The Sims 2
Some years ago the most successful PC game in history was released. It was called The Sims after having been called "The Doll House" while in development.
Tomorrow my daughter and I will drive to Johnson City, TN to claim our pre-ordered copy of The Sims 2.
Two weeks ago, on her sixteenth birthday, I wrapped the software-sized box the pre-order came in and we presented it to her.
When she opened enough of the box to see the Sims 2 logo, she went insane. She cried and screamed for joy. Of course, the cruel (if unintentional) tease was that somehow I'd been able to get a pre-release full version of the game. When we explained that it was a pre-purchase, we settled down for the long, interminable wait.
Each player of this game might have their own reason for liking it so much.
Many years ago, when I gave a copy of it as a gift to the children of a really close friend, he asked why I'd choose such a thing. He was skeptical about the value of computer gaming; having his bright, extraverted children hunched over a mouse and monitor was not his idea of healthy recreation. "Why is this game so good?" he asked, long before its lasting popularity had been established.
I said, "Because it recognizes and rewards balance in life experience." You don't "win" the game by getting the most money, the most fame, or the most anything per se. Rather, as you maneuver your Sims through the game's stuff, they have to balance a number of attributes including health, intelligence, social popularity, and other stuff.
It seemed that that would educate our children to life balance.
Fast forward to tomorrow. The new game, by its promotional material, determines that each Sim 2 has a different aspiration, and the means and relative success of satisfying that aspiration is what makes the game successful.
A sim might aspire to wealth. If they become rich, they win.
A sim might aspire to raise children. If they have a healthy and succcessful home life, they win.
A married sim might have extramarital affairs. If they realize that they really should stay at home and patch up their shattered spousal trust, they win.
The Sims was successful because it reduced happiness and its attainment to comprehensible terms for our children. Our new generation might have derived greater aspirational clarity and focus from playing.
Then again, since little is treated regarding God or spirituality, an argument could be made that the game accelerated an ongoing drift toward secular humanism and self-service.
Simulation games are called "God games." One sim game development company is called "Gathering of Developers" or GOD. The amusement we get from them is because the player is empowered like a god. The player has God-like influence over events, formation of personality, and can manipulate the characters in ways not possible in real life. Moreover, it could be said that the game teaches us that God is, in fact, of human origin and construction. We are God. God really did not pre-exist our own individual or collective consciousness. We were created by our parents, can create little versions of ourselves, and can manipulate them and others around us for our own amusement. Then our machines break down, we sicken and die. Life's meaning is...
Well, I'll find out tomorrow.
Tomorrow my daughter and I will drive to Johnson City, TN to claim our pre-ordered copy of The Sims 2.
Two weeks ago, on her sixteenth birthday, I wrapped the software-sized box the pre-order came in and we presented it to her.
When she opened enough of the box to see the Sims 2 logo, she went insane. She cried and screamed for joy. Of course, the cruel (if unintentional) tease was that somehow I'd been able to get a pre-release full version of the game. When we explained that it was a pre-purchase, we settled down for the long, interminable wait.
Each player of this game might have their own reason for liking it so much.
Many years ago, when I gave a copy of it as a gift to the children of a really close friend, he asked why I'd choose such a thing. He was skeptical about the value of computer gaming; having his bright, extraverted children hunched over a mouse and monitor was not his idea of healthy recreation. "Why is this game so good?" he asked, long before its lasting popularity had been established.
I said, "Because it recognizes and rewards balance in life experience." You don't "win" the game by getting the most money, the most fame, or the most anything per se. Rather, as you maneuver your Sims through the game's stuff, they have to balance a number of attributes including health, intelligence, social popularity, and other stuff.
It seemed that that would educate our children to life balance.
Fast forward to tomorrow. The new game, by its promotional material, determines that each Sim 2 has a different aspiration, and the means and relative success of satisfying that aspiration is what makes the game successful.
A sim might aspire to wealth. If they become rich, they win.
A sim might aspire to raise children. If they have a healthy and succcessful home life, they win.
A married sim might have extramarital affairs. If they realize that they really should stay at home and patch up their shattered spousal trust, they win.
The Sims was successful because it reduced happiness and its attainment to comprehensible terms for our children. Our new generation might have derived greater aspirational clarity and focus from playing.
Then again, since little is treated regarding God or spirituality, an argument could be made that the game accelerated an ongoing drift toward secular humanism and self-service.
Simulation games are called "God games." One sim game development company is called "Gathering of Developers" or GOD. The amusement we get from them is because the player is empowered like a god. The player has God-like influence over events, formation of personality, and can manipulate the characters in ways not possible in real life. Moreover, it could be said that the game teaches us that God is, in fact, of human origin and construction. We are God. God really did not pre-exist our own individual or collective consciousness. We were created by our parents, can create little versions of ourselves, and can manipulate them and others around us for our own amusement. Then our machines break down, we sicken and die. Life's meaning is...
Well, I'll find out tomorrow.
posted by John Bernat @ 10:01 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home