For 22 years, The Sims has been delighting countless players who get to live vicariously through the lives of their Sims characters. The life simulation game allows players to create virtual characters, called Sims, and see them through their day-to-day lives. Players can guide their Sims as they pursue careers and relationships. They can also help them purchase homes, go shopping, and go on social outings. After the first Sims game performed so well in 2000, it led to the release of multiple sequels, all the way up to Sims 4.
The Sims is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. Players particularly enjoy its open-ended format and the lack of any particular goals. All the players really have to do is decide what they want their virtual life to look like. Many have described it as a game of make-believe that adults can enjoy. Meanwhile, it resonates with people in nearly every stage of life by providing scenarios of beginning and ending relationships, developing a career, getting pregnant, and growing up. The Sims 2 even started allowing players to see the Sims from birth, all the way to death.
Needless to say, it’s understandable why players get so absorbed in the game. They can model the characters after themselves and have endless possibilities and directions to see their virtual life go in. However, The Sims has not always captured every single user. For example, The Sims characters have never had a sexual orientation before and would hook up with both male and female players with no inherent attraction. That is going to be changing now, though, in favor of representing the LGBTQ+ community.
The Sims 4 update expands LGBTQ+ sexuality options
In the form of a free update occurring at the end of the month, players will now have the option to choose their Sim’s sexual orientation. Within the “Create a Sim” function players will be able to choose who their Sim is attracted to and how they experience romance. Users will get to choose if their character is attracted to men or women. Right now, those are the only two options, which isn’t quite ideal because it doesn’t present a non-binary option. Sims 4 has non-binary pronouns, but is still working on making Sims with true non-binary identities.
In addition to choosing who their Sim is attracted to, users can choose how they display attraction. They can express it through romance or sex, and users can also choose if attraction changes at all. If players want their Sim to remain the same, they simply won’t change any of the Sexual Orientation settings. Meanwhile, if they do enter the Sexual Orientation settings and leave all the boxes unchecked, they can create an asexual Sim.
The only thing that players can’t do, is turn off these new Sexual Orientation features. This was a conscious choice, as designer SimGuruJessica stated, “While we try to give players the option to toggle certain gameplay features, LGBTQIA+ identities are a fact of life and not a toggle to be switched on and off.”
This firm stance on its LGBTQIA+ players and the featuring of more sexual orientation options is heartening. Hopefully, in the future, The Sims will be able to include even more sexual orientation and gender options to represent every player.
(via: The Verge, featured image: Maxis)
