Re: Suggestion - Sims 4 - Sims with Disabilities

@ChristianOtaku , I think what @jpkarlsen meant about not having elevators in the game is that the Sims don't actually use them; it is more just suggested.  So we don't have real elevators in the game, more like a magical teleportation animation.  While that could get around some of the mobility problems for Sims in wheelchairs or on crutches, it would be rather odd to add a very realistic state of life only to have that state be made usable by such an unrealistic mode of transport as the current games "elevators".  🤭  They would have to redo all the elevators in the game if this were to work realistically. 😉

Other problems exist with current venues in the game like libraries, bars, museums, etc. Many of the existing ones have stairs, so Sims that were wheelchair bound wouldn't be able to go to these places. 😢  That would mean that the developers would have to do a ton of work revamping a great deal of existing buildings that come with the game.  It is unlikely that they would do this.  If EA were to do this, i think it would best be done in a separate game where they could devote the level of detail necessary. 🤔

Also, there are 2 kinds of Sims players: those who want gameplay to closely mimic real life, and those who want fantasy gameplay. (I like both styles, but if I only had to pick one, I would pick fantasy! 🥳 ).  This is why the first community voted pack was Laundry Day, and also why the Vampires pack is one of the most popular!  So, while some players with disabilities would want to see their condition represented in the game, a lot of other players with disabilities wouldn't want that at all, because they do actually play the game to escape having to dwell upon their reality everyday.  This depends entirely on the person involved, their personality, and also their age.  I have seen that, in general,  more younger players are more concerned about disabilities being represented in the game, while , in general, older players with disabilities do not want this, 🤨  (however, the game is for teen and older).  I have an autoimmune disease, and trust me it would make for terrible gameplay!!! 😞😃  The blind aspect you suggested would be more interesting, though!  Yes, it could help some people understand a bit better about the challenges blind people have to go through (more than some of the the other disabilities where you really couldn't convey what the experience is like. )  But total blindness would make the game impossible to play.  There are some types of blindness that give you tunnel vision, some make everything extremely blurry, and others only give you pieces of the entire picture at any one time.  So then, what if EA only does one of these?  People with the other types of legal blindness would feel left out! 😞  Also, I grew up with one of my best friends being legally blind (She had some vision but not much).  The Sims didn't exist then, but she would not have wanted blindness in the game or any other handicap. She didn't even like movies , books , or TV shows about the blind because it brought up painful feelings.  She preferred her entertainment to be an escape.  So, while it could help some people with disabilities, others it would drive them away. 

Also, we have seen requests from everything from deafness, blindness, wheelchairs, crutches, asthma, autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, MS, MD, epilepsy, vitiligo, diabetes, and more!  It is doubtful EA would be able to put all of those in the game, so how do they choose?  Someone is going to be left out, and if they address several other conditions but not theirs, they will be even more hurt than if EA didn't include any of these conditions.  😢  I do not work for EA . I'm just a volunteer who loves the game and loves helping others with play the game. But I do know about 3 or so years ago one of the Sim Gurus (developers) was asked about this, and while he was interested in the possibility of perhaps adding disabilities to the game (I believe he stated that he had a relative with a disability) and he was going to do more investigation and talk with other people who had disabilities who played the game to find out if there was a way to do this that wouldn't further hurt anybody with disabilities.  I do not know if they are still looking into it or not, but it has ben several years.  Not to mention I always have the worry that people might use disabilities in the game to inflict pain on their disabled Sims! 😢🤒  I wouldn't want some mean individual to make some YouTube video of them torturing disabled Sims and then some young disabled person seeing this ! 😢