Is The Sims A Virtual Dollhouse?

"TheGreatGorlon;c-16945521" wrote:
@scrutyni That's fair, "sandbox" is indeed more of an industry term, and "dollhouse" isn't an established genre or anything. However, I don't feel like the point about logically applying that to all life simulation games and creative writing is fair, as the Sims specifically revolves around the two most important elements of play and imagination that ties it very firmly to the concept of a doll house - the house and the inhabitants. Specifically similar to dolls and their homes, you get to move furniture, decorate how you will, have your characters interact with the furniture and other parts of the home, and often with each other. That's not to say the Sims isn't still a life simulation game, it most certainly is, but it can be both a life simulator and fall into a category as a virtual dollhouse at the same time. As I mentioned, it has transcended beyond the simple scope of physical dollhouses and childhood play into something more evolved, but regardless of whether you enjoyed dollhouses or not as a child, I find there to be much too strong of a correlation between the most basic elements of the Sims and their homes and dolls and their houses to simply dismiss the notion that the Sims is a virtual dollhouse on some level.
It's much in the same way that one piece of technology today will still be called what it was called years ago - like the phone, for instance. They used to be wall mounted and corded, but now they're tiny computers we keep in our pockets. Smart phones have certainly evolved beyond the traditional phones from the past, but at their core, they still are phones and we still call them such. Even if you didn't like corded phones or even if you primarily use your smartphone for games or the internet, it's still a phone.

I find The Sims at its core a life simulator, moreso than a virtual dollhouse. Main aspect is that yes, you may turn off autonomy and control your sims, but there's a whole neighborhood (or a whole world running in TS3's case) moving around, doing their own thing, an A.I. basically. The idea of tying The Sims to the concept of a virtual dollhouse just doesn't make sense to me, because that'd mean every single life simulator could essentially be tied to a virtual dollhouse when the game is trying to simply simulate life. It's a basic part of life to have a house, to furnish it, to use said furniture, to socialize, to take care of your basic needs, those things are tied to simulating life itself as an integral part of our lives is, you know, having a place to live in. Dollhouses are on their own a physical way of simulating life, albeit static of course since it's not a software.