options in the game through the SimRay, expansive vampire powers and the very limited and woefully underutilised Madame Zoe's Voodoo Doll! We even have the Become A Sorceror! mod to aid us in our quest for world domination through mental subversion of innocent bystanders!"

 

And Isel would have to condede that, yes, there already are strong and viable options in the game to somewhat do a bit of roleplaying with having your sim tell other sims what to do, but that is not enough! There is so much to be gained with a system that fully integrates all of these mechanics into a true Mental Domination Smorgasbord. From having sleeper agents to induction practices to full on Villain War to simply having that one device blow up in your face, allowing others to take advantage of you - the possibilities are endless!

Besides, there's the one rule of villainy: true villains always want more power! ALWAYS!

 

Thusly.

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

But before you die, Mister Bond, allow me to explain to you my plan for world domination.

 

-o-o-o-

 

The Sims 4 has ample mechanics for affecting sims. Especially Vampires; while I haven't played them myself, the implementation of those mechanics is very inspired, and an exploration of that expansion is next on my to-do list. Even so, I feel there is room to move those mechanics (at least partially) to other aspects of sims gameplay, as well as deepening those mechanics for a high-maintenance, high-potential gameplay style. While the features already present allow us a nice collection of 'click to activate an event' playstyle, there's very little consequence, buildup, or reaping of rewards beyond the sims going back to their regular selves after having been hoodwinked, drank from, or abducted by aliens. There's no upset of status quo.

 

There are so many styles of (the admittedly niche fetish for) mental control in our media that it surprises me that nobody else has taken a crack at diversifying the MC experience. Perhaps the vampire DLC is satisfying enough, but I personally would love to have the Mad Scientist controller, or a voodoo priest that makes 'zombies', or simply a villain who raided a lab and proceeds to use all those advanced toys for their own gain (like building a harem). Perhaps there's a twisted Cupid out there who just wants to make people fall in love, despite those people's wishes.

Allow me to convince you with the following.

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

Let's see here... Ah, pet #013-Sylvia. I see your training is coming along... nicely. Resume regular functions and return tomorrow for additional induction. Dismissed.

 

-o-o-o-

 

The bread and butter of a good control fantasy, to me, is the time it takes for someone to be overtaken. Setup, patience, resistance, the savoring of walls crumbling as the slave realizes they have no say in the matter - that's what makes it enjoyable, gives it depth and breadth. Snapping your fingers and making a sim fall in love is fun, I guess, but it doesn't offer rewarding gameplay.

 

What I aim to do to enhance the MC gameplay experience, from a technical and mechanical level, is the following:

• add a Training skill that reflects the sim's comfort with being a controller; higher levels in being a Master or Mistress will allow for more complex commands issued to your slaves
• add a Resistance skill that reflects the sim's level of obedience, and having several actions, items and events increase that obedience
• add traits and moodlets that allow Autonomy to influence the sims' behavior, for instance the 'I don't wanna!' moodlet or trait prevents obedience skill gain, and the 'omg hypno is my fetish' moodlet or trait might give them a whim that makes them actively seek out vampiric mesmerizing. Incidentally, a sim who broke free of their controller might have a lingering 'put me back in the matrix' trait..
• add traits that reflect the level of brainwashing they've had, ranging from 'still rebellious', where they have full autonomy and lose training over time, to 'mindbroken' where they stand still awaiting instruction, and may even die if not tended to or 'fixed'
• add a number of commands to the SimRay that expands their mind control selection to include Wicked Whims and other things you might want to do with another sim, like giving them Posthypnotic Suggestions for those of us who like it subtle and not be traced back to ourselves
• add a number of commands to the Voodoo Doll that does the same
• add Serums from the scientist career that allow them to influence other sims by having them drink it, or if you have a medical career, inject patients with it }:>
• add special TV and music channels that send out subverting media to mesmerize sims and raise the aforementioned Obedience skill, as well as other items (like crystals with a toggleable aura)
• add a club to collect your slaves in
• add a Notoriety skill that will influence how attractive a target you are for police and... others.
• allowing Mean sims and Good sims to act and react differently to this whole shebang. Mean sims would love breaking up others' relationships and claiming people, but Good sims might not.
• integrating Aliens in some way (Neighborhood Hivemind might be too easy to access, so the power level would have to be low)
• add events and demands and whims that happen when your played sim is controlled and has a master. To be expanded upon as I (we) figure out how to make this whole deal work.
• perhaps add careers - I've seen too many hypno-therapist fantasy games to not think of doing that, but I'm not sure yet how and what. Maybe the player can be a hypno-maid for a vampire? Who knows.
• perhaps add a perk buy and power system á la Vampiric Powers, because it'd be cool and knowing how to mod that would open up possibilities for superhero modding (for the far future - plans within plans };> )
• endgame: add other masterminds for duels and all-out villain war and discussing slaves' shortcomings over mulled wine. You didn't think you're the only one with world domination on their mind, did you..?

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

You get to join my club, and you get to join my club! And you also get to join my club! Everyone gets to join my club!

 

-o-o-o-

 

Clubs! Woo! What a perfect mechanic to collect your very own forcedly devoted mind-slaves in. Or perhaps, judging by the amount of people on this forum who spend their time in skyrim barely walking around covered head to toe in restricting outfits and chains, you wish for your own sim to submit to a powerful master or mistress and join their club of warmly welcomed, thoroughly used puppets. But let's focus on being the leader of such a club first, for the mod developer's sanity's sake.
 

Clubs offer a ruleset with which to easily manage controlled people. From custom perks to having a clubhouse (read: villain lair) to summoning people at the drop of a hat, it's actually a highly convenient metaphor for the aspiring hypno-controller's antics. As such, I aim to use it extensively, although there is a bit of work still to do with assessing its limitations and overcoming potential snafu's. For instance, there's a pair of mods out there that lets us meddle with clubs-per-sim and sims-per-club numbers, so those would be a soft requirement. I haven't yet seen a sim with 3 clubs so forcing a club on sims through a mechanic or device shouldn't erase existing club memberships or some such, but the possibilities for headache prevention are available. That said, we'll have to see just how flexible and moddable this feature is going to be.

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

Sim... Ray. Who comes up with these- ooh, comes with a note. Hmmm, just aim-and-fire? Alright, let's find out what this puppy can do.

 

-o-o-o-

 

So the SimRay is an interesting device. Introduced in the Get to Work expansion, someone with the Scientist Career can build this handheld gun-like device and later upgrade them with different modes and expansions to control other sims - ranging from having them change their clothes, to making them eat, to making them panic. How droll.

Being a fledgling modder, my first aim is to add capabilities to the simRay to influence others and add the list of features, traits, skills and what not to NPC's. Once I've figured out how to do that, I'm going to move on to expanding these mechanics, like allowing the Ray to chance other sims's traits or predilections or even careers, and having them send parts of their salary over. Stuff like that. Once the SimRay has been explored and modded, I can move on to porting those mechanics to other items and even tackle vampiric mind control to have the same lingering effects.

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

Wel.c'ome to the wonderf'ul world of h'ypno'sis. In this v'ideo, we'll teach y.ou all about b.e'ing a lovely little sheep for you.r master .to enjoy. So sit back, relax and prepare to l.e.a.r.n in 3- 2- -.-'-.-'-'-.

 

-o-o-o-

 

Much like vampiric lore, a person might be inclined to learn about mind control. Through research in books and on the computer, they should unlock all sorts of ideas on how to make friends and influence others. It would allow them to install programs on others' media installations, like upgrading their radio or TV to intersperse music with white noise - but be careful not to be caught in the blast zone if it breaks down because you're not skilled enough at Handiness! Also be careful with suddenly having 20 people show up at your house having heard your programming and wanting to join your... club. At least you can sit them all down in front of this huge Hypno-TV, right? Saves you the trouble of having to track them all down. Hang on, I don't recall installing sirens in my induction vid- Oh shit, it's the cops!

 

Learning might also give you semi-random traits. One person might find themselves attracted to the dominator's role in a control fantasy, and gain the 'dominate others' trait and subsequent whims - while another might fall victim to either hidden messages in the book they're learning from, or simply be an individual who enjoyed such fantasies beforehand, and gain the 'slave looking for master' trait and its subsequent whims. Perhaps there's a bit of both in there, and they're on the fence on whether to join the influencers or the influenced. Talking to others might reveal other insights and flip their inclinations, or reaffirm them. Who knows what can happen.

 

A secondary use for Research would be to arm oneself against potential other Controllers, like some vampire coming round and mesmerizing you should be harder for them to do if you know how to ward yourself. Naturally, vampiric research would also come in handy against a vampire's mental control - at least, it should... right? }:>

 

The ideas for this are numerous and I haven't had the presence of mind to write them all down, but most of these should come naturally from developing the main branch of the experience. The main point here is that there's oodles of ways to have sims fall under your sway, and I'm not sure I should let influence from the Voodoo branch of mind control add to the same training as MK Ultra style trigger reinforcement. That also has to be decided as we go and test various setups, but that's par for the course and part of the fun.

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

I'll never join you, never ever! Not after what you did to him, not again! Not after what you did to my new Master!

 

-o-o-o-

 

Managing your slaves is a tedious effort. Some are wilful, some lack spine. Some are just random and hard to control in how much they want to please you. And then there's the ones that break free, through help of others or even themselves, or worse still - the negligence of their master. If you forget to tend to a certain slave, you might find them either falling deeper into the dark abyss that is being a mindbroken doll until they forget to feed themselves and simply leave this world, or regaining enough autonomy for them to try and leave your service, perhaps holding a grudge and coming back as a nemesis, or holding a fantasy and coming back with their tail between their pretty little legs.

 

The aim here is to have a system of traits and whims and regular old sims 4 mechanics in place to govern a dynamic approach to a mind control environment, up to and including other sims with the Dominator trait, and the PC sim wanting to be a vigilante who wishes to break their love free from the Dominator sim's control. Vlad! I have come for Peach, my one true love, who you have taken!

 

Eventually it might be possible to switch between all of these states over the course of a few in-game years and have it become a long, dark 4X game with a long history of power struggle - all because we added a few traits and skills. Gnehehe.

 

 

 

-o-o-o-

 

Don't be silly, my dear. Where else will you get your fix?

 

-o-o-o-

 

So, this is ambitious. I realize that - with all the plans, it might even be expansion-sized. I want to design a good, inclusive system, but I also don't want to overthink it. There's already so many mechanics in place that I simply wish to hook them into one another and provide depth to what is already there to be able to build up something lasting in-game, like rivalries and territory and a basement full of sluts. Which is why I'm asking for your help.

 

I need to know what is feasible, what is easy and what is hard, and what is already out there - both in terms of overlap, and in helping me hook old and new mods into this sytem. To me, this is a crowdsource of ideas and people with skills - I'm a concept developer, not a code tech, so I would welcome any and all help that would make this a reality. I know there's people out there who want a hypno mod, I've seen the threads. I also think that Sims is a very fertile playground for such a fantasy.

 

Aside from telling sims to stay in the same WW position for X hours, what are you looking for in a mod like this? Do you require something simple, do you want more spreadsheets for kingdom management? Be sure to let me know your ideas and fantasies.

 

In short, what I aim to research and deliver is a fun, dynamic, unpredictable addition to gameplay that allows for both zany and deeply serious interactions that will enrich the sims 4 experience. I hope you will join me on this journey.

 

Thanks,

~Isel

[milasian]

Like the ideas, but I'm not sure that skills are the best way to handle some of these concepts such as resistance/obedience. Maybe make it a combined need, i.e. you have to actively struggle to keep yourself from losing control. But I haven't touched Sims 4 code in a very long time so I'm not even sure if thats possible.

[Isel]

That's actually a really good point. I know it can be changed because vampires have different needs to non-vampires (4 instead of 6; thirst replaced hunger), but I'm not sure there's editors available that afford us that option. It's a thing for somewhere further down the road, to be sure, but could offer some interesting gameplay. Thanks

[howzitaloha]

I applaud the shit out of the epicness that is that original post. That probably took longer to write than the amount of time I tried my hand at modding for the Sims before giving up.

[Isel]

Haha, thanks. Fitting my concept notes into something actually legible and entertaining took about an hour, hour and a half, I think

 

Still working on this, mostly still doing research, though it's slow going with the heat wave.

 

 

[rad45111]

This is incredible. I'd really enjoy this functionality in the game. How is it going?

[Khyttyn]

All those ideas sound awesome. Sorry, I don't know to script or I could volunteer at that end to help.   I'll help you test it out if you want

 

[gatekeeper8]

as some one who really enjoys the whole mind control thing i really hope this becomes a reality and you dont give up on it. i would buy the sims just for a mod like this =D.

[Isel]

Hey, thanks for the replies, always nice there's an interest. I'm going to start my final exam period next week, which means I probably won't have much time to work on these things. I don't plan on dropping this at all, but development might be slow. Just so you know.

[Simite]

If you want a place to start you could look into the way the sorceror mod uses the "boss" function to make minions (people under the command of the sorceror.) 

 

Works as a very effective means of keeping NPC's at the lot against their will, will also keep them there untill they are "dismissed" even if you leave the lot and come back, all the minions will be happily on the lot with a bunch of standard autonomous behavior (Like cleaning/dancing/painting/romance/etc) so that they do not just stand around doing nothing. You could always change the autonomy to be other things.

[Grant Spiral]

Yoooooo I'd be so down for this! Perhaps I could pair it with a gay sex mod and make them my sluts hahaha. I hope you haven't dropped it hahaha.

[LittleTart]

This actually fits nicely with what I am working on.  

[4LG]

Chiming in to say that I really hope this comes to fruition.

[TotoShampoin]

I totally agree, The Sims 4 lacks mind control / hypnosis mechanics, which sucks since it's my main kink

[Dynchia]

I've been thinking about something like this, though not so grand. I've been thinking more along the line of a series of Traits that can effect a Sim, slowly chaning them. The first trait will either be a buy trait from the reward store or can be picked up via the use of an item.

 

It's a self hypnonisis trait that allows on to hypno themself via a device. The device can then also be used to visit fanties or stories where YOU are actually part of it, kinda like a choose your own adventure path book or the old infocom games. It can also be used to help learn new skills faster or change one behavier (allowing for the changing of traits like Slob to Neat.

 

When used correctly, it have no lasting effects except when changing traits but when abused can caused unforseen changes, like an aditction to hypno, causing you to abuse it more and more. On top of that, based on the Stories you listen to, it can cause changes there has well. If you are a nice Sim but like to listen to Stories where you are the Villian, then you would change to Mean, skills can also be affected. A programmer who likes to listen to stories where they are an Actor will slowly find his programming skills disappearing and the desire to be an Actor increasing. And since this is Lovers Lab, we can not forget the sexual aspect. A stright lace Sim who like to listen to bondage/cuckold/whoring stories may find themselves actually searching out the very fanties and living them for real, earning reward traits has they play. EXAMBLE: A commited Sim losing the COMMITED Trait and then eventually recieving another related trait such has Nympo or Slut or Cuckold Lover. Why a Sim may even going so far has having a Sex change, (Or at least Male growing boobies and slimming out from Mastiline to Femanine body types and wanting to wear female clothes).

 

There is a lot there but since I am no modder, I was thinking about doing it has a series of traits. Each story or fantasy or self help will have a series of special hidden traits will be aquired when listen too, each trait affecting the Sim in its own special way, maybe even replacing itself with another.

 

I was thinking the base item would award a special tempory hidden trait that would count down. Every time the Sim uses the item it would check to see if they have the trait, if not, then it would install it and preceed has normal. When the timer runs out it will remove the trait from the Sim. On the other hand, if they use the device again while the trait is still active, then it resets the timer with a longer countdown and then preceed has normal with a chance of misbehaving. The more they use it while the trait is still active, the longer the timer becomes and the higher the chance of mishap. Eventually the Sim would aquire another trait that PUSHES the Sim to use the device more and more, even giving them +buffs has rewards for doing so and -buffs when they do not in a period of time. (They are now adicted.) When ever a mishap accords, if they are adicted, they become adicted. If they ARE adicted, the traist related to the hypno file they are currently using will be added. EXAMALE: The programer starts wanting to read books or pratice Acting and while gaining skill points in Acting will slowly start losing points in programing.

 

Set up the device so it something like a bookcase in function where you choose from a selection of choices. Additional choices could be added to it like books are to the game, adding themselves to the list. The choices could even have requirements, just has listening to one before being able to listen to another. (Sequal's). EXAMBLE: "The Cheating Wife 1 - Commited Wife  Suduced" followed by "The Cheating Wife 2 - Her Secret Lover" and "The Cheating Wife 3 - Cuckholding Exposed".

 

 

[Iceman1881]

I would love something like this. I was thinking that there at least needs to be a hypno animation (I don't have the vamps game.) Definitely a fan of the BDSM elements and want to see more, especially gear for men. A sling too. I may try my hand at modding when I can get a better comp.

[Medic123]

Such an excellent idea.

[LUcyREEEEEEE]

still waiting

[Rann]

lol at least they didn't put up a kickstarter, eh?

[yveltalkyogre]

intruiging concept