More representation of indigenous cultures?
The other day I noticed one of the new necklaces for female Sims has a colour option that is the same as the Australian Aboriginal flag, it got me wondering if perhaps there should be more indigenous ...
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It is a product and game, so I would like gameplay to be the focus. But TS4 seems geared more towards the actual sims' looks and form than TS3 that I started playing; so representation in that respect would sort of be part of 'gameplay' for this iteration.
And a game that focuses so much on casual sandbox gameplay would of course need to take representation into account, and in any case it is a vital focus for any cultural product in media entertainment. I think it is something that should be done with subtelty though, again with the main focus adding actual gameplay features with depth. Which world, and what kind of sims and objects the next addition is set in and comes with should not be the main cause, but more of a side effect to an idea.
Ideas cannot be separated from cultural habits though. What a conundrum.
I would definitely buy a pack with a world associative of Australia, no matter never having been there; building lots in a sims' world of it would be very interesting.
But the representation of equality between sexes, and of representation of non-heteronormativity of gender, would break with an idea of making certain actions unavailable to sims, and this based on gender. The game is a sandbox with replayability as a clear drive, it’s openness and randomness would not support such a feature. If it did I would stop being a customer to it. Representation is not always strictly replication, but can be negotiation as well.
I think TS4 is better at representing variation; I was only appalled at how it was done in TS3. I think it would be done the same way as everything else in game, silly and shallow and from the perspective of US culture. Not necessarily a bad way; and the game is still entertaining, which for me is the main point of playing it.
And a game that focuses so much on casual sandbox gameplay would of course need to take representation into account, and in any case it is a vital focus for any cultural product in media entertainment. I think it is something that should be done with subtelty though, again with the main focus adding actual gameplay features with depth. Which world, and what kind of sims and objects the next addition is set in and comes with should not be the main cause, but more of a side effect to an idea.
Ideas cannot be separated from cultural habits though. What a conundrum.
I would definitely buy a pack with a world associative of Australia, no matter never having been there; building lots in a sims' world of it would be very interesting.
But the representation of equality between sexes, and of representation of non-heteronormativity of gender, would break with an idea of making certain actions unavailable to sims, and this based on gender. The game is a sandbox with replayability as a clear drive, it’s openness and randomness would not support such a feature. If it did I would stop being a customer to it. Representation is not always strictly replication, but can be negotiation as well.
I think TS4 is better at representing variation; I was only appalled at how it was done in TS3. I think it would be done the same way as everything else in game, silly and shallow and from the perspective of US culture. Not necessarily a bad way; and the game is still entertaining, which for me is the main point of playing it.
