Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 3 - Representation

 The Sims FreePlay - Representation blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay case study part 3 - Representations' and complete the following tasks.

Textual analysis

Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions:

1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies?

Pregnancy - Western beauty ideals within the female community 

Police DLC - society is still run and controlled by institutional opression

Pre-teen DLC - targets key audience

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?

Usually white characters that are featured

Despite the higher female players, more males appear in the trailer

Normalisation of heterosexual relationships

3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?

Male gaze - females are positioned to appeal to the male gamers

Gauntlett - we reflect genders as opposed to adopting them 

normalised traumatisation - males expected to behave in a certain way


Representation reading

Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:

1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?

It intends to reflect everything individual players want in their ideal life. Although it's a simulation, content created about it can be a simulacra. 

“We’re not really looking for realism, we’re looking more for believability,” he told me. “It’s kind of a model of life with things like death and aging, but we don’t do things like broken bones and bleeding. It’s just not the kind of thing our game demands.”

2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?

They try to take a very neutral stance on issues like racism because this game doesn't reflect real life and therefore race and ethnicity hasn't got much relevance in The Sims. 

"Our game is kind of a caricature of life. We don’t really have a message—there’s no racism message, there’s no tolerance message. We have same-sex marriage in our game. Our Sims will not discriminate based on gender preference whatsoever. But there’s a line where it becomes too real. The only manner of hatred we have in the game is between incompatible Sims, something that’s driven by the traits of the Sim—a hotheaded Sim, or a Sim who hates children.“

3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?

They don't include any indicators of a bias as it's not meant to reflect society rather a simulation.

4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?

The customisation methods make it very easy to assign characters with its own identity including gender.

5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?

The freemium model encourages players to spend money in order for a big successful developer to get ece richer whist the average working class are getting ripped off

Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise (the website link no longer works but that will take you to the text of the article - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access). Answer the following questions:

1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?

It allows players to express their sexuality however they feel, something that society doesn't give  a chance to do.

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

It's presented as fluid to allow the players to wrap the meaning of sexuality + gender around their individual needs

3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?

It presents the game as progressive which allows them to create more LGBTQ content that gives players to opportunity to find personal relationship and identity with their characters

4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?

Their new "Love Bed" addition was given an M-rating instead of the usual T-rating which meant that EA had to remove it but they protested that claim all the way.

5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?

It's more open to interpretation as players can choose their own gender and females are being given more central roles without being sexualised. A recent example is the inclusion of "gender neutral" as an option when picking a character for Call of Duty: Cold War

Reality, postmodernism and The Sims

Read this Paste Magazine feature on reality and The Sims franchise. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?

Although games are meant for diversion, The Sims seemingly does the job despite reflecting a simulation of real life.

2) What audience pleasures did the writer used to find in The Sims franchise?

Escapism, personal relationship, personal identity

3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?

Although the washer and dryer was added as a DLC, the writer still didn't use it because if the addition of that task to the Sims' daily routine. This suggests that not all DLCs are in high demand. 

4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?

I think it should have all the human comforts we use in our everyday life but the developers should stop making it too much like real life as players are trying to escape from the real world as opposed to living in a virtual version of real life

5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?

Although you're emulating a real world, the actions you complete and the characters you create would most likely not exist in the real world, blending the meaning of illusion and reality. 

The Sims FreePlay social media analysis

Analyse The Sims FreePlay Facebook page and Twitter feed and answer the following questions:

1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?

To promote new DLCs and gameplay that some newbies might've missed out on. 

2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response.

Twitter:

- Morocco update encourages audiences to go and download it to escape the winter period in the northern hemisphere

-The new customisation update allows you to wear hijabs, a very big inclusion to make sure more players are engaging with the game
- Christmas Carol house update suggests that players should immerse themselves in the seasonal feeling and play this unique map

3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay?

I can see quite a lot of people asking to fix bugs and other various small tweaks. This allows the developer to constantly cater the game's content specifically around The Sims' audience, making it more likely that they'll interact with it

4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?

The Arabian update brings in a lot of money because if the amount of time spent in lockdown. The christmas updates also suggest increased revenue too.

5) Linking to our work on postmodernism, how could The Sims FreePlay social media presence be an example of Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra?

The real world is something that the real wold tries to emulate but also calls itself a simulation, allowing characters to create content that suits their individual needs. You could argue that because EA include so many real-world objects that the game is an example of hyperreality because the world in Sims might be seen as more of an indicator for reality as opposed to the real world, in the eyes of the gamer.

Simulacra also appears in The Sims' social media team. They're real people interacting with real gamers but centre its content around a completely fictional universe.

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 2 - Industries

 The Sims FreePlay - Industries blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay case study part 2 - Industries' and complete the following tasks.

Regulation – PEGI

Research the following using the PEGI website.

1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law?

The VSC is the regulatory body that helps PEGI to regulate games for the UK. Every PEGI 12, 16 and 18 game is assessed by a VSC examiner who also writes detailed information for parents about what the game contains.

2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage.

PEGI also take into account the prospect of in-app purchases

"In 2012 the PEGI ratings system was incorporated into UK law and the VSC was appointed by the government as the statutory body responsible for the age rating of video games. In the UK, PEGI 12, 16 and 18 rated games supplied in physical form, such as discs and cartridges, are legally enforceable and cannot be sold or rented to anyone under those ages."

 

3) What is the purpose of PEGI?

To ensure that the correct rating is provided to products so that it can reach its intended audience

4) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what do they include?

3, 7, 12, 15 and 18

- fear

- in-app purchases

- violence

- horror

- bad language

- sex

- drugs

- gambling

It's worth noting that, even if a game is rated at the lowest classification of 3, it may still not appeal to young children and/or may be very challenging and complicated to play. It simply won't contain any content that is harmful to, or unsuitable for, young children.

5) Scroll down to look at the ‘How games are examined’ infographic. What is the PEGI process for rating a game?

They have industry experts who use their knowledge  to categorise a game based on what age group its content caters to

"We also listen to the views of parents and young people to ensure the ratings remain up-to-date and reflect current views about what's appropriate for children of different ages to play. The guidelines are kept under constant review in case changes are needed."

The ‘Freemium’ gaming model

Read this Lifewire feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) How does the freemium model work?

The game is free to play but includes in-app purchases

2) Why do some gamers believe freemium is ruining games?

It puts all the good items in a game behind the paywall which makes the game inaccessible to gamers who can't pay the in-app purchases.

3) What are the positives of the freemium model for gaming?

It furthers gamers progress much faster and it generates money for the developer

Now read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.

For clash of clans, in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year.

2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?

The more items that players can unlock prolong the life of the core game because the add-ons will likely change the way that the player will interact with the game. 

3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?

it might be abandoned because some developers don't make it clear as to whether there are in-app purchases available

Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?

2) The bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?

It helps them to increase the longevity of a game's content without having to release another edition of that game , the more in-app purchases you have, the more content there is available to unlock. 

3) Why does Peter Farago suggest independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than the major publishers like EA?

The money gets distributed to less streams which results in more profit

Electronic Arts

Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:

1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?

We started out with a game where you could control 16 Sims, have a pet dog and a career and that was most of the game.

2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?

Gamers require that extra level that enables them to create their own content which reflects what they want in their ideal game

3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?

 The community is a critical part of the game development process and must be embedded with our game teams so we not only know what our players are saying about the newest update, but we also can quickly respond to any problems that arise.

4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?

Updates that reflect a season change or cultural trend such as Halloween or Pride month.

5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? 

200 million installs

78,000 years spent playing

Finally, read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:

1) What audience pleasures for The Sims are discussed at the beginning of the blog?

- personal identity

- personal relationship

virtual humans with personalities and ambitions — and take complete control of their lives. Players can also use the game to experiment with architecture, decoration and landscaping. Traditionally, each main series entry begins with a base game containing a large portion of the content, but not the entire package.

2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?

expansion packs such as new furniture or clothing

3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?

The Pets DLC often disappoints players as the content is not as exclusive as thought to be and the players petitioned for the DLC to be free.

4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?

The gallery feature, acting as a social media platform. Virtual families that create a digitised generation of characters. 

5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?

I think EA needs to make extra cash because the main crux of the game is to constantly develop your world to make it the best it can be, usually the answers to these questions are behind the in-app purchases which give EA money and the player some more content to enjoy.

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 1 - Language & Audience

 Language / Gameplay analysis

Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following questions:

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

-customisation of characters

- maintaining the happiness of characters

- playing with pets

- having relationships

- exploring the avenues of adult life

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

- females that desire to have their own family in adult life

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

- nostalgia of other Sims games 

- diversion

- personal relationships: bond with the characters and their journey through the game

- personal identity: players can relate to their characters as they have created something that reflects their values and idelogies

Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:

1) How is the game constructed?

It's constructed to give you control over the avatars life as you have full customisation of their appearance and personality. The freemium model allows you to purchase extra gems to quicken your progress too. 

2) What audience is this game targeting?

People that have the time and patience to carry on the progress of the game until they get a  reality that reflects their ideal one. Ideally, females seem to have a lot more patience than men and prefer a game where you nurture a character and its surroundings. 

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

personal identity: your customisation of the character makes sure that your own values are at heart

personal relationships: gamers bond with the characters and their journey through the game

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?

By using gems that can speed up your progress which'll get your dream city much faster.

Audience

Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:  

1) What critics reviews are included in the game information section?

5 STARS ...The Sims FreePlay is everything you could ever want a freemium Sims game to be.” (Gamezebo)

“10/10 …one of the most addictive and highly polished games available and there’s no excuse for anyone to not download it; especially since it is free to play (the clue’s in the title).” (God is a Geek)

2) What do the reviews suggest regarding the audience pleasures of The Sims FreePlay?

The in-app purchases enhance and improve your gaming experience. 

3) How do the reviews reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?

The players of the game influence the game's production and future updates based on what needs to be fixed.

Participatory culture

Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:

1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?

‘a train set or a doll’s house where each person comes to it with their own interest and picks their own goals’

2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?

They didn't see the success of the 'dollhouse' style - cultural industries are a risky business

3) What is ‘modding’?

manipulating game code, with permission of the rights owners, to create new and  'fanpage' style content to post on a forum or even the official game website.

4) How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?

They're using the original text, like the fans, and using it to produce a new and engaging creative text. 

5) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.

‘held together through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge’

‘The original Sims series has the most vibrant emergent fan culture of a single-player game in history’

‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’

6) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)

Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files and Japanese anime and manga were extremely popular.

7) What is ‘transmedia storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?

a process wherein the primary text encoded in an official commercial product could be dispersed over multiple media, both digital and analogue in form

- The "official commercial product" is the actual Sims game 

- the dispersion of that media in both digital and analogue form is where the players can customise their characters or even use modding or creating fan fiction.

8) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?

They've become more interlinked, not only though their love of The Sims, but also through the distribution of fan made content which is just as, if not more, popular than the original text. 

9) Why have conflicts sometimes developed within The Sims online communities?

- modding characters to commit illegal activities that would be inappropriate for a game rated PEGI 3

10) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?

"for the cult following that it engendered

well beyond the usual lifespan of a popular computer

game; and also for the culture of digital production it

helped to pioneer, one that remains such a staple of

fan and game modding communities today."

Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).

1) How is ‘modding’ used in The Sims?

modding is used to improve emotional intelligence and social interactions

2) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?

It's meant to be a game that goes beyond gaming, it's not just mainstream, it's cutting edge. 

3) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?

they want players to be empowered to think like designers. they want the players to be at the forefront of the game's development. 

4) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?

It doesn't really strike as much of a game - rather an application that allows you to use its customization features to build a fantasy world that fits in with individual ideologies.

5) How do you see the future of gaming? Do you agree with James Paul Gee that all games in the future will have the flexibility and interactivity of The Sims?

I think that many games will follow suit with The Sims and they'll create content that allows players to create their own content within the rights of the game. We're seeing an increase in the freemium model with EA's microtransactions and after its acquirement of multiple games developers like F1 devs Codemasters, it could be just a few years until we see all games constructed like The Sims. 

Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

 Factsheet #107 - Fandom

1) What is the definition of a fan?

People who are devoted to a media text as opposed to simply consuming it.

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

Hardcore: someone who's extremely obsessed with the text

Newbie: Someone who just started to become a fan of a text

Anti-fan: Someone who hates the fans of a particular group, almost like a racist for this group

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

A group of people who share the same passion for a particular media text that want to talk about their interest in it and express themselves freely.

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?

The fans feel a certain sense of power and status with their chosen fandom, not just a preference that turns into a fandom. 

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

Apple 

Sherlock Holmes

Liverpool FC

Rocky Horror Show

Lord of the Rings

Family Guy

Game of Thrones

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

The digital fandoms use the original media texts and get creative with their interests. The fact that they create content online is not only for monetary gains but also explores the deep rooted values and conventions of that particular text such as shipping. 

Tomb Raider and Metroid fandom research

Look at this Tomb Raider fansite and answer the following questions: 

1) What types of content are on offer in this fansite?

Fan directories to different Tomb Raider websites including games and information such as bios and geography facts about the game itself, suggesting that fans spend a lot of tie maintaining these websites in order to keep them relevant and attractive.

2) What does the number of links and content suggest about the size of the online fan community for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft? Pick out some examples from this page.

The Tomb Raider community is vast and extensive,you can find out anything about the franchise in this website. There's fan fiction, Lego renditions of the game, online gaming platforms and even cosplay websites.

3) Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the short ‘About me’ bio and social media updates. Is this a typical example of ‘fandom’ in the digital age? Why?

Yes because they use a social media platform that is the most popular right now. The creator of the site is a 'typical' gamer. However she does seem older than 30 so that could be a split from the norm of the average gaming age.

Now look at this Metroid fansite and answer the following: 

1) What does the site offer?

Archives to content including podcasts, articles and games which relate to the Metroid franchise.

2) Look at the Community Spotlight page. What does this suggest about the types of people who enjoy and participate in fan culture?

These members look like hardcore fans because of their extensive knowledge about the franchise and they seem to like a specific character of section of the game which makes it an even smaller and niche topic for a fandom.

3) There is a specific feature on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. What do the questions from fans tell you about the level of engagement and interest in the game and franchise from the fan community?

The younger fans are much more interested in the franchise now and are seeking new ways to increase their engagement with the game by asking for tutorial guides and just general trivia. The demographic are 10-25 year old males, supporting the entitles gamer view.

Henry Jenkins: degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins. This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?

Fandoms take each other in like a family, the more connected they are to the franchise, the closer they feel to each other because of their shared interest in that subject.

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

The end of audience debate is further supported by the inclusion of the fans actively blurring the lines between consumer and producer, creating a new field called 'inspirational consumers', adopting the role of an influencer. Often known as "connectors" they assume a more active role in the fandom and shape media flows, creating new constructed values and ideologies.

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

inspirational consumers

connectors

loyals

media actives

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

Investing in niche fandoms is economically sound as the production costs would be low and the yield would be high due to the commitment of this small group of fans. Marketing costs are not needed because of the strong and closely-knit network of fans that share the same passion. 

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Apple

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.

"This bottom-up energy will generate enormous creativity"

The fans that start as newbies or even hardcore fans will create content separate from the original producer and will sometimes generate just as much engagement as the text they are fans of. This one to many production could revive the media landscape to become more relevant to the younger generation.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

They "talk up the program and spreads word about the brand"

Jenkins suggests that the ideal consumer is always active and is finding new ways on how they can get more involved with the brand.

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandom is a test of commitment and passion and so in the next few decades, it'll be interesting to see whether it's enough to simply like a text. Fandoms could be the norm when liking something.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

Big conglomerates will take advantage of the rise of fan culture and try to charge them money for their passion, they see that monetary gain will increase with the increasing number of hardcore fanbases online.

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

I don't really know if I'm even a fan of my chosen interests now. Liking something is one thing, dedicating your life to it is taking it further. I still think fandom has a few years until it becomes ultra mainstream but in the last few years we've seen the rise of fandoms like K-Pop and a few Netflix shows like Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why. The online medium could accelerate the fandom movement and will definitely set the scene for decades to come. Some fandoms like motoring have been around for over half a century and still aren't exactly mainstream. It depends on the topic. But I think, with the right topic and the undying passion of fans, fandoms are definitely something to look out for.