The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

building the simulation, planning a home, taking care of animals, discovering love, starting a family, and touring the community.

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

I think young adults and teenagers are drawn to the caravan.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

distraction and self-identity because you can make a sim that resembles you.

1) How is the game constructed?

It lets you build your own simulation first, and then it walks you through gameplay tutorials. While you play the game, these tutorials will also come up at random. 

2) What audience is this game targeting?

those who have experienced the earlier Sims games. 

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

Diversion

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?

By allowing users to watch advertisements in order to receive benefits and by enabling players to purchase gems with real money.

Representations:

1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies?

The trailers, which only feature female models and show a stay-at-home woman enjoying a girls' night at her penthouse while her spouse/partner returns from work, serve to further perpetuate dominant ideologies.

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?

Ethnic identities can only be identified in stereotypical ways.

3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?

Jenkins- fandoms

Judith Butler- gender as performance

Baudrillard- hyperreality

Representation reading:

1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?

Maxis's PR manager, Charlie Sinhanseni, stated: "We're looking more for believability than we are for realism. It's similar to life in that it has death and ageing, but we don't experience things like bleeding and broken bones. Simply put, it's not what our game requires." 

2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?

Enhancing the Create-A-Sim feature is one of The Sins 4's special focus areas, and they plan to add more details to change a Sim's appearance with less clichéd ways of representing different ethnicities. 

3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?

"Our game is kind of a caricature of life," Sinhaseni remarked. We don't really have a message; there isn't one about racism or tolerance.

4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?

"In our game, we have same-sex marriages. No discrimination will be made by our Sims on the basis of gender preference. However, there's a point at which it gets too real. The only forms of hatred we find in the game are between incompatible Sims, which are determined by the characteristics of the Sim—for example, a hot-headed sim or a sim who despises kids."

5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?

Simulated racist thinking makes us uncomfortable because racism permeates American politics and culture.

Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise:

1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?

Making characters gay turned out to be a lifesaver, generating favourable press at precisely the right moment. It was able to establish itself as one of the better examples of diversity in character sexuality across the entire medium by doing so for the duration of the series. 

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

It's a first for gaming: you can create any kind of character in the game, and they can even have their own sexual preferences. 

3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?

At last, the game had a hook that attracted not only LGBTQ players but also the larger E3 crowd. The phrase "Once people started playing it, it just started spreading by word of mouth" was used by many to praise the game's intricate character and home creation, sophisticated systems, and inclusion of same-sex partnerships. 

4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?

While the original game received a T-rating, the extension pack Living Large received an M-rating. 

5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?

More video games have LGBTQ relationships depicted in their narratives; Fable permitted gay and lesbian relationships, and The Last of Us Part II made headlines at E3 2018 with a lesbian kiss of its own. In a similar vein, several independent films, like Night in the Woods, have featured characters in credible and authentic LGBTQ relationships. 

Reality, postmodernism and The Sims:

1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?

After all, escaping reality frequently entails living a life that isn't your own, which requires taking away some of the constraints and hurdles we face every day.

2) What audience pleasures did the writer previously find in The Sims franchise?

She said that The Sims 3 is a magical fantasy that is unrestricted by human indulgence. She detests The Sims 4, even though it's essentially a simulation of adult life because it requires her to exercise on an empty stomach and eat salads and yoghurt in order to stay in shape.

3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?

"I recall talking about one of the later additions to The Sims 3, the washer and dryer, which I never ended up using, when I was having a Twitter conversation with some people about the game. At the time, I told my fellow Sims fans that it was almost an act of defiance, even though I had no interest in adding yet another maintenance ritual to my Sim's daily routine. Why would I do laundry in a Sims game after going so long without having to do it in real life? I have no desire to do laundry in real life."

4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?

Yes, I agree that playing the Sims should be more enjoyable than worrying about what might happen to your character next or about having to take care of chores, eat, or take a bath. The player has to stop playing or uninstall the game because of these "realistic" features that detract from the enjoyment of the game and make it a source of stress instead of an escape from reality.

5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed

According to Baudrillard, we regard the reality television and movie maps as being more authentic than our real-life experiences. The idea can be used to explain how the characters in The Sims Freeplay can work, interact with one another, grow food, and do a lot more.

The Sims FreePlay social media analysis:

1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?

It enables communication and interaction between the fans. The Sims share information about the game and the available themes (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

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.

Joyful Music The main topics of this post are snow, Santa crossing the street, and happy people. By asking about how they plan to use the new update, the furniture, and the perks that come with it, this can promote audience interaction. 

Thanksgiving: Three people are depicted in the post; one is holding pumpkins, another is eating bread and the final person is soaking up the autumn foliage. Furthermore, this post advises remembering to finish the Thanksgiving quest so that their sim can partake in the festivities. This might provoke discussion about the quest among viewers, who might even be opposed to it and prefer for their sim to celebrate Thanksgiving without having to finish the task.

Items in pastel colours: according to this post, new pastel skateboards, animations, baddy tops, checkered pants and long bunches are available. The fact that some people enjoy pastel colours and themes encourages the audience to engage with the game more. 

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?

Players have made numerous requests to fix the game, reduce the size of the bathtub to just two spaces, and discuss how expensive doctor visits are. This is crucial for the Sims freeplay since players typically have better ideas than developers since they love the game and want more updates and enhancements, while developers might not have many ideas because most people may not play the game. 

4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?

A partnership with Covet Fashion is one of the additional revenue streams I discovered in the Twitter stream. A player also mentioned that the Sims Freeplay should have better fashion in one of the other player notes.