please make the sims in sims 4 more alive

What I don't understand is where this whole "the ad is about getting revenge at someone" narrative is coming from.
The ad for the casting call has one point in a list of 20 examples that mentioned "getting back at" someone. Everything else was aimed at how Sims provided an outlet that players often can't find in their immediate surroundings. Things like coming out, being bullied, exploring creativity and career directions, etc.

The bottom line is, the game does help people get away from a reality where they're facing stress (and honestly, to diminish people's stressors as "self-proclaimed" and "exaggerated" is as insensitive as this one ad supposedly is). 100% escapism isn't healthy, no, but it's a valid mechanism that does help people get from a point where they don't know how else to cope to a point where they can. And for a lot of people, depending on their surroundings, a fantasy world is the only accessible way to make that transition.

"darrenfroggy;c-17198235" wrote:
What I don't understand is where this whole "the ad is about getting revenge at someone" narrative is coming from.
The ad for the casting call has one point in a list of 20 examples that mentioned "getting back at" someone. Everything else was aimed at how Sims provided an outlet that players often can't find in their immediate surroundings. Things like coming out, being bullied, exploring creativity and career directions, etc.

The bottom line is, the game does help people get away from a reality where they're facing stress (and honestly, to diminish people's stressors as "self-proclaimed" and "exaggerated" is as insensitive as this one ad supposedly is). 100% escapism isn't healthy, no, but it's a valid mechanism that does help people get from a point where they don't know how else to cope to a point where they can. And for a lot of people, depending on their surroundings, a fantasy world is the only accessible way to make that transition.

Again, there is no reason for Maxis, EA, The Sims, anyone to glorify or beautify running away from your problems using a video game. If someone uses it that way, good for them, but as the development studio actually making the game it’s NOT appropriate to cash in on circumstances of some players to sell this game to other players who feel they share those same issues. This manipulative ad is being hidden behind “inclusion”, but it’s not! It’s pandering dangerous ideals to people who clearly are in a vulnerable mental states. If you’re going to throw around what I say in quotes at least understand the issue at hand before you do that.

"darrenfroggy;c-17198235" wrote:
What I don't understand is where this whole "the ad is about getting revenge at someone" narrative is coming from.
The ad for the casting call has one point in a list of 20 examples that mentioned "getting back at" someone. Everything else was aimed at how Sims provided an outlet that players often can't find in their immediate surroundings. Things like coming out, being bullied, exploring creativity and career directions, etc.

The bottom line is, the game does help people get away from a reality where they're facing stress (and honestly, to diminish people's stressors as "self-proclaimed" and "exaggerated" is as insensitive as this one ad supposedly is). 100% escapism isn't healthy, no, but it's a valid mechanism that does help people get from a point where they don't know how else to cope to a point where they can. And for a lot of people, depending on their surroundings, a fantasy world is the only accessible way to make that transition.

It’s not, the only thing that rubs people like me the wrong way I mean. That was the point that got denied here, while, as you say, it’s literally said in the ad. So, that’s one. It’s not a ‘narrative’, it’s literally in the ad. Together with ‘not fitting in your own family’ (mind you, this is asked to 16 yr olds, who often are still living at home, it’s not in the past, if it will ever be because most people don’t shake off family like some unfitting coat), whose family was unstable/dysfunctional (we’re talking about real life families here, when a family is dysfunctional, it’s also quite often very vulnerable, as is the kid who’s being asked to publically spill the beans). To me it comes across as if some advertisement department got this great idea, based on the fact some people indeed use the game to come to terms with things in real life, without taking the responsibility to properly think it through. Whether it’s ethical. In my view it’s absolutely not. That is my (and other people’s) opinion and I think it’s uncalled for to dismiss that as misrepresenting things to suit our own narrative. Suggesting we have some kind of agenda here. No, we genuinely have this opinion.

It’s like @drake_mccarty says, things like that are very sensitive, personal, often requiring a professional approach. NO advertisement material, in the hands of marketing people who only want to use it to sell a game. It’s great the game has this impact on people, but you don’t advertise with it, you just don’t. And you don’t invite young people (kids) to openly pillory whoever wronged (or misunderstood) them in life. If you want people to play the game, show us why it’s fun to play. Leave traumas and issues to the professionals.

Again, that’s my opinion and I don’t have any secret agenda to hold on to it. It’s not a narrative, it’s an opinion.

"SimChi;c-17197504" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-17197468" wrote:
There is no simulating life when you avoid the misery. Misery and misfortune and cheating are as much a part of life as rainbows and roses are, as is death.

Have to disagree. Life is not misery, misfortune and cheating. Those things are the opposite of life (and by life I mean vitality, liveliness). And yes, again, when people are making fun of burning sims (or killing them) in horrific ways, they are mentally unhealthy, and they are making light of tragedy.

To address burning books (from the other simmers comment). Yes. I do think maybe books should be burned, because they really are vile. I never used to think that way (about burning books), and I really thought that people would never make such gross literature (or books for entertainment)... but after having been exposed to far too many vile things I have since changed my mind- and realized that I would not have some of the added trauma that I have today if I had not ever seen/read those things. The thought of having a life where I'd never been exposed to those things, and the thought of a world where they don't/can't even exist, makes me unbelievably happy.... Which is why I don't want them in a game either.

You sound extremely biased and judgmental. Your personal experiences aren't for you to generalize and project on a whole group of people, especially by calling them "mentally ill". Do you not hear how ridiculous you sound? Mental illness isn't a joke or to be used as an insult by you to people who just don't see eye to eye with you.

But you're welcome to bury your head in the sand, just don't blame everyone else for it.

"Stories of creating/playing with Sims of real life family (getting back at Mom/Dad, Sibling rivalry)" <- this is the *only* mention of this whole big thing about what kinda stories they were looking for in the ad. Stories meant as anecdotes, in the section that specifically veered away from serious themes. Listed along with "Creating and pull the strings in a home filled with Drama". Which is something that Sims Let's Plays frequently thrive on. Not a huge main point like some here made it to be.

The narrative I was referring to was from comments like Cinebar's earlier in this thread:

Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

Because no, that's not what the video was about, not even remotely. None of those kinds of stories were even *in* the video at all.

For me, the video was a testimonial from players who found that the game helped them and wanted to share that story, maybe to show others that it might help them too. I'm someone who found Sims equally helpful at a time when I needed it, so I connected with it.

If you don't like it and find it distasteful, that's your opinion. We can agree to disagree on that.

There are some here who definitely present things as facts (and thus a narrative) that are just as much an opinion and a guess as to what the intent of the video was. And as I mentioned above, it's definitely misrepresenting things when someone claims that the entire testimonial video was aimed at luring in kids who want to get even/get revenge on someone. That was my entire point.

As for what the intent of the video was? To me it was to show the amount of good impact SIms had over the years. For some, it hit the mark. For others, it clearly didn't. Would I have liked if they chose a wider variety of stories and age groups? It likely would've gotten the point across better, though I'm sure there would be some who'd still find a way to make EA into the evil overlord they think it is. (we can also only guess where this idea came from initially, which is a whole different topic altogether).

I have my opinions, you have yours. All I was trying to clear up is the misrepresentation of the casting call and the resulting video, since they somehow snowballed into something it definitely wasn't.

Sims 4 is more like rated 10+ because the Sims go out to drink juices, the fights are just Sims batting their hands, & the woohoo in beds are just the Sims moving around under the blankets. Only naughty mods corupes the Sims.

Can’t say I’ve seen any other video games using this tactic to sell games. Sims is hardly the only video game you can lose yourself in, or use to escape your problems, but you don’t see other publishers making manipulative videos like that - because it’s in poor taste. Regardless of the intentions, there are lines you shouldn’t cross and they went too far with this ad.

It preys on vulnerability. That is undeniable. If they wanted to make a video that wasn’t pandering unhealthy ideals they could have picked more than your run of the mill, 21st century trauma. It’s not my intention to offend anyone, but EA selected what content they wanted to put in the ad and they crafted the ad with those stories for a reason. Hell, they were only looking for specific stories to tell in this ad and all of them were about using Sims to get a reprieve from a terrible life. Missing their mark is the least of the videos problems.

ETA: Maybe EA should hire some people with a background in social work. Maybe then they would understand the issues they’re tackling head on in that ad are very serious, and they can have serious long-term implications if they aren’t dealt with! Suggesting this game will help, we’ll you know what that is irresponsible and frankly it’s social commentary the studio doesn’t need to get involved in - but they LOVE inserting social commentary into everything these days.

Maybe a slider should be added to the game that increases or decreases random events based on the play style of the gamer. Could be a big code change, but I am not sure. I am a Systems Analysis not a programmer.

Wow. There's a lot of people in this thread taking the perception of Sims games and marketing to a whole new dramatic level. "But...think of the children!!" :D

Kids are a lot more resilient than folks are giving them credit for. Some of them actually played Sims 1 back in the day and came out just fine, lol. These days they're all playing GTA V or whatever. I think they can handle death, fire and consequences in Sims 4 and some cheesy marketing ads. It's not that deep.

@LiELF please refrain from generalizing like that. Go work a few years in social work and you will see kids are as resilient as the household they come from. Broken homes more often than not result in broken kids/teens/adults who NEED help of some sort. That is fact, it’s not 100% but it’s rare to have a broken home result in someone with no issues stemming from that whatsoever.

Yeah kids can handle those themes. That isn’t the issue here, the issue is hot topic social issues being exploited for a quick buck by a company that would rather glorify unhealthy behavior than encourage overcoming it.