Sim-ply Amazing: Meet Chani, the Bubbly Sims Enthusiast!

Read Time:16 Minute, 14 Second

Introducing Chani, the ultimate Sims enthusiast and content creator extraordinaire. With her bubbly and quirky personality, Chani will take you on a wild and hilarious journey through the world of The Sims. From creating unique characters and storylines to living out her best criminal mastermind character arch, Chani’s content is all about embracing the endless possibilities and chaos that the game has to offer.

As a cat mom of 4 and a South African-based gaming content creator, Chani is not just your average Sims player. With a history in esports hosting and commentary, Chani brings her love for gaming and her high-energy, fast-talking, and bubbly personality to her content.

Whether you’re a fan of The Sims or just looking for a fun, energetic and entertaining content creator, Chani’s channel is the perfect place for you.

So, what are you waiting for? Come join Chani as she shares her love for the game with you, and let her quirkiness and humour take you on a journey you won’t forget. Get ready to be entertained, educated and most importantly, learn more about this bubbly and entertaining content creator.

Who is Chani and why do we need to know her? “I’m actually “Chantelle“, but only my parents call me by that name when I’m in trouble for something. I’ve gone by “Chani” for so long as my Gamertag turned content creator handle and brand that “Chantelle” sends a jolt through my brain these days. Jokes aside I am a South African-based gaming content creator with a passion for The Sims (Sims 4 if we’re being specific). I am also a cat mom of 4, a YouTuber, TikTokker and have a history in esports hosting/commentary (yes I’m that Call of Duty girl from a few years back). As for needing to know me? The content you watch on the internet is your business, but if you like sims, chaos and a bubbly, highly energetic and chatty creator, my content might be right up your alley.”

You are known for your love of the Sims. What is it about the Sims that drew you to play it online? “I’ve loved the Sims franchise ever since the original Sims was released in 2000, and every year Sims expansion packs were the standard gift list item on any birthday or Christmas wishlist. As for creating content online around it, that was sparked in 2017 when the console version of The Sims 4 was finally released for Xbox and PlayStation. I had early access to the game on Xbox and filmed my first Sims-related video for my youtube channel and didn’t realize it would change the trajectory of my channel forever. Before Sims came to console I had no real interest in making purely gaming-focused content, and once I started making Sims content, I was hooked. Streaming The Sims 4 came much later in 2020 after a long run of keeping my YouTube help/tips/tricks Sims 4 content separate from my then blossoming Call of Duty Esports Commentator career on my Twitch streams. Once I ditched esports I realised I could stream Sims gameplay, and the rest is history.”

Of all the Sims games out there, which one is your all-time favourite? “I often come across the conversation online that simmers “get bored” with the family they’re playing, or the story their sims are playing out is dry and repetitive. I can honestly say I’ve never had this issue across the literal lifetime I have spent playing the various Sims games. Perhaps because I like to micromanage and make my sims the best sims they can be, but I’ve always found that a rotational save keeps me from losing my marbles. What that means essentially is rotating out to the various sim families in the neighbourhood or in the world your sims live in, so everyone has something different going on, and once you feel you’ve had enough of Don Lothario and his many interesting love lives choices, you can rotate back to something more family focused with another family, or live out your best criminal mastermind character arch. That’s the beauty of the sims, the options are limitless.

I will mention that while my YouTube channel focuses on Sims help/tips/tricks content and many “how to’s” for general gameplay aspects, my Twitch streams are where the real chaos is stored. There is a challenge in the sims community known as The Baby Challenge – the idea of having 100 sim babies (and raising them to be Young Adults) in as few generations as possible. Not to sound full of it, but having just 100 children was not enough for me, and my Epic Baby Challenge was born. Currently, in The Sims 4 I am trying to have as many Sim babies with 1 mother in 1 lifetime as possible. At the time of writing, my Epic Baby challenge has been running for 2 IRL years (only ever being played on stream), and my main character, Lacie Harrison, has had 322 babies and counting. She’s still a Young Adult, with her entire Adulthood still ahead of her whenever she eventually ages (pregnant sims don’t age). The goal is to get to 500+ before she ages into an elder and is no longer able to have children. While one can never know for certain, I believe I currently have the record within the community for sim children born to 1 mother/child bearer. (Previous best was 314 babies with 1 mother set by PlayWithMae)”

We know you’re busy, but what’s your secret to balancing streaming, gaming, and being a social media influencer? “When I figure it out I’ll let you know! Jokes aside between an IRL job from 9-5, streaming, content creation for other platforms, delivering content to brands for various campaigns and finding time for self-care and regular “off camera” gaming, there aren’t many hours left in a day to sit around waiting for things to happen. I’ve been “go go go” my entire life, having a very busy extracurricular activity schedule all through my schooling. I was always balancing school, homework, a variety of dance classes, dance concert rehearsals, choir rehearsals, and piano lessons and still finding free time for gaming. I believe that sort of upbringing trained my brain to be able to have a lot on my plate at once and still get things done (with the occasional “OMG too much happening stop the world I want to get off” moment). The real trick is knowing when it’s too much, and when it is time to take a break and breathe for a minute. I believe it has taken me a long while to find that balance, but while I adore being busy, the hustle/grind culture does often lead to burnout, something I cannot recommend in the slightest.

TLDR: I’ve always been busy and keep a stupid amount of diaries/whiteboards/sticky notes and planners around making sure nothing slips through the cracks. BUT also allowing myself time off to be lazy on the couch to binge the latest shows. Self-care is JUST as important as ticking things off of your to-do list.

I’m old school, I write everything down. (There’s a digital copy backed up as well though since we don’t want to be losing our planners and then not know which way is up or down).”

You recently took over rAge expo’s social media, how was that experience for you? We loved seeing your walkabout! “Not to sound like a total fan girl, but I adore getting to work with rAge on content. rAge Expo 2022 was the first time I had done any form of live stream content for their platforms, getting to walk around the expo showing off all the cool things happening at the expo. I especially loved taking a walk through the artist alley to show off the incredible exhibitors there, live on stream, for everyone to hear my nerdy reactions to really incredible pieces of art. In the past, I’ve done IG Story takeovers, and Twitter takeovers which while still a TON of fun (being as I am a huge rAge fan girl), Those types of “static” content pieces aren’t quite the same as the live element I experimented with in 2022. I will always support the team behind rAge Expo, and cannot wait to see what they have planned for 2023!”

Expansion packs, yay or nay? Which one is your favourite? “Yay content, nay RIP wallet. As of the time of writing, The Sims 4 has 59 pieces of paid DLC content. These are split into expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs and kits. Expansions are your big bulky content pieces, game packs add some gameplay/build/buy/CAS etc but are significantly smaller than EPs. Stuff packs, like the name suggests, adds “stuff”. Smaller than EPs and FGPs, but a big enough collection of gameplay, items, CAS etc to be grouped together into a SP (although they haven’t released one of these in 2 years if I remember correctly). Then the newest kid on the block, Kits, are bite-sized DLC bits that add a handful of items, usually around a specific theme. Kits are often gameplay, build mode, buy mode or CAS-focused.

If you’re JUST joining The Sims 4, buying all the DLC is a costly exercise, and is very daunting. (Especially since the base game has gone free-to-play since last year) Since packs can be bundled into an EP/GP/SP, my go-to “must haves” for The Sims 4 are Seasons (EP), Parenthood (GP) and Tiny Living (SP). They add a lot to the core gameplay, which is why in my opinion they are great if you’re just starting out. But if you’re looking for 1 pack and 1 pack only from me as my favourite? Vampires. Hands down.”

Can you share any tips for new players on how to improve their gameplay? “My YouTube channel is FULL of gameplay tips and tricks for beginners just starting out, from controls to cheats, building hacks to best ways to improve gameplay on console. But as a free one for those who don’t want to click off the site and dive into the world of Chani_ZA Sims content, gardening is a fantastic way to make money quickly in the early game while you’re still struggling to pay the bills. Also if you’re playing on a console, plug a mouse and keyboard into your console. Trust me. It’ll change your life!”

What’s your favourite build or design you’ve created in a Sims game? “Every time I finish a build I claim it to be my favourite, but I think the collaboration I did with rAge Expo for their Digital Edition in 2020 is up there as one of my favourite builds to date. Since IRL events were banned, I recreated a “rAge-type-building” in The Sims 4, complete with nerdy displays and a LAN area. With the City Living expansion pack, there is an in-game event called GeekCon which allows sims to play in gaming tournaments, take pictures with cosplayers and enter in a hackathon. The build I created was an extension of that event, and my sims loved it.”

Have you ever used real-life experiences in your Sims gameplay? Spill the tea! “I’m at the point where I’ve done so many weird and whacky things in the sims, if I admitted these were drawn from IRL inspiration my chat would be deeply concerned about my personal life! I use Sims as an escape and play up the drama, chaos, and plain silliness that comes with the sims rather than drawing from real life. Do I wish I could have a CowPlant in real life? Yes, I do. Would I use it to feed people too? No, that would be illegal. But in the sims? No problem!”

What are some of your favourite mods and custom content you use in your Sims games? “Having an older brother really helped guide me with UGC from as early on as The Sims 1 back in 2000. So I’ve used mods and CC throughout my sims career. Once The Sims 4 was released on console in 2017, that stopped seeing as mods and custom content are not supported by the console versions of the game. I now currently play split across both platforms to ensure my console audience still has someone catering to them, making console-focused content because not everything works the same on console as it does on PC. Because of my YouTube started off as a console-focused sims channel, I try to keep the mods in my PC version of the game to a very minimum to not alienate that side of my audience. While I try to keep my PC game as vanilla as possible, there are some very small behind-the-scenes mods I have running for quality-of-life improvements (especially for on-stream). Most of these are by an epic modder in the community, TwistedMexi. No Texting and Walking, Neighbourhood story viewer, and the AllCheats Mod are just a few lowkey mods I have in the background.”

How do you keep motivated and inspired to keep streaming and creating content? “I am beyond fortunate to love what I do. I have a background in design and social media (hi mom and dad, yes I still use my BA in Graphic Design I promise), I have always been creative, and content creation/streaming is an extension of that. I get to be creative around a game I adore, and help a community enjoy their sims games to the fullest with my helpful content. It’s good to surround yourself with people who inspire you, and are there to be in your hype corner when you need them to be, and you can be there for them when they need it!”

What’s your go-to strategy when you encounter a difficult challenge in a Sims game? “Make it more difficult! That’s exactly what I did with the traditional baby challenge – a challenge mostly hated by the general simming community for how difficult it can be, and how much sim children make you want to pull your hair out. Not me though, I adore the baby challenge and will continue to have babies with Lacie as long as she’ll allow me to. Throw in additional rules to the challenge to make it more difficult for myself, and push myself to be the best, I should probably speak to someone about my need to prove myself as a sim baby challenger, but it is definitely entertaining for those who catch the streams and consume the content! Micromanaging also helps. No red sim needs EVER!”

Any funny or embarrassing moments from your Sims gameplay you’d like to share? “I am horrible at numbers, so whenever I need to do any numbers or maths-related things online, I usually feel a little silly for a bit, but then shrug it off by saying, welp I’ve had over 300 babies, I’ve earned a bit of slack. There was an iconic moment from The Sims 3 that happened on stream that I believe is the craziest thing I’ve ever had happen to me in my entire sims career. There’s a full youtube video covering the antics but TLDR my sims husband’s ex-wife had his child, and when we went to visit the newborn baby, the ex-wife had taken the baby to the graveyard and placed it on one of the graves like a scene from Game of Thrones as a sacrifice to the White Walkers. Pretty intense stuff and it was all the game AI, nothing from my end!”

What do you like to do outside of playing Sims and being a social media influencer? “I really love consuming content. Mostly series or YouTube content by creators I enjoy. I’m also a cat mom of 4, and they tend to keep me busy when I’m not filming content or streaming (my twitch chat knows the type of chaos my cats get up to while I’m trying to stream!). I have just finished Season 2 of Ginny and Georgia on Netflix, and have plans for another Wednesday rewatch now that Season 2 has been confirmed.”

What’s the most ambitious project you’ve undertaken in your own personal life? “Leaving my design agency to become a freelance designer and social media consultant so I could pursue content creation more seriously. I freelanced for 6 years and have only just gone back to an office job, which I would never have had the opportunity for if I wasn’t a content creator.”

Do you have any favourite Sims online communities you visit? “I have managed to follow a bunch of really fantastic simmers on Twitch/Twitter and TikTok, who all have such talent in their various fields. Either building or CAS or gameplay like me. I’m fortunate enough to be able to call some of them my friends, despite living on opposite ends of the world”

What are your plans for the future in terms of Sims online gameplay and also being an epic social media influencer? “Continue to make the content that I enjoy and what makes me happy. There are some relatively big updates coming up for The Sims 4, including the addition of infants as a life stage, and a brand new expansion pack we’re all chomping at the bit for to learn more about. Overall I want to continue to be happy, make the content I enjoy, and enjoy my time as a creator with the community I’ve built since they make making the content so much more fun and meaningful! Eventually, we’ll get more news about Project Rene (the next iteration of the sims that is years and years away), but until then, you can find me having babies in my epic baby challenge.”

Any advice for someone who is just starting out, and still finding their feet? Being a streamer or simply just putting yourself out there can be quite daunting for some. “An old piece of advice I give out a lot, but a super valuable piece. Just Start. You can keep putting streaming / youtube off waiting for a better camera, a better mic, a better set-up, but you won’t know until you start. The tech and the skill can follow once you’ve started. But there won’t be anything for you to improve on if there is no content being made in the first place. Starting can be daunting, but once you do, you just need to show up for the next one, and the next one, and you will continue to learn as you go. My YouTube channel turns 8 years old this year and I am STILL learning, all because I decided to JUST START in 2015.”

Lastly, How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

“**clap clap** Those who get it, get it.”