My Dollhouse

I've been a fanatic Sims player for a while now. I switched off the game for a couple of months to pick-up Caesar3 (wayyyy after my sister finished it) and now find myself itching to start with the latest expansion packs (Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed). Was thinking about why this game is so addictive. When I first started playing the game, one of my friends noted that it was my tendency to tell people what to do that made me hooked.

Not that I disagree, but there's more to this game than wanting to play God. For younger players, it's like playing house - only better. You get to build one
that doesn't look like a cardboard box, and pretend to cook and clean without all the real clutter. There's the added bonus of other characters, something you won't have unless your neighborhood is full of like-minded kids, or you have a super active imagination.

For moi, the older player, it's like experimenting with relationships, responsibilities, wallpaper and decor, for free! It's a way to wreak havoc (one player has denied his family the basic necessities for a whole 12-hours and created a white trash family!), build castles, fall in love and generally break away from reality. But I guess it's the reality of the game that makes it so addictive.

The Sims symbolises what the Internet meant for us to be. Somebody else. Interacting through chatrooms anonymously is already the norm, and when the Sims went online, it made this anonymity more interesting. Our identity
takes on a whole new persona - we are no longer just ASCII characters,
we are now a full-bodied character who can better display our personality, interact in worlds that resemble real life.

If only I can play this at work! Dag dag!

Get Started with the Sims:
The Sims
The Sims Online
The Seven Deadly Sims
The Well-Dressed Sim

Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2002年12月30日 10:39