Life state

A life state or a creature is a kind of Sim or Pet with special appearance and abilities, mostly inspired by legends or science fiction.

The Sims
Life states exist in The Sims and its expansions, though not all are well-defined. There are ghosts. While aliens are not seen, they are there, and may abduct Sims who use telescopes at night. In The Sims: Livin' Large, pleading with the Grim Reaper may result in him bringing a recently-deceased Sim back as a zombie. Also in Livin' Large, Sims using the chemistry set might make a purple potion that will temporarily turn a Sim into a monster.

In The Sims: Unleashed, Miss Lucille of Old Town sometimes ends up making a zombie when she tries to resurrect a dead Sim. Servo and the Genie were added in The Sims Livin' Large, and they look very similar to those that come with The Sims 2: Open for Business and The Sims 2: FreeTime, though Servos in The Sims are objects and not playable Sims.

In a sense, werewolves, vampires, PlantSims and Bigfoots are added in The Sims: Makin' Magic. When a Sim makes the Beauty or Beast charm and then uses it, he/she can assume the appearance of these creatures. Of course, players may choose to treat this as a temporary transformation or an illusion; the in-game effects are the same either way. The Sim who has been "charmed" is still a normal Sim, and gains no extra abilities or interactions. It could be said that witches and warlocks come with The Sims: Makin' Magic, but Sims who take up magic in Makin' Magic still look and act the same, and the terms "witch" and "warlock" are not used.

The Sims 2
Most expansion packs for The Sims 2 added an alternate state in which Sims can exist. Some added sentient creatures which Sims cannot become, but which can be playable Sims. These states have unique triggering techniques, advantages and disadvantages. These states are:
 * Normal Sim
 * Ghost (base game) (Not playable)
 * Alien (base game)
 * Zombie
 * Vampire
 * Werewolf
 * Servo
 * PlantSim
 * Bigfoot
 * Genie (Not playable)
 * Witch

Each life state offers new opportunities for the Sim, making certain aspects of play easier to handle and others harder.

The Sims 3
The Sims 3 and its expansion packs when Supernatural will be realesed, feature 12 life states. Occult Sims cannot be given makeovers by stylists. Official game text recognizes certain kinds of life state as "occult". Ghost is not considered an occult status according to the game files.
 * Non-occult
 * Normal Sim
 * Ghost (base game)


 * Occult
 * Mummy
 * SimBot
 * Vampire
 * Imaginary Friend
 * Unicorn
 * Genie
 * Werewolf
 * Witch \ Wizard
 * Fairy
 * Zombie

Trivia

 * Pack leader is considered as the life state for a dog, because of their unique appearance and ability to nibble Sims and turn them into werewolves. However, it is not possible to become a pack leader.
 * Spectral cat is considered as the life state for cat, because of their unique appearance and abilities. They will never age, have no gender, are unable to breed, are immune to the Tempus Interruptus spell, and do not have the bladder need.
 * Unicorn is considered as a life state for a horse, because of their unique appearance and ability to bless or curse a Sim.
 * The Sims 3: Pets is the first expansion pack in the series to feature a non-human occult life state.
 * The Sims 3: Supernatural is the first expansion pack in the series to feature more than one playable life state.
 * The Sims 3: Supernatural is also the first expansion pack that allows the player to choose a life state for their sim in Create-A-Sim.

Notes and references
