The Aoxa Interview

Hello, and welcome to the very first installment of 'FuryRed Interviews...'!

Today's interviewee is Aoxa, creator of The Smith Legacy- probably the most popular Sims 3 legacy of all time. Round of applause for Aoxa everyone ; )

Without further ado, let us begin...



Hello Aoxa, lovely to see you- how are you today?
I’m doing well, thank you. It’s nice to see you today as well, or read you... whatever...


So I'm afraid I must start with the standard question- how long have you been Simming?
I have been Simming since I was 13 years old, and I am nearly 23 now, so almost 10 years!


Now your legacy, the Smith Legacy, has been going since June 2009- nearly one whole year now! What made you decide to start a legacy?
I started reading GRAYCURSE’s legacy and was inspired to start my own. I never imagined that it would become so popular, or that I would continue this long.


For those who are unfamiliar with the Smiths, could you tell us what your legacy is about, and why people should read it.
This one is harder for me to answer. I have written about love, adultery, death, evil doings, but most of my legacy involves humour. I use a little bit of bad language (okay.. so maybe more than a little bit :P) but I would rate it PG 13. I do consider that I have readers out there as young as 8 years old.




How long did it take for your legacy to gain a solid readership? What made you push on with it rather than giving up like so many Simmers out there?
I would say it started getting quite popular around September 2009, so that’s a little over 3 ½ months. I didn’t give up because I enjoyed writing about the Smiths, and I still do. Sometimes it feels more like work than other times though. There are readers out there that put a lot of pressure on me to get another chapter out. I have never missed a week though!


In December 2009 you announced that you were ceasing to post the Smith Legacy on the storyboard due to a number of factors. For those who don't know, could you explain the reasons behind your decision to leave.
I decided to stop posting on TS3.com for a few reasons:

• The abuse of the story board was insulting. I didn’t want to see my hard work placed next to: OMG –AoxA’s A GuY!
• Create a story was horrible. I can’t even count how many times I lost a story mid way through. Don’t even get me started on deleting each screen shot one by one.
• The image quality was horribly compressed.
• No spell check.. That was beyond irritating…
• People had to go to Livejournal to comment anyways, so why not just make it a one stop place? I’d go on about how awesome it is to post on LJ, but they don’t pay me, so screw that lol.

Did the fact that you would no longer be upping your recommendations on a regular basis make your decision to leave any harder?
Not really. I cared more about the number of comments anyways :) It has been going up on Livejournal. I believe most people have followed me there, and new ones have started reading as well.


The Smith Legacy is now on generation thirteen. Do you have any special plans for the Smiths in the future?
I am starting my first chapter of generation fourteen this Saturday actually. I am very excited! I don’t know of anyone else who has made it this far. I have some plans, but they are secret plans lol. I plan to shock some people (in a good way of course) soon enough.




How long do you think you’ll be continuing to write for?
I know I will continue for the Summer. I have always said I would until I got bored of the Smiths, but that hasn’t happened yet :) I got bored of The Sims 2 within 3 months.


What advice can you offer Simmers who plan to start their own legacy?
Three words: GRAMMAR, SPELLING, PUNCTUATION. You lose respect for someone when you read something with errors. I’m sorry… It’s true. I like things neat. I know I’m not the only one!


What are some of the stories that you enjoy reading, and what is it about them that interests you?
I very much enjoy Rubystone77’s The Gibson Legacy and her If You Only Knew series. I like her IYOK series for the heart wrenching events that we all can relate to, and her Gibson Legacy is very funny :) I also like reading the Salzaar Legacy. He/she hasn’t gone past two chapters, but I could re-read them. Oh and The Deens Legacy. That one is hilarious! All of these are on LJ. There is a Simming community there believe it or not :) I am not a part of it, but I do keep my eye on the writers.


The storyboard is prone to a lot of drama which you've been a part of. Not through personal choice or even involvement I know, but your name has been dragged into a number of 'fights' that have taken place. What is your view of these confrontations?
My view is that they are totally uncalled for. There were some really stupid things being said back and forth on my behalf. I have avoided the storyboard completely after the last fight. If there were any since then, I haven’t heard about it.


Are you partly flattered that people admire your work so much that they would argue about it, or are these quarrels just a source of irritation?
It was 100% irritation. There are other ways of contacting me to tell me something. You don’t need to write a story about it to get my attention. I didn’t want to be defended. There is even a Stop Bullying Aoxa fanpage on Facebook, lol. At least it’s not on the storyboard though!

I just had to put a link to the fanpage on here, it was quite sweet : P Definitely made me chortle- my favourite part was 'SAVE HER!!!' Sims is Life and Death yanno?


When the Sims 3 was released last year it took a big step forward by being one of the first games to allow gay marriage (previously in Sims 2 same-sex couples were simply ‘joined’). What did you think of this addition?
I didn’t even realize that. I guess that’s just me not paying attention :P I think it’s awesome though!


Do you think the addition of gay marriage to the game will help people to become more open minded, or will it ultimately cause more harm, and controversy, than good?
I believe that it will help kids to open their mind a little more. Being gay means something different then it did when I was 13. I have had a few same-sex couples so far, and I haven’t received any negative remarks concerning it. In fact, I haven’t received much controversy over my sexuality at all. I wonder how many 13 year olds that I have convinced being gay is not so horrible after all.

I found the following when researching this topic; thought I'd share as it was interesting:

Source: Mad Atoms

What do you think of the Sims3 games as opposed to their predecessors? Are they any aspects of gameplay that you feel are lacking?
Where do I start here…? The story progression (though lacking sometimes) is a big factor in the greatness of TS3. I also love the variety of traits and new skills to learn. The gradual pregnancies are my favourite!


What would you like to see in future expansions?
I would love to see more age groups, or gradual aging. Wouldn’t that be amazing?! A toddler slowly becoming a child, who slowly becomes a teen! Imagine the memory it would take to play that though.

My computer would implode at the prospect I'm sure.


Have you experienced any of the well-known glitches that seem to have plighted the games since their inception? If so, are you satisfied with the support given to you by EA and the speed with which they are working to combat these issues?
I have never received support from EA. I manage them all myself... I have had everything. From falling through the floor to plates stuck on hands. Freezing during interaction… I can’t even begin to list them all.


Do you feel EA customer service representatives are doing all they can to make their customers happy? If no, why not? What could they do to improve matters?
I don’t really know. I have never thought about it before. I have heard that they take forever to respond to a question though. Maybe they could get more representatives to answer e-mails about issues with the game. I bet I answer more than they do!


Time for a little game of Marry, Woohoo, Kill now. You’ll be given a choice of three Sims and you have to decide, if you were a Sim and if you had to, which Sim you would marry, which Sim you would woohoo, and which Sim you would kill.

Your choices are: Agnes Crumplebottom, Cornelia Goth, and Vita Alto.

Here's a picture for those who need a refresher of what they look like:

Try not to let the overwhelming sexiness of Agnes’s hair sway your decision in any way…

That’s a toughy… I’d definitely woohoo Cornelia over the other two… Kill Vita.. So I guess Marry Agnes. XD The other two sure are ugly though… I don’t think I would marry either of them. Can’t I kill two and marry and woohoo Cornelia?!

Nuh-uh, cheater : P

I think I'd marry Cornelia- then I could woohoo her as much as I desired during our marriage. By default I'd have to woohoo Agnes, though would have to put a bag over her head first. Then I'd kill Vita, but not before having a word with her about that god-awful blusher she wears...


Who are some of your favourite custom content creators?
PeggyZone –hands down. I also love Sky Sims for the kids clothing. I pretty much download everything I want off of Paysites Must Be Destroyed.


What one custom content item can you not live without at the moment?
Hair. I need more!


Are there any specific items of CC that you’d like to see made in the future?
I’m always looking for new nursery furniture. There is such a shortage of kid stuff… Clothing, hair, accessories, toys, furniture, etc..


And finally a readers question now, courtesy of CeleSeraphym:

When creating Sims and playing the game, do you decide what your Sims get up to based on your own personal values and beliefs, or do you use the game as a way to explore other ideas?
That’s a good question. I believe in marriage lasting. This is why I have never had a divorce. I have had adultery, but he wasn’t committed. That was Ashton who ended up with seven children. My personal values usually have nothing to do with how I play my game.

Do you find yourself making Sims that are similar in looks/ethnicity/culture to yourself, or do you attempt to fill your neighbourhood with a diverse range of characters?
I haven’t made a sim for my neighbourhood since Edward, over five months ago. I love culture. I didn’t get a wide range of it in my game, but now it’s booming with different races :) As for looks, definitely not. My Smiths are like super models now XD

Places to be a creeper:
The Smith Legacy on Livejournal
Aoxa's TS3.com Page
Aoxa Sims on Facebook