The Sims is a lifelike simulation video game that has captured the imagination and hearts of adults and children since the game was first released in the early 2000’s. Since its first release in 2000, The Sims has expanded and produced three other successful base games. Prior to the release of The Sims 4, the Sims franchise had a revenue of 2.5 billion dollars. The Sims 3 sold over 4.8 million copies and was considered one of the bestselling PC games of 2009.[1]
How does The Sims work?
One of the many reasons the Sims franchise has such a huge fanbase is due to the unique gameplay and intricate characters and storylines a gamer can create. Due to amazing graphics in The Sims 4, players can customize and create their own characters to suit their personal preferences. Players can manipulate the Sims hair and clothing as well as cosmetic appearances such weight and butt and breast size.
The sky’s the limit when creating a Sim. There is the choice to create children, teens, young adults, adults, elderly and even dogs and cats! Many individuals love to create their own households in Sim form, while others prefer to recreate their favorite idols or celebrities. If creating a character sounds like too much hassle, the game already comes preloaded with playable households and back stories.
Career Paths
The customization for The Sims is not only applied to physical appearances, but personalities and career paths can be customized to create the ultimate Sim! For example, if you wish to become a criminal, having the mean trait and kleptomaniac trait will definitely come in handy when trying to move up in your chosen career path. Other interesting career choices are doctor, astronaut, freelance artist, scientist, and my favorite, a spy.
Architecture: This may sound strange, but some people have stated that their love for architecture stemmed from playing The Sims as kids. This is due to the amazing building you can create within The Sims franchise. In fact, there are YouTubers dedicated to just building and designing houses. Player have also stated an interest in interior design due to customizing their build in the game.
Game Changers: EA game changers are video gamers and twitch streamers who have gained a substantial following due to reviewing and playing the games. They gain first access to the game, provide live streams, and also give their honest reviews of the game. If they attract enough subscribers, they can earn real world cash.
Personality Traits
What is so appealing about this game is that you can have your Sim be and do almost whatever you want. Gamers are so fond of this game, because they can live out their dreams and be whoever they wish to be. For example, if an individual dreams of being rich, but they’re only a poor college student, creating a Sim with the bank account of Bill Gates allows them to live their dreams of being a billionaire vicariously through their Sim.
One of the most unique features of this franchise is the ability to interact with virtual characters and objects in the game. You can perform happy interactions like brightening someone’s day, getting to know them, or discussing certain interests. Or you can interact by being mean, funny, or flirty. In the flirty interaction, a Sim can confess their attraction, tell a dirty joke, and, after building up their romanc,e can even request to WooHoo(The Sims version of having sex).
Another game-changing feature is the autonomy that The Sims have. For example, if you sit back and watch the game for a few minutes or walk away from the computer, the Sim will start performing actions and interactions by themselves. If their food modlet is low, they will go make food; or if they feel the need to go swimming outside, then they will. A thing to remember with this game is to expect the unexpected, your Sim can die at any given moment whether it be from starvation, embarrassment, or too much woohooing.
Popular Challenges
For those who grow sick and tired of the same old gameplay, talented gamers have devised a few challenges to keep the game fresh and exciting.
100 Baby Challenge
This challenge has to be one of the funniest and most difficult challenges to date, and one I personally have not tried yet. The goal of the challenge is to have 100 babies and to raise them as a single parent. There are no cheats allowed, and the babies have to be birthed by a different father every time. Also, the mother may not have a job but other than selling paintings to earn cash.[2]
Breed Out the Weird
The point of this challenge is to create a Sim as grotesque as possible and find her a willing partner to make babies with in hopes of breeding out the weird child. The challenge is complete when the child is no longer “weird.”
Rags to Riches
The rags to riches challenge is exactly as it sound.s The point of this challenge is to go from absolutely nothing and end with over $50,000 Simoleons in game.
Killing The Sims
Killing the Sims isn’t as big of a challenge, but it is something most gamers seems to attempt at least once. One of the most popular ways this has been achieved is by either removing a ladder from a pool or locking the Sim in a small space without windows and lighting it on fire. On the other hand, some gamers can become overly attached to a Sim and can become extremely upset when the Sim dies.
The next time your young gamer is glued to their computer screen and playing a game that appears to be too bizarre for words, remember that they could be inspired to join a career path, experimenting with who they want to be, or building social skills.Thank you to CSUCI intern, Kassidy Simpson for providing parents with information they need to help parents understand the crave behind The Sims. If you learned something fun from this article, please “like” our GetKidsInternetSafe Facebook page so other parents can find us!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
“These games are a waste of time!” Does this parent-rant sound familiar? We are all hooked on our screen activities, but gaming has a particularly addictive quality. We already covered that there are many benefits. One big benefit that we haven’t covered yet is that gaming is a great launch for professional ventures that connect players to other people all over the world. Why is gaming so popular, and what can be accomplished or gained by playing them?
Why Kids Are Hooked
A common belief about video games make us mindless. Many studies have found links to aggression and gamers. However, these studies primarily tested a small subset of games with violent shooters. In contrast, studies from role-playing games have shown benefits for the player.
Specifically, gamers have been shown to demonstrate and build emotional skills like feeling guilt and shame when a character acts immorally.[1] Games also provide a fertile resource for building team play and social skills. For instance, in one study online gamers reported feelings of community and belonging while playing online. They claimed that the social relationships gained while playing provided them with social support and helped them develop a healthy social identity.[2]
Action games, which do include shooters, have also been shown to increase our ability to hold visual information[3], increase the ability to multi-task and manage attention[4], and calm and de-stress.[5]
Games are not simply a means of passing the time. The time spent playing is meaningful. Other exciting benefits include entertainment, identity exploration, and higher-order thinking and problem-solving. Gaming can even launch life-changing educational, entrepreneurial, networking, and earning opportunities!
What game do I want to play?
Each gamer is unique and expresses themselves through the genre or style of gameplay they choose. Each genre requires certain skills and characteristics for the player to succeed. There are five main genres in gaming: Action, Role-Playing, Simulation, Strategy, and Sports.
Action
The player is given challenges that can include climbing obstacles, solving puzzles, defeating enemies, or collecting certain key items.
The player must have fast hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes to succeed.
Popular games include Minecraft, Overwatch, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto.
Role-Playing
Based on the tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons
The player is tasked with completing missions to progress and strengthen their character(s).
Contains immersive worlds and engaging stories
Popular games include World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Pokémon.
Simulation
Utilizes the use of virtual worlds to simulate aspects of reality and fantasy for training purposes
There are no goals the player has to follow.
Popular Games include The Sims, Farming Simulator, Flight Simulator.
Strategy
Gives the player control of multiple characters
Players must use these characters to explore, engage in combat, and gather and utilize economic resources.
To succeed the player must use strategy and great tactics.
Popular Games include StarCraft, Civilization, Age of Empires.
Sports
Allows the player to take control and play as their favorite sports team or player
Some games in the genre try to recreate current sports as realistically as possible, while others create new sports with over-the-top effects and fast gameplay.
Popular Games include Madden, FIFA, Rocket League.
What do I want to do in the game?
Through gaming, children are provided with unique freedoms and communicative abilities. In most games, the first goal is to decide what mission to pursue. Completion of the mission rewards the gamer by furthering the story, giving the gamer new items, or providing the gamer with experience points used to increase the skill of their character.
When deciding how to approach the mission, the gamer is given multiple options. In single-player games, the gamer can choose the look of their character, which missions to pursue, and how they wish to approach each mission. The gamer must decide if they want to take on the mission alone, team up with a friend, or tackle missions online with millions of other players worldwide. Cooperative games offer an intimate, fun experience that can be shared with friends and family on a single TV or in private online sessions. They also have to decide about strategy. For example, they can:
charge straight in taking on all challenges at once,
take a stealthy approach,
scout the area and gather resources along the way, or
create a tactic all their own.
Game Streaming & eSports
Social media sites have become an integral part of a gamer’s identity. They give players the ability to choose their online friends, the style of their home page, and what is posted and commented on their profile. Kids can communicate through private sessions with friends and live streams to a worldwide audience.
Dozens of video streaming sites and their users have taken advantage of this gaming movement. On YouTube and TikTok, popular personalities showcase themselves playing video games to garner more views and make revenue from advertisers.
Twitch TV is a video game streaming site that allow users to live-stream themselves playing games to global online audiences. Streamers are paid through viewer subscriptions, donations, and sponsorships. Sponsorships are given to gamers for unique and appealing personalities and highly acclaimed skills. Many gamers who are sponsored for their skills are also part of a rapidly growing eSports league.
The eSports leagueinvolves teams and tournaments similar to those seen in other professional sports leagues. Funding for tournaments and players comes through sponsorships, endorsements, advertisements, and online donations. Gamers are paid well for winning. For instance, a popular game, Dota 2, had a prize pool of over twenty million in 2016. Each player of the winning team took home $1.8 million.[6]
eSports can also bring fame. The eSports league has become a huge phenomenon spanning the globe, rivaling and even surpassing long-standing professional sports. In 2014, a popular PC game, League of Legends had a tournament that garnered more viewers than game seven of the MLB finals and game seven of the NBA finals combined![7]
Universities have begun to pick up on the eSports trend as well. Robert Morris University recently launched the first sponsored eSports Team. Players of the team are students who receive scholarships for their play just as another student would receive a scholarship to play football or basketball. They train just as another collegiate team would. They are instructed by a coach, study the competition, and practice running drills.[7]
In the past, the word gamer was associated with words like lazy and non-social. Fortunately, these stigmas are changing. Gamers today are seen as entrepreneurial (creating your own business), professional, and globally connected.
Thank you to CSUCI Intern, Dylan Smithson for teaching us about the skill-rich, lucrative world of gaming. If you enjoyed reading this article, feel free to share with friends and family, and give us a like on our GetKidsInternetSafe Facebook page.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[6] Bednarski, S (2016) Top 5 Largest eSports Prize Pools of 2016. http://www.xygaming.com/content/top-5-largest-esports-prize-pools-of-2016/
[3] Blacker, K. J., Curby, K. M., Klobusicky, E., & Chein, J. M. (2014). Effects of action video game training on visual working memory. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception And Performance, 40(5), 1992-2004. doi:10.1037/a0037556
[4] Maclin, E. L., Mathewson, K. E., Low, K. A., Boot, W. R., Kramer, A. F., Fabiani, M., & Gratton, G. (2011). Learning to multitask: Effects of video game practice on electrophysiological indices of attention and resource allocation. Psychophysiology, 48(9), 1173-1183. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01189.x
[1] Mahood, C., & Hanus, M. (2017). Role-playing video games and emotion: How transportation into the narrative mediates the relationship between immoral actions and feelings of guilt. Psychology Of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), 61-73. doi:10.1037/ppm0000084
[2] O’Connor, E. L., Longman, H., White, K. M., & Obst, P. L. (2015). Sense of community, social identity and social support among players of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs): A qualitative analysis. Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 25(6), 459-473. doi:10.1002/casp.2224
[7] Ravitz, J (2016) Varsity Gamers Making History and Dumbfounding Parents http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/07/us/varsity-gamers-american-story/
[5] Reinecke, L. (2009). Games and recovery: The use of video and computer games to recuperate from stress and strain. Journal Of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, And Applications, 21(3), 126-142. doi:10.1027/1864-1105.21.3.126
