Videogames: The Sims FreePlay - Language & Representations

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

The game is based of creating a family,friends,animals and a community in general.

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

The audience targets every audience as it has all types of professions. styles, families etc.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

You are able to get a job, go to school, create a family. The trailer shows that it is a re-enactment of everyday life which can be appealing to others as it is relatable.

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

Representation

1) How is the game constructed?

The game consists of being a simulation,meaning its a parody of real life.

2) What audience is this game targeting?
                                                              
Those who want to create a family

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

You are able to use the game as a reflection of your life as it gives you the choice to build your character/life personally.

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

It encourages buying gems to speed up the process of building your life in the game as well as having better products.

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

The trailers have a range of diversity and genders so it challenges the dominant ideology of white men being the face of games.

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims Free Play?

The white men were shown as detectives and higher ranked police officers whilst the woman and other ethnic minorities were lower police officers displaying how the white man will always be highest respected in society.

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

Stuart halls representation and identity theory can be applied here as the trailers show the audience can choose how their characters are represented .

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?

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

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

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

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


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?

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

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

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

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


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?

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

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

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

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


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?

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.

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?

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

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