Tragic Clown

Sunny the Tragic Clown is a strange and mystical character first introduced in The Sims: Livin' Large as a potential NPC visitor, alongside the Grim Reaper, Genie, Servo and Santa Claus. The Tragic Clown will arrive to cheer up Sims who own a painting of him when they are depressed. Unfortunately, the clown's attempts to raise moods are unsuccessful, often having the opposite effect, and he is difficult to remove from the lot. The Tragic Clown is seemingly considered a menace to SimCity, as a service known as Clown Catchers exists who can be hired to forcibly remove him from the lot.

The Tragic Clown reappears in The Sims 3 as a deceased Sim buried in the Sunset Valley graveyard, and in The Sims 4 as part of patch 32.

Life leading up to The Sims
In The Sims: Livin' Large, the Tragic Clown visits depressed Sims who own the Tragic Clown painting in order to cheer them up. However, the Tragic Clown doesn't help because he is also feeling miserable. Any tricks he attempts to do will fail, meaning he will make already depressed Sims even more depressed (e.g. when he juggles, he hits himself with his bowling pins). The Tragic Clown usually wanders around the house, crying and coughing. Although Sims can interact with him, the only interaction that makes them happier is insulting him. If he is trapped in a room or by fences, the Tragic Clown will create a magical hole in the ground and jump in to emerge elsewhere on the lot. The Tragic Clown will only leave the lot under the following circumstances:
 * Set fire to the Tragic Clown painting. The Tragic Clown will also catch on fire and seemingly die.
 * Sell the Tragic Clown painting. This prevents him from returning unless another painting is purchased.
 * Hire the Clown Catchers to capture the Tragic Clown (service is available only when he is on the lot). They will also repossess the Tragic Clown painting to ensure he doesn't return.
 * When Sims in the household are in a good mood. If the Tragic Clown painting is then burned or sold, the Tragic Clown will create a magic hole and jump in to leave the lot.
 * Slapping the Tragic Clown repeatedly until he's happy.

The Tragic Clown also features in every subsequent expansion, excluding Unleashed. With House Party, the Tragic Clown will sometimes pop out of large cake instead of the entertainers. However, the audience will boo him and he will eventually flee the lot. With Hot Date, the Tragic Clown can also appear Downtown if the lot contains a Burger Clown sign. With Vacation, he will appear on a Vacation Island lot if the vacationing Sims have low moods. Vacation Director Kana will eventually shoo the Tragic Clown but he will leave earlier if moods are raised. With Superstar, the Tragic Clown may occasionally appear in Studio Town as one of the backup dancers in place of the usual performers when a famous Sim records a music video. With Makin' Magic the Tragic Clown can also occasionally appear on the autumnal lots in Magic Town. He will ride the roller coasters and talk to the clown janitor, Witty Washout.

There is a chance that the Tragic Clown will be selected if a Sim wishes for a new love interest from the Genie. However, he will be rejected immediately.

According to the Prima Official Strategy Guide: "The Tragic Clown used to have an unmentionably close affiliation with Burger Clown Partnerships Incorporated, but that relationship was ended abruptly. The Tragic Clown has never fully recovered..."

Life leading up to The Sims 3
Although Sunset Valley is a prequel to towns in The Sims, the Tragic Clown is already deceased and buried in the Pleasant Rest Graveyard. His tombstone (which can be found along the east side of the Pleasant Rest Graveyard) indicates that he drowned. For that reason, the color of his ghost is blue. His ghost can usually be spotted around the time when most other ghosts are already out. The fact that he drowned is very odd, as he has the Hydrophobic trait, and Sims with that trait don't typically die from drowning. This may imply an unusual cause of death, such as dying from crying, being drowned by others, or developing this trait after his death, which is not possible through normal gameplay.

The appearance of the Tragic Clown in The Sims 3 is quite different from his appearance in The Sims. He looks more realistic, friendly, and colorful. His clothing consists of a light green shirt with a gray waistcoat and colorful pants. He also wears a black and white hat. He still has his signature clown makeup, but without the white base. The color of his hair is no longer red, but blonde. His eyes are dark blue. Although it seems that he has short hair, he actually has long hair, which is revealed when he wears sleepwear, athletic and swimwear clothes.

The Tragic Clown's traits are Easily Impressed, Bookworm, Neat, Clumsy and Hydrophobic. Strangely, he doesn't have a favorite color, but he likes classical music and key lime pie. His lifetime wish is to become a "World-Renowned Surgeon." Judging by his traits, his personality is the exact opposite of a typical clown.

If Tragic Clown is resurrected with the Oh my Ghost! Opportunity, he will become a playable Ghost, and can have his clothing changed with a dresser; he will then appear on Create-A-Sim (only with the option to change clothing), while he is on this, he will be a normal Sim. With the World Adventures patch, his eyes will not be shown, and his hair will be a ghostly white.

Another notable feature is his status as a ghost, as Sunset Valley is a prequel to towns in The Sims. This may imply that he was already dead in the first game, which could explain his ability to come out of a painting. It is also possible that the Clown in Livin' Large is a relative (or son) of the original Tragic Clown in The Sims 3, or that he was resurrected with Ambrosia.

The "Dawn of Sims" set on The Sims 3 Store includes the Ironic Clown by Angelo, which appears to be a portrait of the Tragic Clown.

Life state
In Supernatural there's an elixir called the Origin of the Tragic Clown. Sims can throw this elixir at another, turning them into a temporary Tragic Clown for 2 days. They will have the appearance like the Tragic Clown, with clown face paint, top hat, and Tragic Clown's costume, but in variable design. Sims will get the "It's so Tragic" moodlet when they're around those with the elixir in effect. When using the LLAMA teleporter, there's also a chance to turn Sims into Tragic Clown for 2 days.

Life leading up to The Sims 4
The Tragic Clown reappears in The Sims 4 in the form of an eponymous painting, marking the 16th anniversary of the series. Sims who view the painting will receive the "Tragic Clown is Tragic" moodlet and become sad.



As of Patch 31, there is a chance that the Tragic Clown will appear randomly in the world. Additionally, viewing the Tragic Clown painting will result in the tragic clown being summoned to the current lot. The Tragic Clown cannot be asked to leave, but can be removed by selling the Tragic Clown painting.

Unlike in previous games, the Tragic Clown is not an independent character, but rather a special role that a Sim is generated to fill (similar to mixologists in nightclubs and gardeners community gardens). As such, they can be interacted with and added to the household like regular Sims. Adding them to the household will remove their official status as the Tragic Clown, but they will maintain their Tragic Clown properties as long as they continue wearing the Tragic Clown outfit.

The Tragic Clown outfit is special in that when worn, it effectively turns the sim wearing it into a Tragic Clown by granting them the permanent "Tears of a Clown" moodlet, which gives a +3 sadness boost. As a result, the default emotion for a Sim wearing this outfit is very sad. Any Sim who is near another Sim wearing this outfit will receive the "Such Tragedy" moodlet, making them sad as well. However, two Tragic Clown Sims who are near each other will both receive the "Misery Loves Company" moodlet, giving them a +1 happy boost. This demonstrates that with the right combination of environmental factors and moodlets, Tragic Clown Sims can potentially overcome their sadness and (at least temporarily) occupy other emotional states.

Tragic Clown Sims have a few special abilities, most notably the "Juggle" self-interaction and the "Tragically Try to Cheer Up" social interaction. Attempting to juggle will always cause the Tragic Clown to drop their juggling balls, worsening their mood and the mood of other Sims around them. Similarly, tragically trying to cheer up another Sim is the equivalent of a joke interaction that is guaranteed to fail. This will make the recipient of the interaction even more sad and cause a negative relationship boost between the Sim and the Tragic Clown performing the interaction.

Trivia

 * The Clown Catchers service was originally offered as an official download for Livin' Large, but is included with later expansions for The Sims.
 * The Tragic Clown doesn't make an appearance in The Sims 2, but is replaced with the Social Bunny, who visits Sims with a low Social motive. Unlike the Tragic Clown, the Social Bunny is always successful in its mission; its mere presence on the lot raises the Social need. Once the motive has been raised to 50%, the Social Bunny leaves.
 * The Tragic Clown was offered as a downloadable golfer in SimGolf (along with other familiar characters such as Bella Goth and Mortimer Goth).
 * His connection with Burger Clown may make him a spoof of McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald. Also, his desire to become a doctor, while also being a clown, may make him a spoof of Patch Adams.
 * A missing persons photo of the Tragic Clown can be seen on food boxes in The Sims 2, and milk cartons in the The Sims 3, highlighting his general absence from these games.
 * A fish called "Tragic Clownfish" can be caught in The Sims 3, resembling its namesake. Catching the Tragic Clownfish is an objective of a fishing opportunity.
 * In the The Sims 3 Store there is a painting of the Tragic Clown that can be downloaded for free. It's titled "Ironic Clown by Angelo" and the description reads: This piece by the progressive artist Angelo showcases his perspective on clowns. The painting may prove that Angelo has a phobia of people wearing heavy makeup.
 * In The Sims 3: Seasons, Sims can build a Tragic Clown snowman.
 * The Tragic Clown is seen in one of the sequences on the screen of the bowling alley in The Sims 4: Bowling Night Stuff.
 * It is possible that The Tragic Clown is based on Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the Stephen King novel It as both are creepy clowns, are unwanted menaces and share similar costumes.

References and notes
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