Cultural Studies on 'The Sims'

Good luck with your essay. I think it could be interesting. 

Why do you play the Sims?

It is a creative outlet as well as relaxing. I am a storyteller and like to come up with characters and story lines. It is a similar way to escape from life like reading a book or watching a movie. For a short time (a few hours) I can dive into a different world.  

 
Why have you perhaps even created yourself, family and acquaintances and played with them?

I have done so in the past, in the sims 1 and 2. I lost interest in this way of playing in the sims 2. I was a single young adult at the time. In the sims 2 with aging, as time progressed in game, my selfsim got married, had children and was about to grow up into an elder. At that point my simself and I had become so mismatched that it felt uncomfortable. I have sticked to fictional characters ever since. 

If you have deliberately killed Sims once (or even several times), why did you do it?
How did you feel about it and why?

I have done so, mostly because it was a plot line of a story. For example I had a story in mind for an orfin. I started by creating this orfin and the parents. Then the parents passed away. That way they were in the family tree and could appear as ghosts. I think I felt similar to an author who lets a character die in a book they are writing. I feel sorry for the character but at the same time I realise it is nothing more than a fictional character. 

If you had the opportunity in reality to determine your own fate and that of others, as is possible in the Sims, would you do it and why (not)?

Thank god that's not possible in real life. I don't think humans should be entrusted with the power to determine the lives of others. The presumption to think you know what's best for others can be quite dangerous. I suppose part of the attraction of the game is the illusion of another reality where I am in charge of characters. But at the end of the day that's the game, the illusion.