The Sims is a CD-ROM game that starts you off with a simulated neighborhood full of different characters. You add your own characters (you design their personalities - even Zodiac signs). You start with a small sum that you use to build and furnish a sparse house. You have to train them - even to clean up the dishes and take regular baths - and find them jobs. They make friends (or enemies, or love triangles) with the others in the neighborhood. As they work, play, etc., they build up characteristics, you can buy stuff, add rooms, etc. There are even expansion packs with nightclubs, etc., to add to the interpersonal interplay.
It's somewhat "euro" in design and morality, but it's still fun. My first guy died, his female partner got all depressed, and his ghost haunted the house. I had to restart.