Report Blog Entry
I wrote a little Steam review for the first entry in the Sims franchise today:
"I first played The Sims at my grandmothers house when I found the disc tucked away somewhere in her computer desk. I played it like crazy until I got The Sims 2: Double Deluxe, and eventually The Sims 3. Being my first game in the franchise, I find The Sims (1) incredibly endearing. Whenever I end up with an old CRT monitor in front of me, I usually launch this game to really capture that mood and live a couple hours comfortably.
The gameplay is simple and the 'message' of the game didn't matter as a kid, but now feels a bit too close to home as an adult. Regardless, it can be a relaxing time. The Sims are a bit brainless, but there needs to be chaos to create an interesting game-play loop.
The Sims has become a nostalgic piece of software for many now—yet, it can offer a genuinely fun time for those who care to try it out."
To run it a little further so I can flex my writing muscles a tiny bit—not like I had any to begin with—I would like to talk about The Sims a little bit more by expanding upon this review. I didn't want to write a novel in a Steam review like some people tend to.
I think my grandfather (he wasn't actually my grandfather, but my grandmother dated him until they both passed away. My real grandfather died before I was born) took the disc out of a car. He worked for a company called Enterprise which does rental cars and whatnot. He would often find things left behind in cars that were related to video games and bring them home. It's not like he played them, he was just a hoarder. That bit me in the ass later in my life as I had to clean out their house after they both died.
I digress. The point is that he brought it home and stashed it away sometime between 2000 and 2003 when I found it. I thought it was a home designing software so I didn't think much of it at first. As kids do though, I decided that I also wanted to now design houses and then installed the disc.
I soon found out that this game was so much more than just making houses and would soon sink tons of hours into it every time I went to my grandmother's house. I never brought the disc home until after she died. I somehow lost it though which upsets me incredibly—same with my physical copy of The Sims 2.
I hold the game close because of these memories, and I largely live through those memories when I play the game today. I've realized how much I think in a Phenomenological way, but as is the way of "me."
The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 have taken the most time from me—honestly probably The Sims 2 but I mostly remember my time in The Sims 3. I don't look at The Sims 4 favorably at all and refuse to touch it. The Sims 4 is not a great Sims game in my completely honest opinion.
Still, the original entry captures me in its simplicity. I can launch it and know that I'll have a good bit of fun for the next hour at least. That simple gameplay loop is what makes it such a gem.
The never-ending war to wake up in the morning so you can have your Sim tend to their needs before inevitably missing their ride to work. All the goddamn bugs... Cleaning, trying not to starve, no days off from work... And your Sim is miserable as can be. It's like a lovely little mirror to your own life and how chaotic it can feel when all these little annoying moments add up to drive you nuts.
The fantasy of The Sims keeps it relatable in a way I can still distance myself from to enjoy it for what it is. The picturesque consumerist American lifestyle—that never actually existed, again it's fantasy—creates a parody to watch these happy-go-lucky digital folks run around and suffer. The irony is buying all these things they never get to use because all they do is work and work and work.
That might be what separates The Sims from later entries for me as well. The Sims 2 is a lot slower-paced and detailed. Yet, the life simulation is a bit too real for someone like me that I only feel the stress of my own life creeping over me. That relatability also creates an era in which the software lives. I know that it comes from a time where it was easier to afford an apartment to yourself and live out that stereotypical "true 20s" of self exploration, and so it also becomes a bit depressing when reflecting back to life now. The Sims 3 is much the same in this regard—kinda. That doesn't mean those games aren't enjoyable to me either—I love them very much!
I've become an adult and have to live that drastically dull and forgettable life which you watch your Sims preform—the 4D experience. So like Conservative America itself, I retreat into this fantasy world of pure consumerism through a typical nuclear family so I can pretend things are okay. Unlike the revisionism that the Conservatives do to try and justify their racist ideals, I know it's all a fantasy and never actually existed. This is just a video game from 2000, but a good one!
Comments
Displaying 0 of 0 comments ( View all | Add Comment )