| Unless you’ve
been hiding under a rock for the last
few years you’ll have already heard of
‘The Sims’ and all its many variants and
additions. The Sims Phenomenon has been
one of the most intense and possibly unexpected
gaming experiences since the advent of
PCs. Imagine trying to sell the idea of
basing a game around eating, drinking,
chatting and building to some high powered
executive peering at you over a desk when
they’re used to being approached by designers
making sports games or racing games. This
was the hurdle facing Will Wright when
he created The Sims and thank god that
the EA executive took the risk of supporting
it.
The Sims in their first incarnation was a PC game which although backed up with fairly substantial advertising, appeared
to simply burst onto the scene and very quickly find its way to the top of the PC gaming charts. There was a real buzz
surrounding this new game where you could completely quench any burning desire to become an almost God like dictator controlling
individuals lives. The Sims fast became the most popular game in this genre even though there were previous games with similar
ideas but what made The Sims so popular seems to be the fact people can relate to the situations in it more easily than they could
managing a city, killing a dragon and so on.
People started to flood the web with sites dedicated to The Sims, but these were no ordinary websites, these sites were places
where you can share the love you feel for your sims by showing off their houses, their relationships, make new items for them and
so much more. People were becoming obsessed with it and The Sims became a hobby rather than just a game. There was an almost infinite
number of playing hours available to you on the Sims because when you were bored with one family you could simply wipe them out and
start all over again. I often found myself sitting for hours on end addicted to watching my little Sims chat away in a language which
sounds like a cross between swedish and gibberish. I would plan ahead who I wanted to socialise each Sim with, how I would pursue my
goal of obtaining better items for my beautifully crafted home and how I would build my neighbourhood.
The many websites dedicated to the Sims added to the community feel of the game because when you went to any of these sites you knew
that you were not the only individual completely in love with the game. This participatory culture meant that the game extended beyond
the PC screen and entered into individuals creative minds by encouraging them to develop their own accessories for their Sim characters.
It was only a matter of time before the game needed to provide those loyal fans with some extra additions and EA did this regularly with
their expansion packs. To date there are 7 expansion packs for the game available (Livin Large, House Party, Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed,
Superstar, Makin Magic) and all have proven to be top sellers for EA showing that The Sims continue to be popular for PC users everywhere.
|
 I
can still remember the excitement of finding
out there was going to a an expansion
pack for The Sims. For months I had downloaded
things from websites (and this was before
we had a broadband connection!) and I
had endured the stress of trying to download
items and add them into the correct directory
on my PC only to find that there’s a corrupted
sim skin and the whole damn game crashes!
Arrrgh. It was definitely a great relief
to find out that EA were releasing their
own expansions and I eagerly waited on
each of them arriving in stores and purchased
them on the day of release. The sheer
excitement that starting up a new area
in your game could bring was unbelievable.
This game was definitely my favourite
ever PC game and my two children agree.
They were equally as addicted as I was
and its one of the few times (pre broadband
and internet chatting on MSN) that I recall
arguing with them over whose turn it was
on the PC. In my household we actually
had to allocate time slots so we could
all have our go on The Sims.
The Sims craze has continued to steadily grow since its original PC release. In addition to the fantastic expansion packs which keep
the game fresh and entertaining, The Sims has taken the leap from PC game to console game since it is now also avaliable on PS2, Xbox,
Gamecube and GBA. The introduction of a different style of gameplay for the console versions has made the Sims able to complete with
goal oriented console games and continues to be popular in this area. The recent release of The Sims Bustin Out has shown that there’s
plenty of life left in the Sims franchise yet and people clearly still want to play these games. Others have come along and tried to
emulate the design of The Sims but none seemed to have grasped the imagination of the player quite like The Sims has. Games like Black
and White, Ghost Master and other inferior imitations like Space Colony, all aimed to replicate the success of The Sims and although
they all had their own interesting areas, none quite matched the draw of The Sims. It seems that with the introduction of The Sims Online,
the game that was once branded by Christians as evil and antisocial has increased its community feel by allowing people to play the game
with others in different locations.
The upcoming release of The Sims 2 (due out late summer 2004) is sure to propel the genre back to the number one spot again and I for
one cannot wait to rush to the stores to buy it. The good thing about the Sims games is that you’re in control. If you want to have
polygamy, gay relationships, hermits, neat freaks or anything else in it then that’s your business. EA have given you the power to do
so and as the game matures and develops the possibilities increase and the gameplay continues to become even more absorbing. The Sims
phenomenon may well be a product of our culture at present where we all enjoy having a little more control in a society increasingly
taking that away from us, perhaps that’s why the addition of Gay Marriages to The Sims 2 is so amusing. The guys at EA did it long
before San Francisco… perhaps once more those who deemed The Sims evil will be raising their voices in outcry. I don’t care. I want
my Sims and I want them now.
|
