Goth family

The Goth family is a prominent family in The Sims series, originally consisting of just Mortimer, Bella, and Cassandra, appearing as one of the starting families in the original The Sims. The family is featured in all four main games (The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4), The Sims 2 for GameBoy Advance, and The Sims: Bustin' Out for console.
The immediate members of the family appear in Neighborhood 1/Old Town, Pleasantview, Sunset Valley, and Willow Creek, and are considered a key founding family in those places. Other branches of the family appear or are featured in the histories of other areas, including Moonlight Falls, Lunar Lakes, Beacon Bay, and Sugar Maple Coast.
==History==
===Background and origins===
The earliest known Goth is Lolita Goth, who is said to have intertwined roots with her descendants of the Goth and Gomes families. One of her descendants, a medieval-era woman by the name of Lady Ravendancer Goth, wrote "Lady Ravendancer Goth’s Book O’ Spells". The original tome was found in the Gothique Library, a library built by the very first Goths that settled in Sunset Valley. Magical ability is a common trait shared by many Goths; it is shown in several games that Bella Goth is capable of magic, and her mother-in-law Cornelia Goth was often used in promotional images dealing with magic things such as spell books and the Cowplant (note that Cornelia's possible relatives, Beatrice, Belinda, and Bianca Crumplebottom are all witches).
In the 19th century, a girl by the name of Morgana Goth drove men to insanity with her beauty. So famous was her legend that a doll was made and manufactured to resemble her.
The appearances of Goth family members throughout the tree indicate a long lineage of wealthy businessmen, politicians, and scientists. Most male Goths are seen in suits and business clothes, while the women usually prefer long and elegant dresses.
===The Sims 3===
In The Sims 3, the family lives in Sunset Valley, which is set around 50 years before The Sims 2 and 25 years before The Sims. At this time, it consists of Gunther, Cornelia, and young Mortimer. They are "old money", which means that they have inherited their wealth from earlier generations. They have §50,000 in funds and live at 13 Skyborough Boulevard in a large Victorian manor by the Pleasant Rest Cemetery. The Goth Manor was the first house built in Sunset Valley and it presides over the town.
In the description of Sunset Valley, we learn that the town was "founded by the Goths and built up by the Landgraabs." The "uptown ideals" of the new Alto family clashed with the more traditional views of the Goths, forcing the townspeople to choose sides. However, this is contradicted by the fact that the Goths start as friends with Vita Alto.
In The Sims 3, the Goth family appears more literally Gothic - which their name refers to - than they seem in previous games in The Sims series. For example, their appearance in The Sims 3 is of more of a Gothic nature, as Cornelia, Gunther Goth, and Agnes Crumplebottom all wear a lot of dark purple and black (for Agnes, this also may be related to mourning the death of her husband). Mortimer and his father also prefer the color black, while Cornelia prefers purple - both are typical colors used in Gothic fashion.
The strongest evidence, however, is the prevalence of the grumpy trait in this family. There are only 6 Sims in Sunset Valley who are grumpy, and 4 of them - Agnes, Cornelia, Gunther, and Mortimer - are related to the Goth family. It appears that the grumpy trait is a Goth family trait, at least among its living members. However, the pattern doesn't seem to apply to the deceased relatives, like Gretle Goth and Victor Goth.
===The Sims 3: Supernatural===
Gunther's sister Frida Goth had decided to move to Moonlight Falls when her family suggested a marriage to a member of the Landgraab family and she did not want to. Joining her eccentric uncle Samuel Goth, who tragically died when he ate a magic jelly bean, and his youthful wife Olivia Goth, who during mourning, electrocuted herself to death, setting the house ablaze, and killing Frida along with it, they all turned into ghosts. The household was later joined by a fortune-telling band manager Helen Hall, who met Samuel at a convention.
It is possible that Samuel and Olivia, along with the deceased Lolita Goth who is buried in the Goth manor in Sunset Valley, are based off of the 1955 novel 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov.
===The Sims (console)===
In The Sims for console, the family consists of Mortimer Goth, Bella Goth, and Cassandra Goth. They live at 5 Sim Avenue, a one-story version of their house from The Sims (it is unclear if this is meant to be the same house or not, despite the different street name, however, it is important to note that the console game only supports one story houses). The family does not appear in the Get A Life mode of the game but is playable in the Play The Sims mode. It is unclear whether the game takes place before or after The Sims for PC, however, an argument can be made that it is shortly before, considering Mortimer is a B-Movie Star and not a scientist, and their neighbor Betty Newbie's appearance immediately follows her role in the Get A Life mode where she has not yet married or met Bob Newbie yet. This theory is unconfirmed, however.
===The Sims===
In The Sims, the Goths (Mortimer, Bella, and Cassandra) live in a rather small but comfortable house at 5 Sim Lane and have §2,542 in funds. Eight unknown relatives are buried in the backyard.
===The Sims: Unleashed===
Mortimer's aristocratic parents, Gunther and Cornelia Goth, the town's founders, made their debut in The Sims: Unleashed along with their two cats, Hecuba and Menelaus in a plantation-styled mansion. Gunther is in the Education career track as a Dean, and Cornelia is still a housewife. It is noted that their relationship had vastly improved since 25 years ago, during the timeline of The Sims 3.
===The Sims Bustin' Out===
In The Sims Bustin' Out on console, the Goth family only consists of Mortimer Goth, who works as a virus breeder, and Bella Goth, who works as a horror movie extra. They live in the Goth Manor, where there are two tombstones in their backyard. Sims will need to exorcise the ghosts that haunt them since both Mortimer and Bella are disturbed by their moaning and roaming. However, it's unknown who the ghosts are, but their names are Morty and Wailla Roth and they resemble Mortimer and Bella somewhat. The manor has a graveyard visible in the background, behind their backyard.
It is unclear when in the timeline Bustin' Out takes place. Cassandra and Alexander are notably absent, and Mortimer looks much older here than anywhere else (except for The Sims 2). His scientific work as a virus breeder may have contributed to his grey hair. Bella herself has red highlights on her black hair. The storyline in Bustin' Out, however, indicates that it follows the storyline in The Sims for consoles. Cassandra may have been at college during the events of Bustin' Out, explaining her absence. Alexander may have been born after the events of this game, though this contradicts the family album pictures in The Sims 2, where a teen Cassandra plays with baby Alexander while an adult Mortimer watches.
===The Sims Bustin' Out (handheld)===
In the handheld version of The Sims Bustin' Out, there's a character called Vera Vex who is confirmed to be Bella's second step cousin according to a developer interview.The Sims Bustin' Out Chat with producers Virginia McArthur and Scot Amos, and Game Design Director Mike Perry.
===The Sims 2===
In The Sims 2, the Goth family is the richest pre-made family in Pleasantview (and all of The Sims 2). The family is worth around §640,000 and, unlike most pre-made families, the bulk of it is in cash. The house and furnishings at 165 Sim Lane are worth around §124,000 and the family has §511,000 in funds. In normal gameplay, it would be extremely difficult to reach this amount without cheats, but Gunther started rich and got richer, and with Mortimer being his only child, much of it was likely inherited. It's also possible that some of the cash came from selling the house at 77 Maple Street (which cost 160,000 Simoleons), or at least, from selling the furnishings and fixtures.
By this point in the game, Mortimer is an elder nearing death. His wife, Bella Goth, has mysteriously disappeared and never returned, having been abducted by aliens. Since her disappearance, Mortimer has been seeing Dina Caliente, a much younger woman who is only with him for his money. Cassandra Goth, his daughter, is engaged to Don Lothario, the local womanizer (who is romantically involved with three other women, Dina is one of them). Alexander Goth is Mortimer's only son.
When the family is first played, the yard is set for Cassandra and Don's wedding. The game will provide the following instruction:
"Cassandra is smitten with Don and wants to get hitched. Perhaps an affectionate gesture will put the relationship on strong footing."
Unless the player has them perform some romantic interactions before the actual marriage takes place, Don will almost always leave Cassandra at the altar.
===The Sims 2 (PSP)===
In The Sims 2 for PlayStation Portable, the only Goth member that appears is Bella. She wanders Mambo Loa's Curio Shoppe, in the Service Station in Strangetown. Her secrets reveal that she was abducted by aliens and that she never loved Mortimer; they got married for his money.
===The Sims 2 (GBA)===
In The Sims 2 for Game Boy Advance they are unplayable, as they don't have a major role. They only appear when a new episode starts and ends. They rate the episode when the player finishes it.
Bella's appearance causes some confusion in the chronology. One could assume the game is set sometime before The Sims 2, as Bella is still with her family. However, this contradicts the family's memories in the PC version as their ages do not match up. Furthermore, Tank Grunt appears as an adult in the game, further contradicting this theory. As such, it might be more likely that she has reunited with her family after the events of The Sims 2 for PSP and possibly The Sims Social as well. However this is not confirmed, and it is unknown how she ends up in Lunar Lakes afterward.
===The Sims 3 (Nintendo DS)===
The Goth family re-appears in The Sims 3 for Nintendo DS in Beacon Bay. It takes place after The Sims 2, although the description for Beacon Bay implies that it was built before Pleasantview. Alexander is a young adult and married to a woman named Cecilia Goth. They have §50,000 and appear to be a very gloomy couple, due to Alexander having to grow up with a father named Mortimer. They both wear all-black clothing and top hats, with Alexander looking very much like Gunther Goth did in The Sims 3. Alexander has orange hair, meaning that he may have dyed it. While Mortimer is mentioned in the family bio, Cassandra and Bella are nowhere to be found; neither are Gunther, Cornelia, and the other relatives. There is a possibility they may have died, but it remains unknown.
===The Sims 3: Pets (console)===
The Goth family is one of the pre-created unplayable families from The Sims 3: Pets for console, within the neighborhood of Sugar Maple Coast. Rebecca heard stories for years of her great-grandfather and the town he carved out of the wilderness. She decided to come to the town to learn more. She could be the great-granddaughter of the late Timaeus Goth, a founder of Sugar Maple Coast and the oldest known member of the Goth family, according to his biography, who has a tombstone at the Goth Family Cemetary. She is also possibly related to Angela Gilman, who was said to have married a Goth man and is buried with Timaeus, which would make her also a descendant of the Gilman family. Rebecca is a young adult and is living with her adult female cat, Buttons Goth.
In the Nintendo DS version, there is a man named Gibson Goth that lives with his female cat, Midnight Goth.
===The Sims 4===
The Goth family appears again in The Sims 4, living in Willow Creek. The family consists of an adult Mortimer; Bella, who in this incarnation is younger than her husband, starting as a young adult; a teenage Cassandra; and Alexander, who is a child. The Sims 4 is officially considered an alternate universe from the previous installments of the game, which explains the age discrepancy of the characters compared to previous releases. The family has §45,500 in household funds and lives in a spacious and expensively decorated three-story house named the Ophelia Villa. This is the first Goth home belonging to the core family members not to feature a graveyard on the premises. Like all other homes belonging to the Goth family, there is no television or stereo on the lot; the only electronic equipment is a tablet computer (found in Cassandra's bedroom) and the family's cell phones.
In a "Sims Delivery Express" drop released shortly after patch 129, the Goth family was given a complete visual makeover.
==The Goth residences==
Because the Goth family has featured in so many different games, there have been a variety of different homes for them. Every Goth home, besides the one in The Sims 4, contains its graveyard. Each of the PC games, plus all the console editions, has shown ghosts haunting the mansions and scaring the inhabitants.
== Trivia ==
* The main Goth family, consisting of Mortimer, Bella, Cassandra, and Alexander, may have been inspired by . This is evidenced by the fact that both families possess many features that are in common: For example, both families are aristocratic and old money, with European lineage and an extended family clan. They associate with macabre and gothic themes, reflected in their dwellings which are Victorian mansions surrounded by a family graveyard filled with ancestral tombstones. The architectural design of the Goth family home in The Sims 3 is identical to the Addams family home in Addams Family Values, whilst the house in The Sims is identical to the 1964 TV series version of the Addams family house. The basic family nucleus, consisting of a husband, wife, daughter, and son, is the same. Morticia Addams' and Mortimer's names share the Latin root word "Mort", which means death. Both Mortimer and Gomez Addams have a habit of kissing up their wives' arms. Cassandra and Wednesday Addams play the part of the shy, quiet, and mysterious daughter who wears pigtails. Additionally, in The Sims 3 version of Mortimer, as a child, he is dressed in similar clothing to Pugsley Addams. Mortimer's maternal aunt, Agnes Crumplebottom is renowned as the old prude in The Sims: Hot Date. Coincidentally, "Frump", Morticia Addams' maiden name, has a similar connotation, referring to a dull and old-fashioned person.
* The Goth family in Moonlight Falls has some fountains at the house. Sims might occasionally get stuck in one, and they're unable to be interacted with unless they're freed by resetting them or moving the fountain.
* The Goth family is the first family in the franchise to receive a refreshed appearance in the same game.
* In The Sims, Bella and Mortimer are the most likely to visit a newly moved in family.
==References==
nl:van de Kerkhof familie
es:Familia Lápida
fr:Famille Gothik
no:Familien Goth
it:Famiglia Alberghini
pt-br:Família Caixão
pl:Rodzina Ćwir
ru:Семья Гот
Category:Upper class families
Category:Playable families from The Sims
Category:Families with 5 generations