Simtopia - The World of the Sims (Zion)

Introduction
Literature can be defined as a work of art that has an author, reader, and text. Until recently, these three factors had strict guidelines. The author performed the writing necessary, the reader read what the author had written, and the text was the physical object on the page that the reader read. With modern technology, however, these definitions are not so strict anymore. With much broader definitions of these three words, an author is any creator, the reader is any consumer, and the text is the mediation between the author and reader. In modern terms, this can be books, but it can also be any kind of medium of transmission. This can even include IPods, movies, and video games. In the modern world, literature is no longer only books.

Although technology has advanced in unimaginable ways in the last few decades, many theories surrounding the basics have stayed the same. Ideas that the famous philosopher, Plato, came up with thousands of years ago seem to make perfect sense even in new forms of literature. In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, he argues that everything we see is simply a representation of the real objects. Plato believes that we see fake objects, but the gods, who are on the other side of the cave, can see the ideal object which is the one that actually exists. In other words, he claims that what we as humans see is not real. This seems even more relevent when talking about movies and the computer where what you see is not actually there. As the video on the right shows, it is hard to tell when the woman is real and when it is a recording. Nothing is what it seems when it comes to modern technology.

One example of a new form of literature that relates to both of these topics is alternate realities whether online, on the computer, or through video game consoles. In one specific case, The Sims, the traditional reader becomes one of the writers along with the programmer who actually creates the game. The coder writes the actual game, but then gives the player complete control to write their own story. As a result, the reader becomes anyone who follows what others are doing to their sims. If this is the online version of the game, any other member is able to see what different characters are doing with their characters, and what they are creating. Since the viewers to other players' games are simply watching the characters and do not have control over what happens, they are the readers. The text then is the mediation between the player and the viewer. Although the idea of the reader, writer, and text are based on the same qualities, they are not defined in the traditional sense. These alternate reality games take ideas that are thousands of years old and bring them to the surface of players' minds. With the creation of these digital worlds, however, gamers are given the eyes of the gods while the characters in the games act as we act on Earth. Just like Plato believes about humans, in alternate realities, characters only see the shadows or representations of the real objects. Only the gamer can see what actually exists. The question of whether we are simulations becomes an even larger issue when the player sees how much control they have over these very life-like characters.

Authorial Intentions
In any life-like games that transport the player to a different world like The Sims does, it is hard not to question the intentions of the creators. There is no way to win or lose in the game, no clear message or opinion the player is forced to have. So gamers and critics alike have, since the game first gained popularity several years ago, questioned the purpose of it all.

Author Chuck Klosterman, after pondering this same question, contacted Will Wright, the creator and mastermind behind The Sims, to ask him what his intentions had been in his creation of the popular game. Wright explained that the main purpose of the game had been to change the player's perception of the world in some way. If their eyes were opened to something in the world, he explained, then he had succeeded. That being said, he also explained that he was only making players' own opinions clearer to themselves. Wright explained to Klosterman, "If there's one core question with The Sims, it's got to be, 'What is the purpose of life? Is it to be loved? Is it to be rich? Is it to be successful? They're the same questions you could ask if you never knew the game existed."

Although it seems realistic that these are questions people ask themselves at different times in their lives, The Sims seems to really point out these life goals to the player. Forcing the gamer to choose only a couple of traits for their sim to have, whether that be a decision between their sim being humorous or a neat freak, to be a great kisser or a book-worm, players cannot have the best of everything. Traits that in real life people are never really forced to choose, The Sims forces the player to decide between. In this way, one can see what traits they actually value in themselves and as well as in those around them.

EA Games, the company that develops, markets, publishes, and distributes The Sims along with many other computer and video games, has a slightly different opinion about the popular game. They feel that The Sims is a way for players to explore their creative side with "endless" freedom combined with unexpected surprises that come with everyday life. Of course, endless is within reason as computer coding prevents sims from doing such unrealistic things like fly or kill one another. However, actions within reason like talk to ghosts or even get abducted by aliens can happen in the game. In terms of design, The Sims is a great tool to unleash creativity. With the freedom to customize anything, players are able to feel that they have created everything in their sim's world.

Since there are multiply authors in The Sims, it is difficult to say that there is specifically one intention. However, based on both the company and the creator opinions, the original idea of the game was to open up a new world to players and allow them to explore an alternate reality while giving them the freedom to live as they want. Having the freedom to live as they want gives them time and options that help them get to know themselves better.

Knowledge Communities
The community of fans that has built up around The Sims is immense. With so many different possibilities in the game, players have shown their enthusiasm about the game in a variety of ways. Some players interact with each other by buying their products for the game while others share secret information that they have learned by playing the game enough.

One major possibility within the game is the freedom to design. In the newer versions of the game, players are able to create their own clothing as well as houses and families. A direction that many fans have gone is to create these objects and either give them away or sell them online for virtual money. One blogger from Massachusetts, MS3B, even went far enough to create a blog, http://mysims3blog.blogspot.com/, where he and other followers are able to upload new clothing and housing designs for viewers to download. There are even fashion designers who have become famous within The Sims community through their clothing lines such as Juliana's Corner which makes men and women's clothing and Lorandia Sims which is an accessory and shoe line.

Fans of the game have come together as a community in many other ways as well. Through online organization and participation, April 2012 was the International Sims 3 Grilled Cheese Month. To participate, Sims fans uploaded videos of their sims eating grilled cheese. A video was put together and made available on Youtube to show all the participants as a way to show thanks. This video is available to the right.

For players who are new to the game or as a way to keep updated with new updates to the game, there are many resources online created by fans. These online resources include but are not limited to The Sims Wikipedia Page and The Sims Wiki. On the Wikipedia page, one can find the fact-based information on The Sims. It discusses the different versions and spinoffs as well as information on the 20th Century Fox Film that is currently in pre-production that will be a drama based on the game. The Wiki page offers a more personal and advanced look at the game with featured tutorials, monthly newsletters, community polls, and simology information.

For some fans, these well-known Sims fan-sites are too commercial. As a more intimate way to share his knowledge, one dedicated player, Mark Knight, created a video blog where he discusses his monthly exciting moments in the game, The Sims 3. These can be anything from exciting moments his sims went through or any new games or installs that have come out. In the video on the left, Knight discusses a new game that has just come out for The Sims that he received a day later than it was released because he ordered it from a different company. There is no doubt that he is dedicated to his sims.

Another way that fans of the game come together as a community is to share cheats. The game is created to be as similar as possible to real life. Despite this fact, creators of the game did create ways to get around the difficulty that comes along with real life. These code inputs can allow a player to do anything from earn an endless amount of money to making them not need any food or social interactions to stay alive. When a new version of The Sims is released, the cheats are unknown. However, once players learn the cheats, they join together to share them with each other. The video shown to the right explains how to unlock all possible cheats on the XBox version of The Sims 3.

Remediation
Traditionally speaking, remediation refers to old media being presented in technologically advanced ways. However, in terms of The Sims, remediation is actually used as a way to move the idea of the game engine to the computer. In other words, the game itself is a way for players to remediate their own lives or fantasies of what their lives could be. According to Tanja Sihvonen, "the emergent narrative structure...makes The Sims a particularly susceptible tool for the purposes of individual redirection and remediation." Much like Second Life, players are able to not only create themselves but also what kind of house they want and what kind of job to get. For many people, this can be more exciting than real life.

Often times, for people who lack social skills or simply want to escape the real world, The Sims is a great way to clear your mind. In the game, there is freedom to look the way you want, be as intellectual or charming as you want, and have the traits you wish you had. In fact, the most popular personality trait used in the game online is to be a great kisser. It is extremely unlikely that the majority of people in the world actually have this trait, but on The Sims, players can be whoever they want to be. We clearly know what players think about.

As a way to increase the relationship between game life and real life, EA Games, the creators of The Sims, made The Sims Social which compares and contrasts people to sims as it tracks how they relate to each other online. With 22.2 million users active every month, The Sims Social has plenty of data to show how people act when their decisions will not affect their real life, but they are still able to interact with other real people. As shown on the right, over 29 million secrets have been told on the game, over 160 million gossips shared, and 70 million players have confessed attraction to another player or sim. With The Sims Social, these players are actually interacting with each other which means that these people act as though this is their life. Just like real life, they can flirt, chat, joke, insult, and compliment others. Based on the numbers, though, people are much more open online. With 70 million players confessing physical attraction and sims "woohooing" 680,000 times per day, it is clear people are much more open through this form of remediation.

Some players have taken a comedic stand on this remediation. Yes, the game imitates real life but there is only so much a programmer can do to make computer code seem like real life. As a way to show that The Sims may not be as life like as players think of it as, a young fan and his sister poked fun at the unrealistic parts of the game. This is a video that they created as The Sims 4: Real Life where they acted as if they were being played in the game. The video shows how comically unrealistic parts of the game are by showing real people going through these daily routines that occur on The Sims.

Playing house is a timeless game that has always been a social norm for young children to play. However, with the creation of The Sims, pretending to have a life in an alternate reality with chosen traits is no longer just acceptable for kids. The Sims offers life through remediation, something that people who lack social skills in the real world use as a way to interact with others.

Links and Resources
The Sims Website

Wikipedia Entry on The Sims

The Sims Wiki Page