The Sims franchise offers range of representations on gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexuality, capitalism and even reality itself.
One aspect of The Sims is the values and ideologies that the game reinforces. Although it has been praised for its liberal values over, for example, LGBTQ+ representation, it could also be argued that the game reinforces dominant American capitalist ideologies.
Expansion pack trailers
A useful way to analyse representations in The Sims FreePlay is to study the trailers produced by EA to promote expansion pack DLC. For example:
Using these expansion pack trailers, we can study the representation of gender, age, race/ethnicity and much more.
The Sims and postmodernism
Watch this introduction to Baudrillard from 8-Bit Philosophy:
Baudrillard argued that our culture now perceives the ‘copy’ (media representation) as more real than the ‘original’ and stated that we live in a culture where the ‘fake’ is more readily accepted than the ‘real’ – therefore creating hyperreality. This blurs the line between fiction and reality.
The Sims franchise is a perfect study in hyperreality as it allows players to create an entirely constructed life through the game.
The Sims FreePlay social media channels also provide an example of simulacra – they are situated in the real world and interact with real players but feature entirely constructed fictional content from the game. Here, they also make intertextual references to real celebrities. Where is the line between fiction and reality?
Textual analysis
The expansion packs provide representations of:
- Gender
- Age
- Race/ethnicity
- Sexuality
- Capitalism/consumerism
- Reinforcing dominant ideologies:
- Preteen pack: Female Sim in pink bedroom doing her homework/schoolwork where as the male Sim is in a blue bedroom. The male character is also shown to do more masculine stereotyped activities like doing karate and playing drums (gender roles)
- Shopping mall: Mainly female Sims shown to shop and catwalk etc HOWEVER Chic Boutique extension pack uses male Sims also and feminises masculinity (gender roles)
- Teen pack: Stereotypically white American lifestyle (activities etc)
- Reinforces Capitalism/Consumerism - Penthouse trailer: Can upgrade apartment and buy a penthouse which promotes working and earning money to get more and upgraded stuff and luxuries; there is a strong focus on living lavishly
- Challenging dominant ideologies:
- Pregnancy pack: Promotes interracial couples and having mixed race children
- ALL: The game provides a range of ethnicities/race to choose from rather than focusing on the usual dominant white lead
- Open Homosexual and Heterosexual relationships
2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?
- Stereotypical gender roles:
- Preteen pack: female Sim in pink bedroom doing her homework/schoolwork where as the male Sim is in a blue bedroom. The male character is also shown to do more masculine stereotyped activities like doing karate and playing drums
- Shopping mall: mainly female Sims shown to shop and catwalk etc HOWEVER Chic Boutique extension pack uses male Sims also and feminises masculinity
3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?
- Van Zoonen - gender stereotypes
- bell hooks - power structures in society
- Gauntlett - fluidity of identity
- Gilroy - double consciousness
- Hall- approaches to representation /encoding and decoding
- Gramsci - marxism and hegemony
- Strinati - post modernism (5 ways to identify : 1 and 4 apply to Sims)
- Baudrillard - hyperreality theory blurring lines between fiction and reality
Representation reading
Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:
1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?
"The Sims games.. recreate every progressive euphemism we have about love, work, and family"
".. extension of the beloved fantasy about life in America, a fandango of shopping, working, defecating, and making woohoo in a suburban utopia where Simolians and skill points make the block go round."
2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?
"One of the special areas of focus in The Sims 4 is improving the Create-A-Sim feature, adding more details to alter the appearance of a Sim with a less stereotypical ways of representing different ethnicities."
3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?
Sinhaseni told me. “Our game is kind of a caricature of life. We don’t really have a message—there’s no racism message, there’s no tolerance message. We have same-sex marriage in our game. Our Sims will not discriminate based on gender preference whatsoever. But there’s a line where it becomes too real. The only manner of hatred we have in the game is between incompatible Sims, something that’s driven by the traits of the Sim—a hotheaded Sim, or a Sim who hates children."
- Doesn't focus on it but has strayed away from allowing it in gameplay
4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?
I asked Sinhaseni if there had been any thought toward including other gender identities, or at least making it possible to create a Sim with neither gender option selected. “That’s an interesting topic,” he said, “but I have no good response to that. We would need to take more time and consideration to really arrive at that destination.”
“We strive for inclusion whenever possible. We look at our own diversity as a studio in terms of understanding what it is we want to achieve with the game. Our senior leadership is all women—our VP, our GM, our two most senior producers, lots of the department leads. We talk about these topics a lot, and it’s really encouraging that you bring them up. We think about them every single day. It’s something we’re thinking about, but it’s not something we’re supporting at this time. It’s something that I will bring back to the team, and it’s something I think we should be discussing.”
5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?
While the studio strives to render identity politics invisible, the game’s systems do embody a particular, largely American attitude of life as a goal-oriented, currency-driven quest toward fulfilling the handful of personality traits one’s given from birth. It’s the constant and often insupportable stress of upholding this model for society and personhood for which The Sims wants to create an escapist catharsis.
Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:
1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?
"..the kiss was an accident months in the making. When he was originally hired on in October 1998 to program the behaviors of the sims, Barrett was given old design documents to work off of. These documents included the allowance of same sex relationships, which had been scrapped to avoid controversy. Unaware of this, Barrett programmed the feature back into the game. When Will Wright saw this in passing, he simply said he was happy to see the feature included in the game again.
"Same-sex relationships were probably the main factor that led to the game's popularity. During a showcase of the game at E3, audiences were shocked and pleased when they were able to form relationships between the same-sex. It was something that had never been done before in the gaming industry and it received massive positivity from gamers and critics.
2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?
In terms of programming, every sim functioned as bisexual. At any given time, they could find themselves attracted to any other sim, which Barrett and the other team members felt didn’t seem accurate. After some debate, the team decided to adjust the sims programming to determine sexual preference based on repeated actions. If a sim engaged in romantic interactions with same sex characters, opposite sex characters or a mix of the two repeatedly over time, they would eventually adopt that as their natural preference. Though there were still some concessions made – same sex characters weren’t able to get married and were referred to as “roommates”
3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?
Fans praised the game for including LGBTQ relationships in the game because it was a step forward for gay-rights and equality. The game didn't make it a big deal and treated it as a non-issue, it was completely normal and fans appreciated this because it allowed them to have freedom and follow their own path.
4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?
American regulator ESRB gave the Sims an M rating due to its same-sex support. In response to this, EA fought hard in convincing ESRB that the game should maintain its T-rating.
5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?
Some games have also started integrating same-sex relationships into their games. Examples include Fable, a popular RPG series on Xbox and Xbox 360, allowed players to have gay and lesbian relationships, and The Last of Us Part II recently made waves with a lesbian kiss of its own at E3 2018. However, there are still many games that lag behind and the gaming industry still needs a lot of improvement regarding the matter.Reality, postmodernism and The Sims
Read this Paste Magazine feature on reality and The Sims franchise. Answer the following questions:
1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?
The article suggests that the Sims 4 doesn't have the same excitement as the Sims 3. The Sims 4 is too real and the writer questions how one can 'escape from real life' (the main reason people play video games) when they are constricted in a game that requires them to live a normal, traditional, domestic life.
" The Sims 3 was a magic fantasy free for all smorgasboard of human indulgence. The Sims 4 is basically real adult life and I fucking hate it."
"It’s not that I think The Sims, which is literally a life simulator, shouldn’t be like real life. That wouldn’t be the point. It’s that I need more options for escapism. The game used to be so complex and now it feels as if going through the motions of domesticity are the only available options. The funnest part of the game used to be all the inventive and mischievous ways to act out or blow off steam, which is really what we’re all looking for on both a macro and micro level. "
2) What audience pleasures did the writer used to find in The Sims franchise?
- Escapism and diversion from the way real life played out compared to the simulation: The writer loved the magic and fantasy available in The Sims franchise. In particular, the ability to do things you couldn't do in real life and the inventive and mischievous ways to act out or blow off steam.
3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?
Reinforces the idea that this particular version of the Sims is too similar to real life in terms of the domestic tasks which is what she wants to divert from in the simultion The writer expresses her disappointment in that particular DLC. She never ended up using the expansion because it reminded her of real life- "I have no desire to do laundry in real life, why would I do it in a Sims game after so many years of not having to at all? "
4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?
Yes because part of The Sims' pleasures is having the ability to try things out that you are unable to do in real life. If the game resembles real life routine, then there isn't much fun to it. Games are meant as a way of diversion (Blumler and Katz) and making the franchise too realistic means it has lost its appeal.
5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?
Baudrillard discusses the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed. In terms of The Sims, the line has practically vanished. The game has become an exact replica of real life and it reinforces the traditional ideologies of a capitalist life- going to school, finding a job, earning money and starting a family.
The Sims FreePlay social media analysis
The Sims FreePlay social media analysis
Analyse The Sims FreePlay Facebook page and Twitter feed and answer the following questions:
1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?
2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response.
3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay?
There are many requests for new content from gamers on the Facebook page. This is important for the appeal of the game because fans are able to let the creators know what they want and for them to get regular updates.
4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?
As well as posts alerting players of new updates approaching, advertising appears to be a clear revenue stream for EA.
5) Linking to our work on postmodernism, how could The Sims FreePlay social media presence be an example of Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra?
The Sims FreePlay social media presence is an example of Baudrillard's hyperreality and simulacra because it is a constructed media account that is documenting something that is also constructed. We now live in a culture where the 'fake' is more readily accepted than the 'real and The Sims is a perfect example of this.
Extension: Postmodernism academic reading
If you're interested (or planning on studying Media or Cultural Studies at university), read this highly academic and challenging summary of hyperreality, implosion and postmodern theory from the University of Chicago. Consider how these approaches apply to the digital media landscape we’ve been studying and in particular the video game industry and franchises like The Sims and Tomb Raider.
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