The Sims 4: Video Gaming Skill Guide
Video gaming is a skill in The Sims 4 that can be a lot of fun for your sims to earn, since they get to play games the whole time! You wouldn’t be here reading an article about a video game unless you wanted to gain the skill too!
As you gain the skill your sim will unlock the ability to join a tournament and eventually make a nice income from playing video games. Every kids dream! You could even pair the video gaming skill with the programming skill and start making video game mods or entire games!
To get started with the video gaming skill you’re going to need a computer in your household. You can definitely start with a less expensive computer, however, you’ll end up having to fix it way more often as the reliability of it will be low. You also have the option to earn the skill using the Slablet or using the gaming mat.
Ideal Mood for Video Gaming
Every skill in The Sims 4 has an ideal mood that goes along with it. Being in the ideal mood while you’re trying to build the skill will help your sim build it faster and be more successful.
A sim who is practicing video gaming while focused will see skill gains way quicker. Also, you should try your best to be focused when your sims are going to join a game tournament.
There are a number of ways to get focused in The Sims 4:
- Place a Mathematical Diagram in the Room for the Focused Aura
- Ponder Moves on the Chess Table
- Browse Simpedia on the Computer
- Drink Pitch Black Tea
Traits for the Video Gaming Skill
Geek
A sim who has the geek trait is going to enjoy playing video games much more than a normal sim. They’ll even get a little tense if they haven’t played in a while.
Genius
Since the ideal mood for video gaming is focused the genius skill is a great one. These sims are going to get focused more often which can help you gain the skill more quickly.
Lazy
A lazy sim really really enjoys spending time sitting and can get powerful moodlets from sitting down on a comfy chair. If you invest in a high quality computer chair you’ll be able to get great moodlets from a lazy sim while they are playing games.
Loner
A sim who is going to spend a ton of time playing video games isn’t going to be around other sims much, so being a loner may be a good choice so they aren’t always sad from not having others around.
Reward Store Traits
Morning Sim/Night Owl
The morning sim and night owl traits are really great for any kind of skill building in The Sims 4. Each trait is going to cost 1,000 satisfaction points but they are well worth it. They will increase your skill building speed by 25% in either the morning or night depending on which one you purchase.
Independent
A sim who is a video gamer isn’t going to have a ton of time to spend with other sims so it may be smart to purchase the independent reward store trait for 2,000 satisfaction points. This trait is going to make your social need decay a lot slower so you don’t need to spend as much time around others.
Seldom Sleepy
The seldom sleepy reward store trait costs 4,000 satisfaction points, so it’s way more expensive than the other ones on this list but it can be really helpful in all aspects of a sim’s life. Your sim will only have to sleep like every other day instead of every night making a lot more free time for them to practice their video gaming skill.
Lot Traits to Help
Lot traits are a really awesome way to maximize your sim’s skill building and make life a bit easier for them. These lot traits may be helpful to a sim who is trying to gain the video gaming skill.
Fast Internet
The fast internet trait is a great one because it will give your sims a large boost in gaining the video gaming skill and they will even get positive moodlets from their faster internet (this would happen to me irl).
Homey
You may also want to add the homey lot trait for your video gamer. This is because you need to build up your handiness skill during this process to repair your computer when it inevitably breaks and upgrade it to have better quality! The homey trait is going to increase the rate at which your sim can increase this skill.
Aspirations for the Skill
Computer Whiz
If you’re thinking about getting a sim to focus their life on video gaming you may want to choose the computer whiz aspiration for them. This aspiration is going to focus on the programming and video gaming skills which go nicely together.
You’ll also have to work through the Tech Guru Career which is a great choice for you to get some cool unlocks. You’ll get to earn satisfaction points so you can buy all sorts of rewards for your sims!
How to Gain the Video Gaming Skill
There are a few ways that your sim can gain the video gaming skill, but of course, just playing video games is going to be the quickest and best since your sim will gain fun as well. You can play video games on your sim’s phone, a tablet, a computer, or on the motion game mat.
You can also choose to gain skills by reading skill books. However, you aren’t going to earn the skill as quickly when reading as you would playing video games.
Finally, when you reach level 5 of the video gaming skill your sim will unlock the ability to research advanced game strategy which can help them learn as well.
Video Gaming Skill Levels
Video Gaming Level 1
When your sim first starts gaining the video gaming skill they’ll be able to play sims forever and blickblock. Two classic sims games!
Video Gaming Level 2
At level 2 of the skill, your sim is going to unlock the ability to play incredible sports on the computer and get a new interaction: debate game strategy!
Video Gaming Level 3
When your sim hits level 3 they are going to unlock the ability to enter novice game tournaments!
Video Gaming Level 4
Level 4 of the video gaming skill means that your sim is now able to play MySims Go! on the computer.
Video Gaming Level 5
When your sim hits level 5 of the skill they will be able to research advanced game strategy on the computer and they are also going to unlock a new interaction: impress with video game prowess.
Video Gaming Level 6
Level 6 of the video gaming skill means that your can now enter professional gaming tournaments, and also play the R.E.F.U.G.E. game on the computer.
Video Gaming Level 7
Now your sim is going to unlock the new interaction to gossip about video gaming pros and they can also watch gaming livestreams for fun.
Video Gaming Level 8
When your sim hits the 8th level of the skill they are now going to be able to make fun of noobs.
Video Gaming Level 9
At level 9 of the skill you’ll unlock the road rival alpha game on the computer.
Video Gaming Level 10
When you max out the video gaming skill you’ll unlock the final came Hillock II on the computer.
Gaining the video gaming skill can be time consuming, so you have the option to cheat your way through. First you need to open up the cheat box by hitting ctrl + alt + c and typing in testingcheats true this will make sure that all of your cheat codes can work. Then type in stats.set_skill_level major_videoGaming X and fill the X with the level of the skill you’d like to have.
Benefits of the Handiness Skill with Video Gaming
One thing is inevitable in The Sims 4, and that is… your computer is going to break. Unless you buy the §10,000 unbreakable one of course. That’s one of the reasons why you should definitely work on your handiness skill while also building up video gaming.
Another awesome thing you can do with a high handiness skill is to upgrade your computer, like the ECC RAM or the Graphics Card! This will improve so much in video gaming for your sim.
Gaming Tournaments
The only way to make money with just your video gaming skill is to participate in video gaming tournaments. These tournaments are going to become unlocked when your sim reaches level 3 of the skill and can earn you a decent income when you reach level 10.
For the most success, make sure that you have a high video gaming skill before entering a tournament. Also, you should try your best to be in the focused emotion before starting the tournament.
It’s important to note that if your computer happens to break down in the process of you playing in a tournament, you’re going to lose all progress and you’ll have to start a brand new tournament. A computer with low reliability can really hurt you in this situation.
After completing the tournament there will be a 4 hour cool down period after the fact before your sim can join another one.
Professional Tournament Prizes
Game Name | Blicblock |
First Place | §450 |
Second Place | §300 |
Third Place | §150 |
Game Name | Sims Forever |
First Place | §660 |
Second Place | §440 |
Third Place | §220 |
Game Name | Incredible Sports |
First Place | §835 |
Second Place | §550 |
Third Place | §275 |
Game Name | MySims Go! |
First Place | §1212 |
Second Place | §804 |
Third Place | §408 |
Game Name | The R.E.F.U.G.E |
First Place | §2054 |
Second Place | §1365 |
Third Place | §689 |
Game Name | Road Rival Alpha |
First Place | §3833 |
Second Place | §2551 |
Third Place | §1282 |
Game Name | Hillock II |
First Place | §4995 |
Second Place | §3330 |
Third Place | §1665 |
Final Thoughts
The video gaming skill in The Sims 4 can be really great as a way to make money on the side, or as a full-time job if you so choose! A high video gaming skill will definitely earn you some great simoleons.