Playing God, or More Commonly Known as Sims 3

Kicking off our last binge, our group (Jenny, Kinye, Mallary, Christina, and Nate) played roughly 18 hours of The Sims 3. The Sims series puts the player in charge of the game-making, so the ludology is entirely up to them. These are our testimonies (dun dun).

One day after work, Honey B decides to visit her significant other. Honey B’s feelings have been growing more for this kind and thoughtful gentleman. Upon arrival, Honey B is unaware that Marcell (her significant other) lives with a roommate. She warmly greets Marcell’s roommate, Elizabeth. After some chatter, Honey B becomes aware of her hunger levels, which had decreased during work. She shares a dinner with Marcell. Meanwhile, Elizabeth occupies the kitchen space along side of the happy couple. After dinner, Marcell and Honey B decide to become intimately and romantically engaged, only leading up to Elizabeth (Marcell’s wife) to kicking ignorant Honey B out. Who here is to blame?

The main objective and goals derived from your sim’s personality traits are the only aspects contributing to your stories narratology. In The Sims 3, the player creates the space and characters they want to be in control of, like a god. Certain events can occur, causing a challenge for the player. One of our group members decided to let all hell break loose the last day of the binge to see who would survive. Similar to the popular book series The Hunger Games, the goal is to stay alive and play your part. Obstacles will be thrown in your way such as death or losing your job, but for the most part it’s randomly generated to keep the player engaged and feeling like they are in control of the plot and narratology.

Sitting for 6 hours a day was most definitely much more enthusiastic when we had the group dynamic at play. We each shared insight on what was happenin’ in our fantasy worlds. We laughed at outrageous aspects of the game, and sympathized when a baby was born or a couple broke up, much like Honey B and Marcell.

Unless you know the cheats for money, and happiness, you will constantly stress about the finances and other levels needing attention. It tends to become very tedious. There were times when one character needs to shower, one is late for work, the other school, and the other is super sick. Juggling all these aspects into a fantasy world added to the entertainment and pleasure of this game, helping point it to the fun side of the spectrum. Many of our group members happened to play over the time needed for the binge, but who can really stop when you’re playing god?