The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations blog tasks

 Language / Gameplay analysis

The Sims: Free Play trailer 

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

The three in-game currencies—Simoleans, Lifestyle Points, and Social Points—can be earned by players controlling their Sims to fulfil their desires and by letting them engage in various activities. Real time is used in the game, and actions must be finished in real time.

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

I believe that its aimed at the young audience by giving them the opportunity to experience freedom that they might not otherwise have, the game's freedoms could be a way to target this demographic. The ideas of going clubs, building houses, finding "love", among other younger-oriented lifestyle practises, are reflections of youth culture.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

personal identity-The lives and ideals of the Sims player are reflected in them, so the player will recognise themselves in the characters they have created.

personal relations-developing a connection with the characters you've created and getting invested in their welfare.

hyper reality-It's possible for players to grow more attached to their made-up virtual lives than to their actual lives. it becomes a severe case of distraction.

walk-through of the beginning of The Sims Free Play 

1) How is the game constructed?

-crane shots of the town

-idealised perfect suburban wealthy lifestyle 

-basic tutorials are given makes it 'user friendly'

 2) What audience is this game targeting?

More clothing options and styles are available for the female avatars in the game, indicating that the audience is primarily female and that the game caters to their desires.

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

personal identity-The lives and ideals of the Sims player are reflected in them, so the player will recognise themselves in the characters they have created.

personal relations-developing a connection with the characters you've created and getting invested in their welfare.

hyper reality-It's possible for players to grow more attached to their made-up virtual lives than to their actual lives. it becomes a severe case of distraction.

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?

Through the tutorials, one can learn how to expedite various processes, like building a house, workplace, fire stations or other structure. later in the game, to continue accelerating processes, encourages the player to purchase these crystals.

Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions:

1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies?
-positive job roles with the police 

-capitalist views

-traditional gender stereotypes 

-wealthy lifestyle is idealised (appeals to aspires)

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?

gender stereotypes- boys play karate, become rock star, skateboard have blue room etc girls do ballet, write in there diary, have pink rooms etc. Furthermore when it comes to the police, it is mainly male dominated, reinforcing that being a police officer is a masculine job.

3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?

-bell hooks- power structures in society

-Gauntlett- gender fluidity 

-Gilroy- Double consciousness 

-Gramsci- marxism and hegemony

Representation reading

1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?
Simulation games are sold on the accuracy of their representations, but it’s as much the parts they fake that define them. Few games try to simulate more than The Sims games, which recreate every progressive euphemism we have about love, work, and family. And few games feel as self-consciously fake either. . “We’re not really looking for realism, we’re looking more for believability,” he told me. “It’s kind of a model of life with things like death and aging, but we don’t do things like broken bones and bleeding. It’s just not the kind of thing our game demands.”

2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?
One of the special areas of focus in The Sims 4 is improving the Create-A-Sim feature, adding more details to alter the appearance of a Sim with a less stereotypical ways of representing different ethnicities. As he showed me the tool, creating an Asian character that does indeed appear less cartoonish, I wondered if there’d ever been discussions on coding racial awareness into the game systems themselves.

3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?
“Our game is kind of a caricature of life. We don’t really have a message—there’s no racism message, there’s no tolerance message. We have same-sex marriage in our game. Our Sims will not discriminate based on gender preference whatsoever. But there’s a line where it becomes too real. 

4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?
One element that The Sims 4 seems inflexible on is gender identity. As with earlier games,when players go to the Create-A-Sims mode the first choice they will be asked to make is between male and female. I asked Sinhaseni if there had been any thought toward including other gender identities, or at least making it possible to create a Sim with neither gender option selected. “That’s an interesting topic,” he said, “but I have no good response to that. We would need to take more time and consideration to really arrive at that destination.

5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?

While the studio strives to render identity politics invisible, the game’s systems do embody a particular, largely American attitude of life as a goal-oriented, currency-driven quest toward fullfilling the handful of personality traits one’s given from birth. It’s the constant and often insupportable stress of upholding this model for society and personhood for which The Sims wants to create an escapist catharsis

Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise 

1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?

The Sims was seen as a risky gamble before its release in 2000, and encountered several hurdles and road blocks all through its development. Yet, one of the game’s riskier inclusions — the ability to make characters LGBTQ — proved to be a saving grace, drawing positive publicity to the title when it needed it most. It continued to do so throughout the series’ lifetime as well, allowing it to establish itself as one of the better examples of diversity in character sexuality across the whole of the medium.

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

Upon release, the game was readily accepted and received heaps of praise and accolades. Many heralded its detailed character and home creation, the depth of its systems and, yes, even the inclusion of same sex relationships. For several fans, it was a way to learn about different sexual preferences in a safe way, or for the first time.

3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?

In the months following the game’s release, the team received a steady stream of fan mail and letters of appreciation, many of them from fans who had found a sense of acceptance through the game. Even in the wider gaming audience, the title was a critical darling, with most every outlet heaping praise on the game and standing by its commitment to diversity.

4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?

Through a lot of effort, determination and standing their ground, EA was able to convince the ESRB to maintain the game’s T-rating, grandfathering the original support for its LGBTQ content into Living Large and down to future installments of the series without bumping up their ratings from T. “EA fought,” Barrett said. “They fought the ESRB, and they fought hard.”

5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?

In the years following its release, The Sims has only grown in its influence. The game remains a juggernaut within the gaming landscape, and its support of LGBTQ characters remains an integral part of its design. Likewise, it’s not the only game out there with support for LGBTQ relationships in their content: Fable, a popular RPG series on Xbox and Xbox 360, allowed players to have gay and lesbian relationships, and The Last of Us Part II recently made waves with a lesbian kiss of its own at E3 2018. Likewise, a slew of indie titles such as Night in the Woods have offered characters with believable and realistic LGBTQ relationships.

Reality, postmodernism and The Sims


1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?
 The Sims 4, despite being four years into its release cycle, still isn’t nearly as much fun as The Sims 3 was. These days, it’s more about accessorizing a comfortable veneer of suburbia than it is about banging aliens and werewolves, aiming for the kind of life you fantasize about before finding out that adult life actually sucks.

2) What audience pleasures did the writer previously find in The Sims franchise?

The Sims 4. It doesn’t have the magic and fantasy of the Supernatural expansion, the transformative excesses of Island Paradise or Into the Future, or the depth and excitement of World Adventures. It offers a few rich experiences in small consumable bites, but nowhere near to the extent of of The Sims 3. So with nothing else to really do, my playthrough of The Sims 4 is reduced to tedium, and trying out features I avoided before. If you’ve got to live the domestic life, after all, might as well make the most of it.

3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?

The writer conveys her dissatisfaction with that DLC. 
"I have no desire to do laundry in real life, why would I do it in a Sims game after so many years of not having to at all? Now I think of the little content packs on the storefront page, with names like Laundry Day, Toddler Stuff, Kids Room Stuff, Perfect Patio, and Cool Kitchen, and sigh under the sheer weight of feeling that same sense of obligation I’m already trying to escape."

4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?
I believe that the game erred in its judgement by becoming overly realistic. Playing things you can't do in real life is one of the things that makes The Sims so enjoyable. There won't be much enjoyment in a game if it mimics daily routine. According to Blumler and Katz, the purpose of games is to provide distraction, so if a franchise becomes overly realistic, its appeal will diminish.

5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?

The increasingly hazy distinction between the real and the constructed is discussed by Baudrillard. The line has all but disappeared in The Sims context. The game has evolved into a lifelike simulation that upholds the standard capitalist ideology 

The Sims FreePlay social media analysis

1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?

The social media channels for The Sims FreePlay are meant to inform users of any new updates that are either available now or will be released soon.

2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response.
Because the posts below ask questions to the reader, they encourage audience participation. In order to share their thoughts, followers can also choose to comment on posts and tweet original content, which The Sims can then retweet. It also promotes the new features so that the audience is encouraged to try it out.

Do your Sims have the travel bug? Show off your adventures with a range of travel photos, suitcases, souvenirs and more in this 9-day event. Create a cozy travel retreat with the new SimChase Season: Transit Tourney!

Join us in celebrating our Hispanic Simmer community with traditional Oaxacan and Pallay rugs, as well as Hacienda walls and pool tiles! Claim the free pack from the Store today! #HispanicHeritageMonth #TheSimsFreePlay

In preparation for Halloween, we’ve brought back a Player Favorite Seasonal Quest – ‘Ghost Flustered’! When 4 ghosts descend upon SimTown & start causing havoc, who’re you gonna call? Get your Sims to investigate this paranormal activity and win a range of spooky stuff!

3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay?
Gamers on the Facebook page are requesting new content in large quantities because fans can communicate their preferences to the creators and receive regular updates, this is crucial for the game's appeal.

4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?

In addition to posts informing players of impending updates, advertising seems to be EA's primary source of revenue.