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Monday, Nov 9, 2009
Why are we so eager to torture the beings we've created? The latest game from Maxis opens a window into the psyche.
Feb 17, 2000 | What does it say about me, I wonder, that I let my first child -- sweet helpless Bobby Boozington -- suffer so miserably that he slipped into a catatonic funk, flunked his classes and had to be sent off to military school? Why did I torture Michael Bachelor -- taking away his refrigerator and replacing it with expensive stereo equipment, so that he eventually died of starvation? And just why did I make Susie Boozington attack Bella Goth?
I must be a sick, sick woman.
The Sims is the kind of game that makes you question the workings of your own psyche. Maxis, maker of the popular SimCity series, has long been the master of games that let you play God by building and destroying cities and their civic culture. But its latest adventure in virtual living takes the God complex one step further: This time, you're playing with people's heads. Maxis calls the Sims a "people simulator" -- a game where you build people and try to turn them into healthy, balanced, happy individuals -- or torture them. And I'll bet the odds are quite good that most people will use the Sims to fulfill their twisted fantasies about human relationships. The dark side of human nature, after all, is far more interesting than normalcy. Let chaos reign!
The Sims plunks you down in the middle of a half-built neighborhood; your job is to create and manage the families that will live in the homes. The game comes with one pre-programmed family, the affluent and well-adjusted (if you disregard the fact that dad is a human guinea pig at the local laboratory) Goths. You can mess with their lives, if you like; but the most fun comes from building your own Sims from scratch.
Sims come in one of 12 personalities, based on the signs of the zodiac (those who follow astrology will get devious pleasure in matching a Taurus with an Aries). Design a few Sims, plunk them into a home and set them to work: buying furniture, appliances, flowerpots and paintings, and finding a job through the local paper (maybe a notable career as a pickpocket or military recruit). You, as their God, must teach and prod them to take care of themselves: to cook, get in shape and work their way up the corporate ladder so that they can make more money. Although the Sims have some autonomy, they need to be trained -- a slothlike Sim, for example, won't use the toilet if you don't prod it first.
Making more money is critical -- the cheap furniture and household items that impoverished Sims can afford will bring them only meager happiness, while wealthy Sims derive great pleasure from their fancy gym equipment, colonnaded homes and "Dolce Tutti Frutti" sofas. All Sims begin with entry-level jobs, and have to gain the right skills to advance in their professions. Social interactions are also critical, and you'll have to introduce your families to the neighbors, set them up with dates, friendships and, if you like, a few mortal enemies.
All of this makes for a complex game -- the creators of the Sims have thought of everything, from clogged toilets to burglars to nursery-style wallpaper you can purchase for the kids' room; it's sometimes boggling to think of all the things you can do. But it's also slightly tedious: Nothing happens quickly, as Sims develop relationships and advance their careers in methodical, building-block fashion. It takes days of repeating mundane tasks to train your Sims enough that they can navigate solo through even the smallest duties of their lives.
