Asian Adventures GP

Yeah.. uhm :/ incorporating other cultures is tricky, it has to be done with care & sensitivity, as recent as Snowy Escape EP, wasn't there some controversy over a symbolism? that involved Korean & Japanese cultures? I think if there is a pack specifically set to a certain culture, there should be great care, & most importantly someone on the Sims team from that culture, who is aware & knows what would be great to showcase their culture & also be good for fans too, but maybe it's good that EA doesn't go too deep into cultural themes anyway, it's very easy to upset people, especially if you're not from that culture, I could rock with it if they can pull something like what the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender did, two guys of non-Asian origin who showcased art in such an iconic, respectful & memorable way, then yeah sure.

"AvatarBoy;c-17957891" wrote:
Yeah.. uhm :/ incorporating other cultures is tricky, it has to be done with care & sensitivity, as recent as Snowy Escape EP, wasn't there some controversy over a symbolism? that involved Korean & Japanese cultures? I think if there is a pack specifically set to a certain culture, there should be great care, & most importantly someone on the Sims team from that culture, who is aware & knows what would be great to showcase their culture & also be good for fans too, but maybe it's good that EA doesn't go too deep into cultural themes anyway, it's very easy to upset people, especially if you're not from that culture, I could rock with it if they can pull something like what the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender did, two guys of non-Asian origin who showcased art in such an iconic, respectful & memorable way, then yeah sure.

Culture is more than museums and shrines. They should stick to everyday life things like food, festivals, hobbies and crafts, dances, etc. There is plenty of things to represent a culture without causing offence. The most representative thing we got about Japan is the communal bath and the kotatsu table. By removing the bowing at shrines they removed a lot of the available open neighbourhood interactions. They should have given us sumo wrestling instead. And they should have done Japan only and not mix it with skiing as then we might have had a better chance at a more comprehensive experience of everyday Japanese life.

"crocobaura;c-17957900" wrote:

"AvatarBoy;c-17957891" wrote:
Yeah.. uhm :/ incorporating other cultures is tricky, it has to be done with care & sensitivity, as recent as Snowy Escape EP, wasn't there some controversy over a symbolism? that involved Korean & Japanese cultures? I think if there is a pack specifically set to a certain culture, there should be great care, & most importantly someone on the Sims team from that culture, who is aware & knows what would be great to showcase their culture & also be good for fans too, but maybe it's good that EA doesn't go too deep into cultural themes anyway, it's very easy to upset people, especially if you're not from that culture, I could rock with it if they can pull something like what the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender did, two guys of non-Asian origin who showcased art in such an iconic, respectful & memorable way, then yeah sure.

Culture is more than museums and shrines. They should stick to everyday life things like food, festivals, hobbies and crafts, dances, etc. There is plenty of things to represent a culture without causing offence. The most representative thing we got about Japan is the communal bath and the kotatsu table. By removing the bowing at shrines they removed a lot of the available open neighbourhood interactions. They should have given us sumo wrestling instead. And they should have done Japan only and not mix it with skiing as then we might have had a better chance at a more comprehensive experience of everyday Japanese life.

It’s a good point, you can build your shrines, and use game object, mechanics and your imagination to bring cultural representation to your individual game. City Living introduced many traditional cultural outfits and foods, as did a couple of base game updates. At some point it’s up to the players to carry the ball. Sometimes I want to replicate Christian church even though irl I am non religious. I build the building and I use the club system and the calendar to make a pretty decent representation. It’s neither perfect nor exact but it’s a game, so it not meant to be that serious or that deep.

"Sindocat;c-17955604" wrote:
Okay. So - do you want Japanese martial arts? Chinese? Korean?

To say nothing of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc.

Because honestly, just saying "Oriental" and diminishing it to karate and Chinese food is borderline racist.

T'ai Chi is, in origin, a Chinese, Buddhist/Taoist discipline. Karate is from Ryukyu, a Pacific island culture under Imperial Chinese rule at the time the art was developed, influenced by White Crane Kung Fu.

Zen gardens are, specifically, Japanese.

Lunar New Year is celebrated - with regional variations - across several nations and cultures.

Just among China, Japan, and Korea, you have very strongly held cultural differences, sympathies, and antipathies, not to mention an awful lot of people who play video games.

Reducing all that to "Asian" or, heaven help us "Oriental" martial arts, celebrations and menu items is problematic.

This kind of content may just be exotic flavor to you, but it's either handled with extreme sensitivity, or will be tokenistic, culturally appropriative and offensive to some or all of the above groups.

I don't think EA has ever made a politically correct game.

You can find examples in The Sims 2 Bon Voyage and The Sims 3 World Adventures. Takemizu Village is some kind of East-Asian-inspired subneighborhood, and China is inspired by rural China. Though, both the Sims 2 and the Sims 3 are loosely inspired by East Asia, or at least, what white people think of East Asia.

"AvatarBoy;c-17957891" wrote:
Yeah.. uhm :/ incorporating other cultures is tricky, it has to be done with care & sensitivity, as recent as Snowy Escape EP, wasn't there some controversy over a symbolism? that involved Korean & Japanese cultures? I think if there is a pack specifically set to a certain culture, there should be great care, & most importantly someone on the Sims team from that culture, who is aware & knows what would be great to showcase their culture & also be good for fans too, but maybe it's good that EA doesn't go too deep into cultural themes anyway, it's very easy to upset people, especially if you're not from that culture, I could rock with it if they can pull something like what the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender did, two guys of non-Asian origin who showcased art in such an iconic, respectful & memorable way, then yeah sure.

This is a great point @AvatarBoy

Not only the Sims teams but EA as a whole strive to be a trailblazer and beacon for all forms of acceptance whether it's culturally, ethnically, or sexual orientation related; it's not something that should be taken lightly, and we don't. It can definitely be a fine line for sure to ensure that what we're attempting is a celebration of cultures and not enforcing or adding to a detrimental stereotype. We welcome feedback like this so that we can better know what you enjoy, what you don't and identify areas for improvement.

And yes, strive to be the person Uncle Iroh knows you are.

At first, @Mak27 I would love to see an Asian worlds, ex. Thailand / Cambodia (that someone suggested above) haven't been done before and that would be amazing! (tofu making plz!)

Also, I didn’t know that Oriental was a bad word, so thanks for sharing awareness @Sindocat & @EA_Cade
I have a couple of questions to you: (or any one else that know about this)

(No hate! I’m happy if you can help me to fill a gap in my knowledge, I just want to understand more)

1. What is the difference between calling something Oriental inspired or Asian inspired?
2. Is there any countries / regions in Asia that can be merged together without being offensive? Like for example you can merge Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden & Norway into Nordic or Scandinavian without being offensive (they’re not the same, but share some similarities).

Yeah I understand your point @Babykittyjade but I really hope that we instead can have an encouraging environment. There must be room for mistakes and not knowing things, otherwise there can never be a difference. People are just human beans. <3 ?

We can everyone contribute to this by trying to be balanced and remember that people are probably with us, not against us. Like I didn’t know this before but I learnt something new today.

"carpe_diem;c-17959088" wrote:
At first, @Mak27 I would love to see an Asian worlds, ex. Thailand / Cambodia (that someone suggested above) haven't been done before and that would be amazing! (tofu making plz!)

EA already made Cambodia-inspired designs on The Sims 3 Store. They were probably thinking, "Southeast Asian-y" or something.

Also, I didn’t know that Oriental was a bad word, so thanks for sharing awareness @Sindocat & @EA_Cade
I have a couple of questions to you: (or any one else that know about this)

Oriental in itself is not a bad word. In fact, it is commonly used by people who practice "Oriental medicine" in Western nations. It may also be used to contrast the Occident (the West). The Orient may refer to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia - everything that is not part of the West. It may also refer to Africa, because much of Africa is influenced by the Arabic Muslims.

1. What is the difference between calling something Oriental inspired or Asian inspired?

Perhaps Asian-inspired is more specific? I mean, if you use Asian-inspired, I would imagine that that would cancel out Eastern Europe.
Eastern Europe would be considered Oriental, but not Asian.

2. Is there any countries / regions in Asia that can be merged together without being offensive? Like for example you can merge Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden & Norway into Nordic or Scandinavian without being offensive (they’re not the same, but share some similarities).

- the Sinosphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Singapore and maybe Mongolia) and East Asia (the Sinosphere, plus Mongolia and minus Vietnam)
- Southeast Asia & Pacific Islander
- South Asia
- Central Asia
- Middle East & North Africa (Islamic nations)
- sub-Saharan Africa

People are just human beans. <3 ?

There are many different types of beans. Lima beans, kidney beans, green beans, even human beans.

@waterywatermelon Thanks you so much for the explanation, I super appreciate. I going to look this up more.

I also want to add Coffee bean to the list. DISCLAIMER: If you enjoy this in its liquid form there's a risk that the coffee bean will split you in half and you will become part human bean, part coffee bean.
Yeah the world is a crazy place. ?☕

"carpe_diem;c-17959378" wrote:
@waterywatermelon Thanks you so much for the explanation, I super appreciate. I going to look this up more.

I also want to add Coffee bean to the list. DISCLAIMER: If you enjoy this in its liquid form there's a risk that the coffee bean will split you in half and you will become part human bean, part coffee bean.
Yeah the world is a crazy place. ?☕

????? that was my laugh for the day