The Sims Caitlin Connor
SIMS 4 Gameplay
Genre • The Sims is a single player, social simulation game, this means that the game is focused on and explores the social interactions and relationships between multiple artificial lives. • There are no defined goals to complete and the course of the game is entirely dependent on the player’s choice of career, aspirations, wants and fears for their character/Sim. This places The Sims in the open-ended game category. • The inner structure of the game is actually an agent based artificial life program. • The presentation of the game's artificial intelligence is advanced, and the Sims will respond to outside conditions by themselves, although often the player/controller's intervention is necessary to keep them on the right track
Narrative • There is no interfering narrative present in The Sims, or any following versions of the game. This ensures the game continues and upkeeps the sandbox and ‘real - life’ simulation genre throughout. • However, if a Sim has a job, a scenario will appear occasionally as they progress through their career. The player must find a solution for the given situation in order to receive some kind of reward. If the correct solution is not chosen by the player, the Sim may be demoted or lose skill points. This highlights the independent game play, as well as the ‘real - life’ decision making.
Narrative • The Sims has a custom made family that is present and updates with every version of the game. Their background information and experiences remain the same, yet if a player chooses to play that particular family, they decide the outcome of the family through game play. • Each town/city/neighbourhood has a slight background story and a small number of families/Sims that live in there when the game starts. This alters with different varieties of the game. This is the only type of narrative- to give the player a starting point. The rest is entirely open-ended.
Representation • Characters can be created by the player in The Sims. This makes them entirely unique. • In The Sims and The Sims 2 the skin colour and weight were very basic concepts. There are only 4 skin colour options and two weight options. The same with hair colour and eye colour- only 4 options were available. • However, as the games became more detailed and advanced, the creators of The Sims introduced more in depth characteristics. • Sims can have a variety of skin colours, heights, weights, hair colour, eye colour, clothes. • I feel due to the wide range of ethnicities and appearances, as well as the vast range of characteristics to choose from, The Sims represents gender, ethnicity and status in a fair and impartial way. • The Sims also represents sexuality objectively as The Sims can be in same sex relationships and have civil partnerships. • Sims can also adopt children if they wish to do so.
Industry • Developed by EA Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. • It is one of the most successful video games series of all time. As of September 2013, the franchise has sold more than 175 million copies worldwide. • The series was created by Maxis, before the series being moved to The Sims Studio between 2006 and 2008. • The Sims Studio then reintegrated into the new EA Maxis label in 2012.
Target Audience • The age certificate is T for teen. This limits the target audience to that of people aged 13 and above. However, many parents will allow children to play The Sims at a younger age as there is no graphic violence, sex scenes or mature situations. • The Sims blurs out any nudity which also makes it suitable for people of a younger age. • However, I personally think the Target Audience is aged 11 and above as the gameplay is quite complex. The game involves maintaining relationships with other Sims and meeting their needs to stop them from ‘expiring’.
Debates and Responses • Different countries have different views on The Sims. • For example, Russia has banned the game as players can create same sex relationships between their Sims. • Australia has a high age certificate due to the Sims engaging in ‘ woohoo ’ and they can get pregnant, etc. • The Sims 3 actually received some criticism due to the game only working effectively on Windows 8. This meant Sims fans struggled to load and play on the game with ease
Facts and Figures • The Sims is a critically acclaimed game that has received much praise through the years. • As of September 2013, the franchise has sold more than 175 million copies worldwide. • The success of The Sims resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series five world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. • These records include "World's Biggest-Selling Simulation Series" and "Best Selling PC Game of All Time" for the original The Sims game, which sold 16 million units, 100 times EA's original projection of 160,000 units.
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