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Sept 4, 2003 I’m old school when it comes to my video games. My favorite by far is Galaga. Then in no particular order, I enjoy playing Asteroids, Centipede, Burger Time, Food Fight, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man...you get the idea. Of the current video games for the home game system format, I like Crazy Taxi and its sequels. But the other morning I was awakened by some rather sinister laughing, someone whistling the same perky tune over and over, and a car that first idled, then drove away. I knew it was a video game; my niece and nephew had parked themselves in our spare bedroom most of the summer staring blankly at whatever game they happened to be playing. This time it was The Sims, for Playstation 2. My niece absolutely loves it. I had heard stories about it. A friend of mine had played it and said it reminded her too much of the current job she had. Her job was to make sure residents of an apartment complex for the mentally ill were taking their medication, getting to the doctor, cleaning their apartments and buying the right food at the grocery store. In short, she ran people’s lives for them. And that’s why The Sims didn’t seem like such a cool game; it was too much like work, but this time she wasn’t getting paid for it. I decided to try it the other day, while my niece and nephew were around to explain it to me. Apparently, other than the mini-guide that came with the game that told you which buttons performed what functions, you were on your own. To become better informed, you could purchase The Sims guide which was available at Target; my niece had called around and confirmed this. The next day she had the guide (I’m guessing the price, but it was probably at least $10) and I longed for the old days when you bought a video game, the instructions came with it. The manual was certainly colorful and packed with information, but it was a little too much. I couldn’t quite understand how much free will the characters had and thinking about the game made me wonder if they will come out with Sim Therapist. Or Sim LifeCoach. Why? Well, there are quite a few characters you can choose to hang out with in the game. There are personality descriptions and even astrological signs, so you could have a roommate with your same sun sign. My niece’s “roommate,” Mimi, was a bit of a slob. I’m not a neat person, but this Mimi left plates of food on the floor! I was a bit shocked by this behavior. However, there was seemingly nothing I could do about it. My niece’s chosen career was some extreme sports occupation; she made pretty good money. But what I couldn’t understand was why she carpooled to work. Was it because she was environmentally conscious? Or was it because by being in a carpool, there was a possibility of oversleeping and missing her ride to work? After I took her to her gymnastics class one afternoon, I came back and tried to figure this game out. I could switch back and forth between Mimi and my niece, but I stuck with Mimi, to see what would happen. My nephew, perhaps bored with having someone else hog the video game for most of the day, fell asleep over his football playbook, while I tried my hand at The Sims. In the brief time I was Mimi, I managed to oversleep and miss my ride to the convenience store where I work, a burglar robbed the house; and I was so tired that despite repeated attempts to get my character to lie down (by pushing a button, I could tell Mimi was getting very tired) I just passed out from exhaustion and slept on the kitchen floor. Well, in the manual they did describe Mimi as a slacker... so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that she didn’t bother dragging herself to her bedroom before she fell asleep. I did miss out on what happens if your Sim doesn’t get to the bathroom on time. Apparently it’s not a pretty sight, but it sure is funny. Fortunately, that happens infrequently in real life, but that’s what Depends are for, I guess. The Sims will just have to rely on their players to get them to the bathroom on time, to bed when they need it and to work on time. Come to think of it, my friend is right. The Sims are too much like work. It’s difficult enough to run your own life without having to run someone else’s. And if you’re a slacker to begin with, well, to paraphrase a popular saying, “it’s like the bland leading the bland.” Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom and then to bed before someone discovers me heaped on the floor in my own mess... ------------ About the author: Gloria Diaz is an opinionated citizen of Generation X (member since 1967) who occupies herself by dabbling in photography, writing and as a written communications processing specialist for the government. She has written for several diverse publications including Scram, Spleen, The Fort Wayne Free Press, and for the Huntington County TAB. Email Gloria Diaz: Scoop5767@aol.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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