#tucwl

Introduction

Hello! I am Maximum Dinosaur. I make videos on youtube, and challenges for the sims 4. I decided to make a long and somewhat niche legacy challenge based on something very near and dear to my heart: The Crane Wives. This band released their incredible first album 14 years ago, and has released their long awaited 5th album in 2024. The Crane Wives is an alt-folk band made up of 4 members who’s music is about many things, including songs telling stories, statements, life lessons and myths, folklore, and themes of religious trauma and being lgbtq. Their music hits a spot in my heart that I cannot quite place anywhere else. Their lyrics are probably the most beautiful lyrics I've ever heard, going through this legacy has made me realize that. And the Crane Wives have not yet been brought to the sims 4. Creating this challenge has made me become more connected to the songs in their discography, and after spending countless hours analyzing lyrics and melodies, I can only say I appreciate the band all the more.

This challenge is made up of 6 different challenges, and 72 generations. Yes, that is an insane amount of generations. But I mostly just made this for myself, and anyone else who loves The Crane Wives so much. Every single one of their songs creates an incredible narrative surrounded by crafty lyricism, powerful vocals, and meaningful metaphors. Their songs range from absolutely heartbreaking to sounding like the sound track to a chase scene in the wilderness, and I wanted to bring each unique song to life in the sims. I realized when going through the discography how many unique and incredible ideas could come from these songs.

You really don’t have to know The Crane Wives to play this challenge (or parts of it!) This challenge may be good if you enjoy storytelling based on deep emotions, familial connection, and cottagecore/folk vibes. The generations are mostly focused on stories but have small little skill, aspiration, or miscellaneous challenges to add onto the fun of the generation. As you can imagine, most of the packs in this game will be used during the 72 generations. Take a look at each album to make sure you have the packs, and if you don’t, you obviously can still find a way to play without that pack. No gatekeeping here, this is just for fun and there’s no shame in removing a few rules from a challenge for any reason.

The albums can be reordered however one would like- you may start with their newest album or their oldest, or whatever works for you. I wrote the challenge from oldest to newest, and will be playing it that way, but you should be fine doing whatever you’d like! The challenge is split up as such:

Part 1: Safe Ship, Harbored (2011, 12 songs/generations)

Part 2: Fool in Her Wedding Gown (2012, 12 songs/generations)

Part 3: Coyote Stories (2015, 13 songs/ 12 generations)

Part 4: Foxlore (2016, 11 songs/generations)

Part 5: A Collection of Singles (2017-2023, 14 songs/generations)

Part 6: Beyond, Beyond, Beyond (2024, 11 songs/generations)

Part 1 is the only one fully completed at the moment, so stay tuned for the rest, as well as some challenges inspired by other artists!

A couple of notes:

Some generations will cover topics such as queer identity and religious trauma, especially related to being a woman in the church- so while for a good majority of the generations, it doesn’t matter what the heir’s identity is, I would say specific songs are meant to have feminine or queer heirs. It will be suggested in the rules as well as the lyrics of those generations.

If the Crane Wives do ever decide to release more music, I will greet the music with open arms and add onto this challenge to complete the discography <3 It’s suggested that you go in order from top to bottom of an album, but the order of the albums/whether or not you play each album is completely flexible. Each album's legacy is designed to stand on its own if needed.

This is an interpretation of art, and as any interpretation of art goes, not everyone will agree with my interpretation of the music. I’ve done my best to make the best decisions for each generation that I could. The Crane Wives are not the most popular band, so while there is a lot of information out there on the meaning behind songs, not every song has much information on it out on the internet. So I did what I could with the information that I had!

I would absolutely adore to see someone playing this challenge, so definitely let me know if you do! Use the hashtag #the ultimate crane wives legacy and let me know if you are a crane wives and sims fan! I've never met any others, haha!