Tragic Clown

The Tragic Clown (also known as Sunny the Tragic Clown) was first introduced in The Sims: Livin' Large as one of the newly featured NPCs (the others being the Grim Reaper, Genie, Servo and Santa Claus). He is also a pre-created, yet deceased, Sim featured in The Sims 3 who resided during his lifetime in the Sunset Valley neighborhood that ships with The Sims 3. This may be because his name is "Sunny," so a place where the sun sets would be an ideal resting place.

Life leading up to The Sims
In The Sims, the Tragic Clown visits depressed Sims who own the "Tragic Clown" painting in order to cheer them up. However, it doesn't help because the Tragic Clown is also feeling miserable. For that reason, any tricks he attempts to do will fail, meaning he will probably make already depressed Sims even more depressed (e.g.: When he juggles, he hits himself with his bowling pins). He usually wanders around the house, crying and coughing. Although Sims can interact with him, the only interaction that makes them happier is insulting him. There are four ways to get rid of him:


 * Catching the painting on fire.
 * Selling the painting.
 * Calling the clown catchers to take him away (available on the phone when he visits your Sim).
 * Cheering the Sim up.

The Tragic Clown can also appear in Magic Town, with Makin' Magic; Downtown, with Hot Date; and on a Vacation Island lot, with Vacation. Generally, the only way to make him leave is to cheer up the Sim that is in a bad mood, but Vacation Director Kana will eventually shoo him from a Vacation Island lot. While in Magic Town, the Tragic Clown will ride on roller coasters and talk to the janitor.

In Downtown, the Tragic Clown will appear if there is a Burger Clown Sign on the lot. 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 2
The Tragic Clown doesn't make an appearance in The Sims 2, but he is replaced with similar character: the Social Bunny, who has a similar objective. The Social Bunny visits Sims who have a low social need. Unlike the Tragic Clown, the Social Bunny is always successful in his mission, and just having him around raises the social need. The Social Bunny leaves when the social bar reaches the halfway point.

However, when looking closely at the milk carton used when preparing Macaroni and Cheese, there is a picture of the Tragic Clown on one side, suggesting that he is missing.

Life leading up to The Sims 3
Although The Sims 3 is a prequel to 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, or developing this trait after his death, which is not possible in normal gameplay. It is possible that the Tragic Clown is a blue ghost because it matches the fact that he was depressed during his lifetime, since blue is a colour typically associated with sadness, and "being blue" is an expression meaning "being sad". This, however, could be a simple coincidence.

Another notable feature is his status as a ghost, as The Sims 3 is prequel to 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, or that he is a Ghost without a ghostly appearance, similiar to Emily Elmory from The Sims 2 PSP.

Appearance
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.

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

Clothing
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 appear normal. With the World Adventures patch, his eyes will not be shown, and all or most of his hair will be ghostly white.

Appearances in other games
The Tragic Clown made an appearance as a downloadable golfer, along with other familiar characters including Bella Goth and Mortimer Goth in SimGolf.

Trivia & Easter eggs

 * Clown Catchers: Maxis included a downloadable service called the "Clown Catchers," which, when rung up, would come around and remove the Tragic Clown from the house. After they catch him, they also take the "Tragic Clown painting" to ensure he does not come back.
 * Tragic Clownfish: There is a funny-looking fish called "Tragic Clownfish" in The Sims 3. Catching it is a main objective of one of the fishing opportunities.Tragicclownfish.png
 * Milk: A photo of the Tragic Clown can be seen on the milk cartons in The Sims 3, possibly indicating that he is missing. He seems to have replaced the picture of Bella Goth in The Sims 2.
 * Ironic Clown by Angelo In the Sims 3 store, in the set Dawn of Sims, there is an item called Ironic Clown by Angelo, which appears to be a picture of the Tragic Clown.
 * Grocery Basket His face as it appears in The Sims can be seen on a box in the basket of groceries in The Sims 2.
 * Announcement Trailer: In the announcement trailer for The Sims 3 Pets, a sim that looks like Tragic Clown is seen falling off a horse..
 * Continuity Error: For some reason, in his first appearance, he is an adult, but in his Sims 3 appearance, he is a ghost, despite the fact that Sims 3 is a prequel game.

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