Once in a Simulated Lifetime

I had a fascinating conversation last night with a friend who adores playing The Sims. Most hardened gamers turn slightly green when this series of games is even mentioned to them, but I checked my instinctive reaction and listened to what she had to say, and I'm glad I did. During the course of our discussion, she shared some very interesting insights into why some people play games.

The topic came up because I'd recently told my friends about Spore, the latest simulation game being produced by Maxis, and after looking at E3 gameplay video, my friend said something very surprising. She said that she didn't think it would sell as well as The Sims, despite its undeniable level of innovation and expansive gameplay.

The difference? Self-identity. She said that it would be a lot harder for people to identify with an entire alien race than they would with an avatar in The Sims. I thought about that for a moment...

...and then realized she was probably right.

In the case of The Sims, she said that people enjoyed it because it allowed them to vicariously rebuild themselves in a perfect image; in her words "It's you... only better!". You might be ugly, overweight and stuck in a dead end job with no friends, but playing The Sims lets you recreate yourself with improvements - gorgeous, popular, rich, with a loving spouse, a great job, a beautiful house, and perfect children. Escapism? Yes. But addictive escapism.

Previously, this type of "imagine yourself as someone else" activity was covered by activities like role playing games or daydreams. Wishful fantasies of what life might be like if you were someone else. But role playing games are tricky to set up and maintain due to their multiplayer element, while daydreams lack any form of positive reinforcement to promote themselves.

This is the brilliance of The Sims. Players can see and manipulate the game world of their alter egos in great detail, and they see very strong feedback about the consequences of their actions. They can watch as their avatar learns how to deal with common, every day issues from taking out the trash to calling a friend on the phone. The real you might not be able to carry on an intelligent conversation, but if the Sim version of you can sweet talk the girl down the street into having a date with "you", that's the next best thing for a lot of people.

For some, this whole process may seem terribly mundane and boring. But many more find this simple, nearly effortless routine soothing, and even derive some vicarious pleasure out of it. They can look at the wonderful life their Sim lives and take pride in the fact that they were instrumental in creating that life.

"And you may tell yourself: This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself: This is not my beautiful wife!"*

But in the Sims, you can pretend that they are.


* (from the song "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads)