When I was young, my brother and I used to build a house under the table using blankets and towels. For us, this kind of house had been our imaginary world and an escape from the influence of adults. After my friend introduced me to a computer game called “The Sims”, I went immediately to the video game shop to buy one for myself, wishing I could build more than a blanket house, but a bigger empire there.
“The Sims” is a computer game that allows players not only to build a house with their own design, but also to run a Sims family and community. One of the first versions of the Sims is an offline, single player game where you need to install the game on your computer, but today, the Sims offers an online version where you can play from any device with your account logged in. Even though the game has moved to an online platform, its essence stays the same: building a house, creating a neighborhood and simulating life.
“The Sims” plays a big part in building my childhood memory. Apart from an escape from reality, it also offers me an opportunity to put my imagination into a reality. In this game, I can create and design a house in the way I want without spending any money in real life. Of course, you need a large amount of Sim’s dollars to buy stuff in the game, but this wasn’t a big problem since you can always reload your virtual wallet . In addition, this game allowed me to try out new ideas without the fear of failing or causing any serious problem in real life.
It may sound surprising, but I firstly became aware of cultural differences through the Sims, too. As I already mentioned that the Sims is more than building a house, but it also involves creating a community and simulating life. Therefore, it is important for Sims to visit each other or invite someone to their place on a weekly basis to keep a good relationship. This face was new to me because for Thais, especially for my family, we don’t usually invite friends to our place for a movie or a dinner, but we would rather go out and meet them in a public place. Moreover, it surprised me that in The Sims it is unusual to build fences around your premises. In comparison, in Thailand it is the norm that almost every house, especially in big cities, is protected with fences.
In conclusion, the Sims taught me a lot about cultural differences and provided me a safe space for my imagination and creativity. Without this game, my childhood would have been very boring. If I have kids in the future, I will definitely introduce them to this game.
I've heard the online game namely "The Sims" before, but I've never played the game. After reading your story about it, I would say that it is a good game that helps build imagination and creativity of the players. I remembered that when I wanted to have my own house, I just bought one which was fully furnished and designed from the real estate company. I have to admit that I am lazy to think and to create my own style of my house. If I had played, "The Sims", I would have had lots of ideas in decorating my house. Imagination and creative thinking skills are very important. They help build innovative products to make us living our lives easier. I do see the benefits of the games which boost creativity and imagination to the gamers.
ReplyDeleteHi Anik, although I haven't played The Sims, I know about the game from my nephew and niece as they play it almost everyday. As I can remember it, they started playing the game 10 years ago. My nephew used to want to be an architect because of The Sims. I agree with you that games can help boosting creativity and imagination.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned about the cultural differences, it remined me about a design of things. I think that cultures is a fundamental of a good design. It is a small detail that we could not overlook. My aunty used to have serious disagreements with her mother when she was building a new house, because her mother did not like the violet color on the walls. Her mother or my grandmother was very conservative, as she really attached to Feng Shui. So I learned from my grandmother that the violet color represent bad luck.