One thing is probably almost safe to say. If you have never heard of something in real life, you probably won’t play the game that way.

I’ve found that – since I started playing the Sims 2 back around 2007 (and Sims 3 since 2008) – I tend to play the same overall patterns over and over again. Once in a while I surprise myself and break ranks a bit, but there are definitely patterns.

My patterns revolve around “creating” (building houses, then sims, then skills for sims to test different things) and then occasionally having a little ‘microcosm story’ develop that interests me for a while.

On a rare occasion, I end up really liking the way a Sim came out, and I go out of my way to ‘protect’ them and make sure their life is as free from strife as possible. On some level, I can probably say that I get that from real life, where I wish there were a higher power who does the same with us. To link the Sims game and real life feels a bit weird, but there is at least conceptually a parallel.

Back in 2001, long before I knew about the Sims, I wrote a book (for fun) which dealt with that concept. People were unknowingly at the mercy of others who held the power to control and manipulate their lives and environment. For me, it was kind of funny to discover the Sims several years later and actually live out the premise of my story, so to speak. I guess in that regard, my playing the Sims definitely paralleled my thought in real life.

this article is just plain idiotic.