ground. Though certainly not as smart or interesting as actual humans, the simulated
people inThe Simsare close enough to being plausible that players will want to believe
in their sims’ virtual existences and will fill in the simulation’s deficiencies for
themselves.
Furthermore, almost all the players who playThe Simswill have an intimate
knowledge of the subject being simulated before they start playing. They will feel that
they are something of an expert on this “suburban life” subject and think they will be
able to play the game better as a result. For instance, players know by instinct that they
should set up a bathroom with a shower, a toilet, and a sink. If the job were to simulate
an alien life-form’s daily life on another planet, players would have much less of an idea
how to proceed and would need to figure out the life-form’s culture before they could
expect to succeed at the game. Because players already know so much about the sub-
ject matter ofThe Sims, they are that much more drawn into the game. From the
moment they start up the game, players feel good because they are putting their
real-world knowledge to use in creating these simulated lives. When Will Wright made
SimEarth, he created a game involving systems that players knew very little about, and
this may explain why so many people found the game to be quite difficult. ForSimCity,
players had a better sense of what was going on; while they may not have been experts
on urban planning and dynamics, players at least thought they knew how a city should
be laid out and were familiar with problems such as traffic, pollution, and crime. With
The Sims, most players know infinitely more about the topic than they do about city
planning. Hence, the game is that much more compelling to play. Its very familiarity
draws players in like nothing else can.
Of course, simulating a subject many of the players will be familiar with can be a
challenge as well; if the designer gets it wrong, players will know instantly. In the
alien-life simulator, who is to say what is accurate since the world and creatures are
made up to begin with? This grants the designer more artistic license for how the world
is constructed. However, in a reality simulation likeThe Sims, if the designer makes the
wrong choice about what will provoke a sim to do what action, players will see the error
Chapter 20: Game Analysis:The Sims 385
Though the subject
matter ofThe Simsmay
seem pedestrian, the
game is so fascinating
because it provides
players with a safe
world in which to
experiment.