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3 Interesting Facts About The Sims’ Plumbob You Never Knew

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3 Interesting Facts About The Sims’ Plumbob You Never Knew

Published: by Jazz Stewart | Leave a comment

In the last couple of months, I have done seemingly endless amounts of research on The Sims series. I have researched sales figures, review scores, fan Tumblr pages, Reddit, and Twitter accounts, all in search of more knowledge to gush over with one of my favorite series. The Sims is a series of life simulation video games that started rolling out in the early 2000s. Developed by Maxis and Electronic Arts, over its 20 + year life span the franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide. With The Sims being one of the best-selling video game series of all time, one aspect of it has remained a mystery to most casual fans. The logo has this mysterious diamond shape on it and fans of the series might notice its placement everywhere. But surely this isn’t just a regular diamond and it has to have some sort of meaning to the franchise, right? Here’s an article on some interesting facts about The Sims’ Plumbob.

Children get a lot of new features in the Growing Together expansion.
Children get a lot of new features in the Growing Together expansion.

The Sims Titles In The Series

The Sims content is seemingly endless for potential fans. Here is an extensive list of every game and expansion pack in the series. If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out our DLC guide here.

The Sims Era

  • The Sims (2000; Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, macOS)
  • The Sims: Livin’ Large (The Sims: Livin’ It Up in the UK, Ireland and Portugal)
  • The Sims: House Party
  • The Sims: Hot Date
  • The Sims: Vacation (The Sims: On Holiday in the UK, Ireland, China and Portugal)
  • The Sims: Unleashed
  • The Sims: Superstar
  • The Sims: Makin’ Magic
  • The Sims Deluxe Edition
  • The Sims Double Deluxe
  • The Sims Mega Deluxe
  • The Sims Triple Deluxe (UK and Ireland only)
  • The Sims Complete Collection (The Sims: Full House in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa)
  • The Sims Expansion Collection
  • The Sims Expansion Three-Pack
  • The Sims (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox)
  • The Sims Online (2002)
  • The Sims Bustin’ Out (2003; PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, N-Gage, Game Boy Advance)
  • The Urbz: Sims in the City (2004; GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS)

Sims 2 Era

  • The Sims 2
  • The Sims 2: University
  • The Sims 2: Nightlife
  • The Sims 2: Open for Business
  • The Sims 2: Pets
  • The Sims 2: Seasons
  • The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
  • The Sims 2: FreeTime
  • The Sims 2: Apartment Life
  • The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack (The Sims 2: Christmas Party Pack in the UK and Ireland)
  • The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff (The Sims 2: Festive Holiday Stuff in the UK and Ireland)
  • The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff
  • The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
  • The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff
  • The Sims 2: Holiday Edition
  • The Sims 2: Deluxe
  • The Sims 2: Double Deluxe
  • The Sims 2: Castaway
  • The Sims 2: Apartment Pets
  • The Sims DJ

Sims 3 Era

  • The Sims 3 (2009; Microsoft Windows, macOS
  • The Sims 3: World Adventures
  • The Sims 3: Ambitions
  • The Sims 3: Late Night
  • The Sims 3: Generations
  • The Sims 3: Pets
  • The Sims 3: Showtime
  • The Sims 3: Supernatural
  • The Sims 3: Seasons
  • The Sims 3: University Life
  • The Sims 3: Island Paradise
  • The Sims 3: Into the Future
  • The Sims 3: High-End Loft Stuff
  • The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff
  • The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff
  • The Sims 3: Town Life Stuff
  • The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff
  • The Sims 3 Collector’s Edition
  • The Sims Medieval (2011; Microsoft Windows, macOS)
  • The Sims Medieval: Pirates and Nobles
  • The Sims Social (2011)

The Sims 4 Era

  • The Sims 4 (2014; Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
  • The Sims 4: Get to Work
  • The Sims 4: Get Together
  • The Sims 4: City Living
  • The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs
  • The Sims 4: Seasons
  • The Sims 4: Get Famous
  • The Sims 4: Island Living
  • The Sims 4: Discover University
  • The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle
  • The Sims 4: Snowy Escape
  • The Sims 4: Cottage Living
  • The Sims 4: High School Years
  • The Sims 4: Growing Together
  • The Sims 4: Horse Ranch
  • The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat
  • The Sims 4: Spa Day
  • The Sims 4: Dine Out
  • The Sims 4: Vampires
  • The Sims 4: Parenthood
  • The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure
  • The Sims 4: StrangerVille
  • The Sims 4: Realm of Magic
  • The Sims 4: Star Wars: Journey to Batuu
  • The Sims 4: Dream Home Decorator
  • The Sims 4: My Wedding Stories
  • The Sims 4: Werewolves
  • The Sims 4: Holiday Celebration Pack

The Plumbob Is Actually Named After A Tool

The Sims’ plumbob is named after the plumb bob. It’s a weight with a pointed tip on the bottom. Usually, it’s made of stone, wood, or lead, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, plum bobs are used for decoration but in these cases, they are made of bone or ivory instead of the normal metals. Its use dates all the way back to ancient Egypt to make sure constructions are vertical. The plumb bob is attached to a line directly above a mark on the ground and raised to allow builders to take measurements.

Not All Plumbobs Are Created Equal

It’s really hard to keep consistency across a 20-year franchise. Things are subject to change as different philosophies are incorporated into the games and the Plumbob isn’t safe from those changes. While the plumbob is widely recognized by players as the game’s identity, it even has an in-game purpose. In The Sims, the plumbob is a fairly accurate reflection of the Sim’s mood. If the Sim is in a very good mood, the plumbob will be bright, deep green. As the Sim’s mood gets lower, the green will become paler until it becomes a sort of neutral color.

In The Sims 2, the plumbob functions were changed. The plumbob is white if the Sim’s aspiration bar is in platinum, which produces a very high mood regardless of the Sim’s motives. Otherwise, it is bright green if the Sim’s mood is high, and orange or bright red if it is low. If the Sim’s mood is somewhere in between, it will be a shade of green-yellow reflecting the approximate level.

Even the spelling of Plumbob has changed throughout the series’ lifespan. The actual tool is spelled “plumb bob”, in The Sims (2000) the name is spelled “PlumbBob”, in The Sims 2 the name is spelled “Plum Bob”, and in The Sims 4 it’s spelled “plumbob”. This spelling convention, or lack thereof, is incredibly confusing and I could only imagine the struggle on the development team. For consistency, Plumbobs will be referred to as “Plumbobs” in this article.

The Sims Are Aware Of The Plumbob

In The Sims 2 for Playstation Portable, Dr. Newlow tells the player about the plumbob and how it controls his actions. So he creates a device that allows him to control the plumbob and by extension the other sims. At the end of the game, the doctor reveals that the plumbob is controlled by an outside force, breaking the fourth wall and showing awareness of the player. While there hasn’t been this level self awareness shown since the Doctor in The Sims 2, it is safe to assume the other Sims are aware as well. It’s actually kind of creepy when you think about it and funnily enough, this exact topic has been debated in philosophy.

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