s1m0ne-d.
instead of spending my evening staring into the void, i thought of playing my not-so-newly-purchased game, the sims 3. after working for 4 hours decorating my house and visiting the community, i finally was able to pry myself away from my laptop and call it a night. goodness, my life is such a bore.
i remember the first life-simulation PC game that got me hooked. believe it or not, the sims is like Jones in the Fast Lane, only that the former is so much cooler. i am not certain if i played this game in DOS or Windows 3.1 (or was it 3.0?). geeez...i felt super old mentioning those.
anyway, Jones in the Fast Lane sort of works the same as the sims. you create a character (i think this is mainly choosing whether you want a male or female character, nothing complicated like choosing hair color or getting a tattoo), and you feed them, make them go to school, get a job, clothe them. it's like a fancier version of a tamagochi. it's funny that i remember this game well. i really wanted my character to be successful. and even up to this day, i always make sure that my sim will be an achiever. i played the sims 1, 2 and 3 including several expansion packs. but i never, not once, deliberately created a bad sim. bad in a sense, that my sim will end up sloppy or incompetent. i am always on track with my career, relationships and basic needs. I am obssessed with making sure that the mood meter never goes RED. i panic when that happens and i would immediately feel sorry for my sim.
the sims is the only game series i REALLY played with enthusiasm and much gusto (OK with the major exception of Plants vs Zombies, but thats different). When asked about it, i always answer with "because i like to manipulate people". but, to be honest, i have no idea why i love the game so much.
although of course, it has been said that the main reason this game is so popular is because it allows you to play god. it is rather appealing if you put it that way. but, if we are going to be philosophical about it, i might say that my sim is just a mere reflection of who i want to be in real life. or to be more accurate (and blunt), my sim is someone that i will NEVER EVER be in real life. cool, popular, nice bikini bod, big house, well-manicured lawns. the sims world is a controlled environment, you can be whoever you want to be.
OK i'm not being philosophical, i'm being obvious.
whats disturbing about it (other than the ones mentioned above) is that even in a make-believe world, i still play miss goody-two-shoes. i am friendly, and loyal and responsible. i pay my bills on time, i hire a gardener and a maid because i want everything clean and orderly. i never miss work and i don't get my sim killed in a kitchen fire. even in a world where mistakes can be made, fast-forward and pause buttons are available, and saved games allow you to start over, i never took advantage since i have no use for them.
it makes me wonder though if i should just relax a bit and let my sim make mistakes. leave it hungry, with no friends and no money. no job. no skills....and just watch what happens.
or i could let it lead an adventurous life. become a sloppy slacker or tweak the personality a bit, make it a kleptomaniac or a bad kisser (yes these are traits that can be added in sims 3) or make it generally "evil".
or maybe...
I JUST REALLY NEED TO GET OUT MORE.
i remember the first life-simulation PC game that got me hooked. believe it or not, the sims is like Jones in the Fast Lane, only that the former is so much cooler. i am not certain if i played this game in DOS or Windows 3.1 (or was it 3.0?). geeez...i felt super old mentioning those.
anyway, Jones in the Fast Lane sort of works the same as the sims. you create a character (i think this is mainly choosing whether you want a male or female character, nothing complicated like choosing hair color or getting a tattoo), and you feed them, make them go to school, get a job, clothe them. it's like a fancier version of a tamagochi. it's funny that i remember this game well. i really wanted my character to be successful. and even up to this day, i always make sure that my sim will be an achiever. i played the sims 1, 2 and 3 including several expansion packs. but i never, not once, deliberately created a bad sim. bad in a sense, that my sim will end up sloppy or incompetent. i am always on track with my career, relationships and basic needs. I am obssessed with making sure that the mood meter never goes RED. i panic when that happens and i would immediately feel sorry for my sim.
the sims is the only game series i REALLY played with enthusiasm and much gusto (OK with the major exception of Plants vs Zombies, but thats different). When asked about it, i always answer with "because i like to manipulate people". but, to be honest, i have no idea why i love the game so much.
although of course, it has been said that the main reason this game is so popular is because it allows you to play god. it is rather appealing if you put it that way. but, if we are going to be philosophical about it, i might say that my sim is just a mere reflection of who i want to be in real life. or to be more accurate (and blunt), my sim is someone that i will NEVER EVER be in real life. cool, popular, nice bikini bod, big house, well-manicured lawns. the sims world is a controlled environment, you can be whoever you want to be.
OK i'm not being philosophical, i'm being obvious.
whats disturbing about it (other than the ones mentioned above) is that even in a make-believe world, i still play miss goody-two-shoes. i am friendly, and loyal and responsible. i pay my bills on time, i hire a gardener and a maid because i want everything clean and orderly. i never miss work and i don't get my sim killed in a kitchen fire. even in a world where mistakes can be made, fast-forward and pause buttons are available, and saved games allow you to start over, i never took advantage since i have no use for them.
it makes me wonder though if i should just relax a bit and let my sim make mistakes. leave it hungry, with no friends and no money. no job. no skills....and just watch what happens.
or i could let it lead an adventurous life. become a sloppy slacker or tweak the personality a bit, make it a kleptomaniac or a bad kisser (yes these are traits that can be added in sims 3) or make it generally "evil".
or maybe...
I JUST REALLY NEED TO GET OUT MORE.
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