The Sims in the mainstream media
Today a friend posted an article about the COVID pandemic that she had found. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/what-pandemic-doing-our-brains/618221/?fbclid=IwAR27cb_ESDso1_oUjec91G2...
Forum Discussion
"I find that especially TS4 (where you can turn off autonomy) is much freer for me. I can finally have them do what I want so that I can use *my* imagination to tell my stories."
In my POV, the so-called The Sims 4 was never designed or meant to initially be a life simulator, therefore, had those elements implemented half-way through or late into the game in a very mediocre manner. Which the side effect became the exact opposite of what was advertised at some point in the beginning as 'Going back to the roots of The Sims' or something along those lines.
What The Sims (2000) ended up becoming is a people simulator that focuses on the autonomous actions and behaviors of Sims, that also learn to react to player input and choose autonomous actions based on that player input, while players also intervene to direct them in life. The same exact concept is used in TS3 but obviously way more improved upon and advanced. The Sims has always been meant to be played to its fullest potential, thus, is recommended to play with free-will on. Of course, TS (2000) development team did not force any playstyle onto the players and did give options to allow the freedom to play the way you want. Such as free-will could be turned on or off. On for those who like interactive dramas and can step in at any time and off for those who want to be in control and play the game without Sim autonomy.
"It took me a lot of time to figure out why people were complaining about how they found the other games gave them so much more. I had to watch a lot of gamer videos. Then I realized, they wanted it to all unfold *for* them and be much more like watching a drama play back, rather than truly making their own dramas."
For me yes and no. And like I stated earlier for TS, even in TS2/TS3, no playstyle is forced upon anyone concerning free-will on or off. The difference being with free-will on is the added dynamic stories of A.I. and in TS3 case, multiple A.I. across the whole open neighborhood instead of one lot or area at a time.
My playstyle is a mixture of both observing what the A.I. does and directing them according to what I learn about them and/or how I want to play them. So I do, at times, direct my Sims to create a different storyline of my own.
"I think it's cool that I can do what I want. But I also feel for the people who want to have the game make choices for them that they then have to cope with. We're back to the old TS2 "As played by" commercial tag: How do you play?"
This brings me back to the point of the false advertising about going back to the roots.
“Sometimes your role might seem like that of a theater director, coaxing out of your Sims a life performance. As with Shakespeare, there is a tragedy, there is comedy. There is the very stuff of existence, from the crumbs on the tables to the irritation that passes between people cooped up together in the house too long. In that sense, The Sims might seem to be a personal sitcom – whether it’s I Love Lucy or Friends, is up to you.
You can sit back and watch, but the Sim world is one where you can’t help but feel connected, and where you probably want to intervene. One of your Sims might get quite frustrated – perhaps because the house is a mess and she’s late for work. Maybe you could have somebody in the family tell her a good joke – hey, it works on us sometimes, doesn’t it? Feel free to experiment, just as you might do in your normal life. “ –From a part of The Sims Manual on page 4 under the title, The Sims: A World Unto Its Own
"The characters in the household do have their own ideas on how to conduct their lives, and do act on them, if you don't tell them what do do." -From the first sentence under Autonomy on page 42 of The Sims manual
^
This is how The Sims have always been for me and how I played and prefer to play. This is a huge part of the roots of The Sims. And why TS3 being the most improved and advanced is the life simulator that I mainly play. Also, the A.I. designer of TS3 did such an amazing job well done and I still can't get over how awesome and fascinating the A.I. is, despite he said it was a limited version of the game he did after, Versu. :love:
In my POV, the so-called The Sims 4 was never designed or meant to initially be a life simulator, therefore, had those elements implemented half-way through or late into the game in a very mediocre manner. Which the side effect became the exact opposite of what was advertised at some point in the beginning as 'Going back to the roots of The Sims' or something along those lines.
What The Sims (2000) ended up becoming is a people simulator that focuses on the autonomous actions and behaviors of Sims, that also learn to react to player input and choose autonomous actions based on that player input, while players also intervene to direct them in life. The same exact concept is used in TS3 but obviously way more improved upon and advanced. The Sims has always been meant to be played to its fullest potential, thus, is recommended to play with free-will on. Of course, TS (2000) development team did not force any playstyle onto the players and did give options to allow the freedom to play the way you want. Such as free-will could be turned on or off. On for those who like interactive dramas and can step in at any time and off for those who want to be in control and play the game without Sim autonomy.
"It took me a lot of time to figure out why people were complaining about how they found the other games gave them so much more. I had to watch a lot of gamer videos. Then I realized, they wanted it to all unfold *for* them and be much more like watching a drama play back, rather than truly making their own dramas."
For me yes and no. And like I stated earlier for TS, even in TS2/TS3, no playstyle is forced upon anyone concerning free-will on or off. The difference being with free-will on is the added dynamic stories of A.I. and in TS3 case, multiple A.I. across the whole open neighborhood instead of one lot or area at a time.
My playstyle is a mixture of both observing what the A.I. does and directing them according to what I learn about them and/or how I want to play them. So I do, at times, direct my Sims to create a different storyline of my own.
"I think it's cool that I can do what I want. But I also feel for the people who want to have the game make choices for them that they then have to cope with. We're back to the old TS2 "As played by" commercial tag: How do you play?"
This brings me back to the point of the false advertising about going back to the roots.
“Sometimes your role might seem like that of a theater director, coaxing out of your Sims a life performance. As with Shakespeare, there is a tragedy, there is comedy. There is the very stuff of existence, from the crumbs on the tables to the irritation that passes between people cooped up together in the house too long. In that sense, The Sims might seem to be a personal sitcom – whether it’s I Love Lucy or Friends, is up to you.
You can sit back and watch, but the Sim world is one where you can’t help but feel connected, and where you probably want to intervene. One of your Sims might get quite frustrated – perhaps because the house is a mess and she’s late for work. Maybe you could have somebody in the family tell her a good joke – hey, it works on us sometimes, doesn’t it? Feel free to experiment, just as you might do in your normal life. “ –From a part of The Sims Manual on page 4 under the title, The Sims: A World Unto Its Own
"The characters in the household do have their own ideas on how to conduct their lives, and do act on them, if you don't tell them what do do." -From the first sentence under Autonomy on page 42 of The Sims manual
^
This is how The Sims have always been for me and how I played and prefer to play. This is a huge part of the roots of The Sims. And why TS3 being the most improved and advanced is the life simulator that I mainly play. Also, the A.I. designer of TS3 did such an amazing job well done and I still can't get over how awesome and fascinating the A.I. is, despite he said it was a limited version of the game he did after, Versu. :love:
