game designer, who provides the framework, tools, and space with which the players
can work. Since players are intimately involved in the creation of the story, that story
becomes theirs, and as a result players becomes that much more involved in the game.
Instead of having their strings pulled by the game designer as has happened in so many
other games, it is the players who are now pulling the strings. The feeling of empower-
ment is tremendous indeed.
It is widely agreed thatThe Simsis a software toy and not technically a game, even
though it is frequently called a game and discussed in the same breath as other titles
that definitely are games. Indeed,The Simsis a toy because it does not present a defi-
nite goal to players, though it may insinuate or imply one. There is no “winning” or
“losing”The Simsbeyond what players define those terms to mean. Perhaps players
will think they have lost when their sim dies as the result of a cooking fire. Or maybe
players will think they have won when their sim manages to build the largest, most
extravagant house in the neighborhood and has reached the apex of her chosen career
path. However, these victory/loss conditions are ones that players are suggesting into
the game, not ones that the game demands. This abdicates authorship to players more
than a goal-oriented game ever could. For instance, every time someone plays a racing
game such asSan Francisco Rush, the ending of the game is predetermined; once play-
ers or one of their opponents cross the finish line on the track, the game ends. Thus the
end of the “story” thatRushis telling is predetermined. Players may be able to author
how well their own car does in that race and what sort of tactics it uses to try to win, but
how the story ends is a known, unchangeable quantity. Even a game likeCivilization,
which gives players a great deal of freedom as to how they will play their game, still con-
strains players by saying the game is over when the year 2000 rolls around, when a
civilization wins the space race, or when one achieves military dominance. By setting
up victory conditions, the game designer is authoring how the game will end. SinceThe
Simsand other software toys do not dictate how the game must end, players are left to
decide when enough is enough. The familiar subject matter ofThe Simscertainly helps
players to define their own goals while playing; since they understand the world ofThe
Sims, players have some idea what success in that world might mean, and thereby can
make up their own goals easily. Some players, perhaps primarily the hard-core gaming
aficionados, see this lack of winning and losing as a detriment to the game, but for many
players it would seem to make the playing experience all the more compelling.
Familiar Subject Matter...........................
Of course,The Simsis not the original software toy, nor is it even Will Wright’s first. His
first success with the software toy genre came withSimCity. It too simulated a sophisti-
cated system and allowed players to truly control their city’s destiny. ThoughSimCity
is an excellent, entertaining title,The Simsis more compelling still. A lot of this has to
do with the fact that players ofThe Simsare controlling humans instead of a city. In
other words, it follows Chris Crawford’s insistence that games should focus on “people
not things.” In general, most players will find people to be much more interesting than
things, and players will be able to form an emotional bond with a simulated person much
easier than with a simulated city. After playingThe Simsfor a while, players will feel sad
when their sim’s amorous advances are rebuffed or when their house burns to the
384 Chapter 20: Game Analysis:The Sims