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Bella Goth

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Bella Goth
The Sims character
Bella Goth in The Sims 2
First appearanceThe Sims (2000)

Bella Goth is a character found in The Sims series. Since her original appearance in the first entry of The Sims, she has appeared in nearly every game in the series. She is married to a man called Mortimer Goth, and has two children, Cassandra and Alexander Goth.

In The Sims 2, it turns out that Bella had been abducted by aliens. She appears in the game but has no memories. She also has a different appearance, voice, and personality, leading people to speculate this was a clone. Creator Maxis denied this, saying that this is the real Bella. She appeared in The Sims 4, where she was portrayed with lighter skin than normal, as was the case with other darker skin characters. This was eventually fixed, although Kotaku writer Ashley Bardhan felt that her facial features were still Eurocentric.

She has been a generally popular character, regarded as iconic and the face of the series by critics. Her disappearance was particularly discussed by both critics and fans, with both speculating on various details surrounding it, such as her abduction and the nature of her character in The Sims 2.

Concept and creation

Bella Goth was one of multiple pre-made characters created for the video game The Sims. In The Sims 2, there are two distinct Bellas, and fans have theorized that one is a clone or alien impostor; however, the game's developer, Maxis, denied this, stating that both Bellas are real, publishing an in-universe interview with Bella about the abduction that occurred prior to The Sims 2.[1]

She later appears in The Sims 4 in a similar role as in the original game, having noticeably lighter skin than she did, which was true for other darker skin characters. This was eventually addressed following the controversy, causing the team to update the game to darken characters' skin color.[2] She was also redesigned in order to make her look older.[3]

Appearances

Bella Goth originally appeared in the first The Sims game as one of the characters players could interact with using their own created character. She is married to a man named Mortimer Goth, In the first game, they have one child together, Cassandra Goth. The Goth family also appears in The Sims 2, adding a new member to the family, Alexander Goth; however, before the events of the game, Bella was abducted by aliens, and is thus missing. It is eventually discovered that she was in a small desert town called Strangetown and has 2 distinct appearances.[4][1] The Sims 3, which takes place before The Sims and The Sims 2, depicts Bella as a child; however, on another planet, a gravestone can be found with Bella's name on it, which is another version of Bella from The Sims 2, who died of old age.[5][4] The Sims 4 later depicts Bella as a young adult.[4]

Reception

Bella Goth's lighter skin tone in The Sims 4 received controversy.[2]

Bella has been met with generally positive reception, considered an icon of The Sims.[6] Game Rant writer Shayna Josi considered the Goths, Bella included, as the most recognizable in the series, arguing that the consistency of their house and personal style contributed to them being the face of the series in their eyes. They also felt that Bella's disappearance and the lore surrounding it helped with her to be recognized.[7] She has been regarded as one of the best video game characters by Esquire and GamesRadar+, with Esquire writer Adrienne Westenfield praising her "signature" red dress.[8][9] She was recognized by GameSpot staff as the most well-known character in The Sims, while Polygon writer Petrana Radulovic noted that she was likely to be recognized by even casual fans.[1][10] In The Sims 4, fans have liked the mixed-race of Goth family from their very first appearance. Since then, Bella has also received attention, particularly for her red dress and breasts, and she has generally been a popular character among fans since appearing in the first game.[2] TechRadar writer Meggie Gates discussed Bella through the lens of Gates's same-sex attraction, discussing her as a key in discovering herself, in part due to a scene where Bella kisses Gates's player character.[11]

The Sims 4 received criticism for dark-skinned character models being more light-skinned than they were in past games. It was later addressed by The Sims Vice President of Franchise Creative, Lyndsay Pearson. She received a revamped model in The Sims 4 and received mixed reception among fans, particularly due to her breast size being decreased; Kotaku writer Ashley Bardhan personally enjoyed the new model. While commenting about Eurocentric" character design tendencies, she was enthused with her skin being darker with this new model, as well as them being given "luscious curls of dark hair".[2]

Her disappearance received coverage from critics and fans, with a number of theories produced by fans. Some speculate that the storyline of Sims' alien abduction is only a cover-up.[12] One fan theory also suggests that Cassandra's fiance, Don Lothario, had her abducted. The theory posits that he contacted Nina and Dina Caliente, two people who have connections to aliens, after trying to proposition Bella, wanting to hide this from Cassandra.[1][13][12] Dina was also speculated to be behind her abduction because she wanted to move in with Mortimer in Bella's absence due to her characterization as a gold digger.[6] Another theory was that the version of her found in Strangetown is a clone. Her disappearance, in conjunction with her different depictions in each game, caused speculation that The Sims 4 was in a different timeline than the other games.[4][12] BuzzFeed writer Kelly Martinez did a multi-part investigation into the details of Bella's disappearance, expressing her belief in the above-mentioned theories about who was behind her abduction,[14] as well as Strangetown Bella being a clone due to the lack of memories and slightly different appearance. She added her own theory, namely that the dead Bella found on the other planet was the real Bella, having died after being abducted, with a clone made of her.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Sims' Darkest Mystery: The Fate Of Its Most Famous Sim - Lorescape". GameSpot. August 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Bardhan, Ashley (May 31, 2022). "The Latest Sims 4 Update Tries To Reckon With Its History Of Whitewashing". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  3. ^ Taylor, Mollie (November 24, 2021). "The Sims 4 is giving some iconic NPCs a major overhaul". PCGamer. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Brocklehurst, Harrison (2023). "A comprehensive guide to the mysterious history of Sims icon Bella Goth". The Tab. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  5. ^ Santos, Sofia (September 27, 2022). "New The Sims Theory May Have Solved Its Biggest Mystery". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Radulovic, Petrana (June 29, 2018). "The Sims 2's storytellers showed me how to be a better writer". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  7. ^ Josi, Shayna (August 27, 2023). "Why The Sims' Goth Family is So Iconic". Game Rant. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  8. ^ Westenfield, Adrienne (July 10, 2020). "The 50 Best Video Game Characters of All Time". Esquire. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  9. ^ Weber, Rachel (November 8, 2021). "The 50 most iconic video game characters of all time". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (September 27, 2019). "The Good Place is basically a giant, cross-generational Sims game". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Gates, Meggie (January 18, 2021). "Sims, sexuality, and the promiscuity of female 'woohoo'". TechRadar. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Jackson, Gita (April 23, 2019). "Fans Theorize That Sims Alien Abduction Plotline Is Just A Cover Up". Kotaku. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Webster, Adrianne (December 9, 2023). "We're Losing Our Minds About This Sims Family History Theory From TikTok". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Martinez, Kelly (September 21, 2019). "I Tried To Solve Bella Goth's Disappearance On "The Sims" And Here's What I Found". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  15. ^ Martinez, Kelly (October 8, 2019). "The Bella Goth Mystery On "The Sims" Is Even Crazier Than I Thought, So Here's Some More Of My Detective Work". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.


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