Recently, after much soul searching, I decided it was time for a little change. So I told the family that we were leaving our comfy contemporary mansion and cushy lifestyle in Second Life to make a new life for ourselves – in Riverland, The Sims 3.

Now this was a big move for the family – we’d made a lot of friends in Second Life, and had a lot of business ties and obligations. But at the same time, I knew deep down it was time for change. I was pretty sure the next time I saw a plywood box, I’d scream and destroy a sim or two.

And so, with nothing but the clothes on our backs and 20,000 simoleons in my back pocket (Hey – this recession’s hitting us all!), we began the long, arduous journey to Riverland.

Upon arrival, we immediately set about searching for a place to live. It quickly became apparent that I’d not bought enough money and the family started yelling and hitting me when I suggested they could sleep on a park bench until I hit the big time. Yeah.. suggesting to three women that they camp out under the stars in the local greenery didn’t go down as well as I’d expected – funny that..

In the end, I found a quaint two bedroom home at a bargain price! And it didn’t still have police tape on the door either! I’m sure there’s a catch somewhere, but at the moment nothing’s fallen apart.. yet.

We all had trouble adjusting to our new look. I, for one, was unhappy that I’d gained a few pounds and that my face seemed to have.. well, melted a bit. The family were busy bitching about how different they all looked and felt, and then they found out that the house I’d bought only has 2 bedrooms. Wow at how well that did not go down.. the girls decided that none of them wanted to sleep in the same room as me, which I thought was rather harsh. I mean, my snoring’s not *that* bad. In the end though, I told my daughter Clare to grow up and take the other bed in my room. We’ve all had to make sacrifices, dammit!

She’s currently not talking to me.

Oh that’s right – you need to meet the family!

Name: Prad Prathivi

Age: Young Adult

I’m the one who everyone is always making fun of. Which, admittedly, I make it easy for them to do. My sim traits indicate that I’m an ambitious son of a bitch, who’s only interested in making it to the top. No surprise then that my lifetime ambition is to become the CEO of a Mega-corporation. Which is funny because in Second Life, I always regarded those people who went around with CEO tags to be oddballs. No bother..

I also have a good sense of humor. I have no idea what “humor” is, but if it’s anything like “humour”, then I guess it means I can make people laugh. Which is true – there are always people laughing at me.

I’m also listed as being friendly, which I use was a typo when The Creator mis-clicked when they were looking for “Evil”.

Oh, and I’m down as being charismatic. Which is good – it means I can always try a career in politics and try and take over the grid. It’s a grid right? I’m not even sure what this place is, actually..

My final trait says that I’m flirty, which has served me with nothing but problems in Second Life. So why the heck not make some grief for myself in Rivertown too, right?

Name: Rrishanna Regina

Age: Young Adult

This is Rrish – she’s my sister and best friend. We argue like siblings do, and ever since our mother went AWOL, we’ve been left to fend for ourselves.

Rrishy’s got green fingers and likes to play about with plants and landscaping. Her main talent in Second Life was the ability to make a sim look beautiful by filling it up with all sorts of vegetation! Coming to Rivertown, she’s bought with her her love for messing about in the garden.

She’s also listed as a good person. She’ll help anyone who comes to her and, being friendly, she’s a kind hearted soul who’ll no doubt become a pillar of the community.

That is, unless her annoying brother doesn’t ruin it for her.

Rrishy’s never really been interested in relationships in her pixelated form. Something about bald guys with their freenises sticking out of their jeans which put her off, apparently.. funny, that. As a result, you’d never catch Rrish in the buff.

Oh, and she’s a bit of a bookworm is our Rrishy. She can work her way through a novel in just a few hours, and there’s a budding writer in her.

Name: Clare Loring

Age: Teenager

Oh boy.. this is Clare. My daughter.. or the thorn in my side. Whichever you prefer. Dumped on the roof of my bar one day, Clare has shown herself to have a spunky persona, and won’t hesitate to say what she thinks.

Clare inherits her father’s charisma and sense of humour, but she’s also a bit of a virtuoso and has a keen ear for music. It won’t be long before she’s annoying her dear old father with incessant guitar playing and constant noise from the stereo, I’m sure.

Clare’s also an enthuastic and excitable girl, who has a real get-up-and-go attitude, and when she puts her mind to something, she’ll go and get it done.

Being just a whippersnapper, Clare’s got no thoughts about a future career at the moment. Mainly, she’s hoping her dad will hit it rich and then wait until he’s six feet under so she can get the inheritance. She never really pursued a career in Second Life, but here in Riverland, she could well find something to intruige her..!

Name: Natalya Homewood

Age: Teenager

Nat’s the quieter member of the family. She’s Rrishanna’s daughter, so my niece. Like her mother, she’s a good person and will always help anyone in need. She’s got a heart of gold, has wee Natty..!

Natalya, like the rest of the family, also picked up a good sense of humour. She enjoys a laugh and a giggle, and likes to make other people smile.

She’s a friendly girl, but also a bit of a neat freak. You’ll spot her whizzing around cleaning up after others and is always careful not to leave a mess. Which is good because her uncle lives like a pig.

Like her cousin Clare, Nat’s got no thoughts on a career either. But she’s young still, and will be concentrating on her homework. Just like Clare. That’s right kids – you’re going to school here in Riverland! No more dossing around in bars anymore – it’s time to get yourselves an edumackation!

So this is the family, and admittedly were an odd bunch. But for reason, it works out well. And nobody’s (sucessfully) managed to kill anyone (i.e. me) yet.

It was an interesting day of settling into the neighbour and finding our roots. I went across the river and immediately joined the business school, who found me a job as a Coffee Courier at the local corporation. Mmmm.. fun.

Rrish and Clare went to a workshop on writing skills, and then had a little bonding time by pulling silly faces at one another. Simple people, simple pleasures.

Clare went off to the local theatre afterwards and tried her hand at a guitar class, while Rrish went to the library to read about how not to get pregnant. Freak.

I was still feeling a little guilty about dragging the family away from our lives of luxury in SL, so I set about making some dinner. Unfortunately, I’d never tried cooking before.. I mean cooking in Second Life? C’mon.. nobody cooks in SL. So coming to The Sims 3 and being presented with a kitchen and a knowledge of recipes that doesn’t extend further than the Takeaways list in the Yellow Pages? Not happening, really..

I gave it a bash, and attempted some Mac and Cheese. But the stove was pitiful. That’s right – it was the stove’s fault the thing ended up burnt on one side and raw on the other. Stupid stove.. I’ll kick it some more tomorrow until it works properly.

Nobody seemed to have any idea where Natalya had been all day, and with curfew only minutes away, I was starting to worry. But then she’d burst through the door and surprised us all by announcing she’d been out fishing!

Fishing?! And she’d come back with a goldfish and three minnow and a rainbow trout! Jebus.. I certainly wasn’t expecting that..

She ‘s asked me to buy a fish tank tomorrow. I’m thinking I’m going to buy a bigger frying pan.

All in all, I think it was a good first day in this new life of ours. Sure, it’s going to take a little getting used to.. I mean, I saw a bathroom in the house too. A bathroom! I never bothered with one of those in Second Life.. it was just pointless, but I’m starting to feel pangs of the need to use it soon.. these are some complicated pixels, I tell yee!

Ah well.. night night, guys!