The Sims: From Virtual to Reality
In a college course, teaching playing video games goes
beyond just sitting in front of a game console connected to a television or to
a computer screen. I have seen family
and friends playing The Sims 3 before
and did not know what they were gaining from it. The graphics, functionality of the
character’s daily activities, and traits in The
Sims 3 are realistic. I wanted to
know what was so amazing about this game that it captivated their attention for
hours upon hours. I visited my cousin and
she would sit in the same room with her friend and they both would be playing The Sims 3 on their laptops. But I wanted to learn more than just the play
aspect of the game. I wanted to know
what I can learn about myself as an adult and student playing this game and if
learning occurs. I found forums and blog
sites for The Sims 3 that allowed me
to share my thoughts with others. I could
play The Sims 3 online and keep track
of my game play and even report different things I did to my social networking
sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I
will analyze why The Sims 3 is
intriguing to audiences of college students and those in the workplace, whether
or not it can be incorporated in classroom settings for teaching, and what can
be learned from this game in general.
The Sims 3 is
a strategic life simulation computer game designed by The Sims Studio and
published by Electronic Arts. The Sims 2 is a predecessor to The Sims 3. These games were big hits when first
introduced to the world and have made millions of dollars for Electronic
Arts. This game is usually sold in
stores and online. The installation of The Sims 3 is less than an hour, roughly
thirty to forty-five minutes. It holds
about 5.53 GB of space on my laptop. The Sims 3 was based around the same
schedules we have in real life. There
are days, Sunday through Saturday and twenty four hours in each day. There were also the options of speeding up
the time and slowing it back to a regular pace.
This is something that humans cannot control. I learned about time management and practiced
it while playing The Sims 3.
There was options of playing either online or offline
every time I turned on The Sims 3. Playing online allowed me as a player the
opportunity to register my game and keep my version updated. Playing online also offered me chances to
earn Sims Points to go towards making purchases of new items such as attire, building
and buy modes, and new cities. I tried playing
online, but I preferred to play offline.
I also chose to play The Sims 3
on my personal Toshiba laptop. I chose
to play offline because at times it would be an interruption in game play with
an internet connection. This game engulfed
my attention and being interrupted was not pleasurable. Sometimes while I played, an email or an alert
came through and interrupted my game.
The screen closed out and I had to go back in. I also understood it was good to keep up with
the memories of game play, but sometimes it became too tedious and aggravating
logging every single thing my Sims characters did or accomplished. Keeping records of accomplishments are
important to some people in real life, so they would appreciate this quality of
The Sims 3. And the worst thing that happened was working
and building for a long length of time, not saving the progress, getting kicked
out of the game, and having to start all over.
Saving game play periodically was a good idea if I thought I would be
playing for long time.
There were many decisions to be made when first starting
my game play in The Sims 3. There were the options of how many Sims I
would play with, choosing genders and races, their names, clothing, and hair
styles, and personal features such as body build, traits, and relationship
statuses. My game started out with two
players, a male Sims and a female Sims and they both lived in the same
house. Naturally, they were both of
African American characteristics, because I am.
We had discussed before in class about our thoughts on the racial aspect
of video games. It was natural for me to
pick characters of my own skin color and physical features. I had asked questions to my interviewees and
one had played characters of other races and characteristics than herself to
see how the genetics would turn out for the children. It does not bother her to play roles of other
ethnic backgrounds; it is actually more interesting for her to play as
different characters such as being a male. My other interviewee played with
Sims the same race and gender as she.
Race and gender were not as important in virtual worlds
as they are in real life. Race and
gender is a beginning to a long life ahead of me. Before my generation, race and gender were
defining factors in how well you lived and where you lived, how you worked and
where you worked. One thing I noticed
while playing The Sims 3 is those
were not major factors in this game.
There was no racial tension between characters. Males and females alike worked together and
played together in Sunset Valley.
African American characters worked side by side with Caucasian and
Chinese characters. The Sims 3 is a video game where what color you are and what gender
you are did not promote or hinder you as a character. I learned that no matter what race or gender
a person may be, working hard and staying happy is traits to obtain when
reaching for your goals. One of my
interviewees did not focus on race or gender.
She was just happy to play and learn different things about each character’s
progression in her game play. She played
each of her characters in different careers to learn how similar it would be to
real life.
Establishing and maintaining careers and earning income are
crucial in your survival in life, both inside and outside of a video game. I learned in the real world, a person can get
paid top dollars for creating video games, but in The Sims 3, that career was not an option. The characters in The Sims 3 chose from many careers in the city of Sunset Valley. Some of the career choices in The Sims 3 included but were not limited
to Political, Law Enforcement, Medical, Athletic, Music and Arts, Catering and
Chef, and Executive. The male Sims’
career choice was becoming a famous athlete, or a superstar. The female Sims’ career choice was becoming
an executive power broker. Each Sims
started out at the beginning of their careers and worked their ways up to the
highest positions possible in their lifetime career goals. I saw that a difference in building careers
while playing this video game, knowing someone does not get you moved along in
the ranks of your career. In real life,
sometimes it is not what you know, but who you know that gets a person greater promotions
and job opportunities versus in The Sims
3. Each Sims started out at the
beginning of his and her careers and either worked hard, took it easy, sucked
up to their bosses, met and hung with their co-workers, and held meetings to
gain raises and promotions on their jobs.
Each Sims worked hard at his and her careers and reached
their lifetime goals. It did not take
them a lifetime to reach their goals, because they were both still young adults
transitioning to adults. Some people in
real life reach their lifetime goals when they become elders. I learned working hard in both real life and
in virtual worlds paid off. Reaching a
lifetime goal is just the beginning and it does not stop there in The Sims 3. They continue to go to work and gained raises
and promotions. Each Sims was also given
opportunities to make decisions, good and bad.
There were also consequences that followed those decisions. I made good decisions the majority of my game
play, but I also made a few bad choices as well, just to find out the
outcome. I have made good and bad
choices in my real life and reaped the consequences as well, so this is not
that far from the video game. At the
beginning of my game, my female Sims made more money than the male Sims. One of my interviewees played different than
I did. Once her Sims reached certain
money amounts, she started new games.
She said that there is only so much a Sims can do once they reach their
lifetime goal. But I believed that once
a person, virtually or in reality reached those goals, they would want to share
them with someone.
The next options I made available to my Sims characters
were to get married and start a family.
Obtaining the two are what some women, and men, look forward to in the
real world. Some people go about this
differently as well. Some people start
out at early ages getting married and having children. Some people have children before they get
married while others get married before having children. Some people want to establish their careers
and finances before taking on the responsibility of parenthood and
commitment. Over the years of my life, I
was told the morally correct thing to do in life is get married before having
children. This is the route I took in my
video game because this is how I wanted my life to play out in the real
world. After my Sims established enough
money to move into a bigger, cozier home, they got married. They enjoyed their lives as newlyweds and
went on dates with each other for a while before starting their family. They also continued to work hard to get
promotions as well. They moved into
different homes to accommodate the children as they had them until they built a
house from the ground up. I researched
online for floor plans and built a six bedroom house with five bathrooms, a
spacious kitchen with a breakfast nook, an enormous dining room, a family room,
a great room, a living room, a study, an office, a three car garage, a workout
room with on-suite bathroom, a swimming pool with an outside kitchen and grilling
area, a playground, and a recreational area.
They spent lots of money on their new home and made it ready for new
arrivals and the pitter patter of little feet.
I learned there is lots of preparation for having
children. I do not have any children, so
this was a learning experience for my future as a parent. The female Sims took time off from work
before and after having their children, just as in real life. During this time, the male Sims started to
earn more money than she did while out on maternity leave. There were books for the parents Sims to read
to prepare them for their new arrivals.
There was teaching the children how to walk, to talk, to use the potty,
and feed them. The first child my Sims
characters had was a boy, then a girl, and finally twin daughters. Each of the parents Sims spent time with them
and taught them the necessities they needed to grow up. The children Sims grew up and went from the
stages of baby, toddler, and child to teenager.
My initial plan was for them to have only three children, but they went
on to have four, which was not planned.
These are chances that real life families face, having more children and
more than one at a time. Now it was time
for the kids to be kids and prepare for the real world.
There were “real world” experiences to be had while
playing The Sims 3. Each Sims had obstacles to face and
overcome. The teenage Sims had homework
every day they had to complete before their next school day. The teenagers also interacted with their
siblings, parents, and peers. They also
had the opportunity to work a part-time job while attending school. I did not choose this option for my teenagers
because it would have been a larger task for each of them to maintain juggling
school, building their personal traits, and a job. They maintained good grades in school and
stayed on the honor roll. Their parents
also helped them with their homework when they came in from school. The parents were making enough money where
it was not necessary for the teenagers to work.
In some real life situations this is true, while in other households the
teenagers have to work to either help pay bills or buy things for themselves. I basically played my game as the way I would
like for my life to unfold and this gave me a glimpse of how it could possibly
be. The teenagers did learn traits while
aging to young adults. They learned how
to fish and cook by watching television.
They also learned logic skills by playing chess on their home computers
and outdoor chess set and writing skills on the computer as well. They learned charismatic skills by talking to
each other and practicing speeches in the mirror. These skills were more important to gain at
this age because they would be beneficial to them when they entered the work
place as young adults.
They finally grew up and started working towards their
own lifetime career goals. The teenagers
aged to young adults and I picked lifetime goals for each one. The male child Sims wanted to become a famous
musician and artist. He had reached his
lifetime goal. The older female child
became a world renowned surgeon and reached her lifetime goal. One female twin child became an international
super spy and reached her lifetime goal.
The other female twin child became a five star chef and reached her
lifetime goal. They used the skills they
learned as teenagers, hard work, and discipline to reach each of their
goals. They all worked their ways up
their job ladders by practicing the same skills their parents did before and
after they had children. They all live
in the same household and contributed to the bills in the home, keeping it
clean and fun. They threw parties for
each other’s birthdays and just for fun to keep their relationships with their
friends relevant. One of the twin
daughters married and had a daughter.
She will instill the same traits and discipline in her child as her
parents did her. Her husband also moved
into their family’s home and is in route to reaching his lifetime goal.
I learned that playing The Sims 3 is not as different as living my real life. I chose things that I would or wanted to
do. There were many decisions to be made
when I first started my game play in The
Sims 3 and living my life. I
controlled everything they did, just as I control my life. There were the options of choosing the genders
and races of my characters, clothing them, and picking their personal features
and traits, and establishing relationships for them. The only difference in this video game and
real life is I was not able to choose my race and gender upon being
created. I am able to choose how my life
unfolds. This video game taught a
different set of morals that were not usually taught to me in school about home
life of paying bills and keeping it clean, maintaining friendships with peers
and relationships with co-workers, bosses, and family. These were great lessons I learned throughout
my game play of The Sims 3 this
semester. I learned that it took effort
to accomplish goals. I did so by working hard in each of my classes and
maintained being on the honor roll. I
learned that maintaining friendships was important in my growth as an adult and
student. I learned that venturing out
and learning new skills was important to my life then as a teenager as it is
now as a young adult. This would be a
great video game to teach students about all of the important soft skills we
need to use to face every day head on with confidence.
