"MadameLee;c-17165354" wrote:
"gemjas;c-17165299" wrote:
"MadameLee;c-17165011" wrote:
"gemjas;c-17164778" wrote:
The tone of the sims is light and has almost no lasting consequences whatsoever, so any disabilities they add will be treated as a joke. The only way I'll accept that is if they add fake disabilities, like someone growing antlers or something dumb like that.
But what we're not gonna do is add in disorders/disabilities that real people go through and trivialize it.
The only thing I'd maybe accept are temporary broken bones; that way you guys can have your crutches and wheelchairs, but it won't be permanent and it won't mimic something much more severe. Mobility issues in elders is also common and an expected part of life, so canes would also be alright (we got that in Sims 3, I think). Anything else would have to be handled with care, and I don't trust the sims for to add them in responsibly.
Edit: I also just don't want to see people making fun of sims with autism, depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness. I don't want to see people forcing wheelchair bound sims or other physically disabled sims on foundations and then taking away the ramp (there were load of videos with people putting sims in pools and taking away the ladders just to watch them drown). That is something that will happen if we get these disabilities, because people suck.
One of the things Graham mentioned is let's say a wheelchair sim is visiting a sim who doesn't live in a house with a ramp, is the stairs would turn into something between an escalator and a ramp. So that's one fear you have probably wouldn't happen. BTW its seems to be implied that they're adding Real disabilities deaf, visually impariedness and wheelchair ones.
He said that? To be honest, I kind of doubt we'll get escalators in general, let alone stairs that can turn into escalators for wheelchairs. But I guess having a sign-language skill to communicate with deaf sims might be interesting, if for nothing else than to add more diversity in the game. I don't know, though. I'm still extremely wary of them adding something like that.
This is a subject that can be done very poorly if not given enough thought and care. It makes me uncomfortable to even think about all the ways that this can go wrong. But if they do go this route, it'll need to be completely optional at the very least.
Which is why they're asking for input from us "differently abled" people.
Hopefully by including disabilities they can fix the awkwardness of sims who wear glasses all the time minus PJs going to work sans glasses. It's something I hate about my simself when she goes to work. I mean how awkward would it be if a sim is always in a wheelchair and yet when they go to work they're suddenly able to walk?
Maybe instead of people arguing maybe we could try to plan together how (real) disabilities could be included in the sims?
Well, I mean, some people just don't want real disabilities in their game, and that's a valid opinion. I'm not really sure that I want them either, and it's because I'm picturing how my struggles would transfer to a game where the Grim Reaper uses a touch pad. And what I'm coming up with isn't great, lol. If we get disabilities, I'd rather they be fake, like the fake illnesses we have.
I wasn't aware until now that this was a real discussion one of the gurus brought up as a possibility, though (I'm just now reading through those tweets). And the fact that they've taken the advice of actual disabled people eases a bit of my worries. Still, like someone else said here, they'd need to implement them broadly, so as to not misrepresent someone with a certain disability. And I agree that they'd also need to take care to avoid any possible immersion breaking game play. Like, if they add wheelchairs I also hope it's less of an accessory/chair and more part of the sim. Imagine having your sim that's in a wheelchair randomly stand up just so they can hug another sim or something. Not a good look.
