Gig

A gig is an event where sims perform one or more set tasks. This feature exists in The Sims 3: Late Night and The Sims 3: Showtime though they work differently. This feature returns in The Sims 4 with the Freelancer career, The Sims 4: Get Famous specifically for the Actor career, and The Sims 4: Moschino Stuff with the fashion photography branch of the Freelancer career.

The Sims 3: Late Night
In The Sims 3: Late Night, a "gig" is an unofficial term that refers to band skill opportunities. Sims receive these skill opportunities when they form a band. When Sims receive this opportunity, they will be assigned to perform at a bar or lounge for 2 hours at certain hours. It is possible that the gig hours conflict with Sim's work hour if they have a job.

During the day of the gig, the band member can click on the gig venue. Once they arrive there, they can invite other band members from phone to gather up there. When all the band members have arrived, Sims can perform gig on the available band instrument. Sims can perform jazz and rock in addition to blues and jam when they perform a gig. During performance, Sims can perform "Do Sweet Move" interaction if their skill level is higher than 5 with the corresponding instrument. After performing for 2 hours, Sims can report back to the mixologist to receive their payment. Sims will get higher payment if the band members are members of the household or if they have The Next Big Thing lifetime reward.

Many players consider that receiving a gig is a rare occurrence. This is true because band opportunity is a skill opportunity, which means the chance to receive a gig is reduced if the Sim develops many other skills. Some band opportunities are also unique once the Sim has performed a certain amount of gigs, which means that it's impossible to receive some bar gigs when they're already too experienced. Lastly, a bug in The Sims 3: Into the Future causes Sims to receive skill opportunities much more rarely.

In order to receive gigs outside Bridgeport, a lot needs to fulfill some requirements before the opportunity is available. Only bars and lounges are eligible for the opportunity. The lot also requires 4 of any band instruments and a mixologist. There's a mod from Mod The Sims that allows the players to audition for gig outside of bars and lounges, as long as the lot still has 4 band instruments and a role Sim.

If a pianist is playing at a lounge, Sims may not be able to perform there and complete the opportunity.

Tips

 * It is good if all members in a band are self-employed as band, which helps increase their career performance once their gig is finished.
 * It is also good that if there are more band members in a household, as they will have more chance of getting phone calls to get more gigs and earn more money per gig.
 * Completing Gig Master challenge does not have any effect despite its description saying it boosts earnings from performing a gig. Having The Next Big Thing lifetime reward does, however.

The Sims 3: Showtime
There is more content in Showtime, focusing on the careers in it.

After a Sim joins any of the three careers, which are Acrobat, Magician and Singer, they can start auditioning for gigs at local venues, bistros, coffeehouses and parks to gain experience. If they have more experience, they will have a better chance of landing more gigs.

They audition their acts to Proprietors in different venues. Proprietors are marked with an orange icon in Map View. They can choose any proprietor to audition for. Some proprietors are only available certain times, but they can visit the venue of the proprietor by clicking the venue and selecting the interaction "Summon Proprietor".

Once the Sim has auditioned to the proprietor, they will be informed on whether or not they have a chance to perform the gig. They are likely to get small-time gigs immediately, but some proprietors will think that "they don't have what it takes for the location", thus they will not get the gig from them.

As they progress in their Showtime career and start to get noticed by the proprietors, they may receive a proposed or a steady gig. Steady gigs will allow them to perform at a specific venue on a steady basis while proposed gigs are offered to them when they are being noticed. Usually, proposed gigs can turn into steady gigs. Proposed gigs are normally offered to Sims in a Showtime career at level 4 and higher.

Showtime career Sims get a Gig Schedule. It is located on the Career tab in their UI. The schedule shows all the gigs they are to perform. Steady gigs are checked on while others are checked off. Gig schedules are categorised in Location, Day, Start time, End time and Steady gigs.

Showtime career Sims can have many gigs as long as they do not interfere with the timing and day of other already accepted gigs. Gigs can be canceled anytime by clicking the gig venue and selecting the interaction "Cancel (Steady) Gig".

Tips

 * It is good for Showtime career Sims to practice their acts with the available interactions before they audition to gain experience and one day see whether they will get accepted by the proprietors.
 * Practice before going to a gig.

The Sims 4
In Patch 79, the Freelancer career was added to the game, the career consists of taking gigs and short jobs dependant on the branch of trade the Sim decided to work in. As freelancers complete more works and get a high performance they can take on more advanced gigs. With The Sims 4: Get Famous, they can also gain fame through this.

Sims can work in one of the three trades: This branch consists of gigs for creating new games, fixing computers, adding security to online accounts. This branch consists of gigs for creating new artwork for media companies, artwork for video games, portraits, and movie posters. This branch consists of gigs for writing sections for magazines, making slogans for companies, writing stories, and online articles.
 * Computer Experts (Freelance Programmer)
 * Electrified Artists (Freelance Artist)
 * Fighting Words (Freelance Writer)

Tips

 * Keeping the performance level high can get your Sim a higher ranking so they can take on more complex gigs.

The Sims 4: Get Famous
Gigs return in the form of filming productions at the Plumbob Pictures in Del Sol Valley. Actors can audition and attend for acting performances in the studio. There are a great variety of acting gigs an actor Sim can perform in to gain fame for more roles. Actors start out by auditioning from their phone, for commercial gigs.

As actors progress through the career, they can audition for more gigs for TV Shows and eventually movies. All acting gigs require a specific level requirement to use in the performance. Players can check their prep tasks and time of audition and the gig in their career panel. They can also invite over their director & co-stars to socialise before filming.

At any time before the performance, actors can select to cancel their gig from their career panel.

Tips

 * Achieve minimum requirements from prep tasks.
 * Becoming a B-Lister celebrity allows Sims to purchase the "Established Name" perk which allows for them to skip auditions and get more time to practice prep tasks/skills.
 * Performing "Risky" acts while performing can greatly improve performance and grant more of a chance to gain a promotion or get a gold medal. Failing, however, drops their performance and lowers their career performance.

The Sims 4: Moschino Stuff
Moschino Stuff adds an agency to the freelancer career called "Tomorrow's Style", for the freelance fashion photographer trade. Gigs consist of taking photos of a Sim usually with a particular outfit on or in certain poses.

Tips

 * Using a tripod prevents photos from getting distorted when Sims have a low photography skill.
 * Using subject markers is advised in positioning models in precise spots.
 * Both markers and tripods can be placed anywhere in the world to get a variety of background shots.
 * If there are no suitable models present, one can be hired for §100.