The Sims & Playing God

In the Sims 2 newsletter this month they were talking about an article recently written about them in New York Magazine... it discusses "God games" and how the Sims 2 fits into them. I found it rather interesting so I'll post it here:


Are You There, God? It’s Me—Adam Sandler (By Logan Hill)

Playing God has never been more popular: Click is just the latest comedy to grant divine powers to a dumb zhlub, while “God games” grant absolute power to any zhlub with a PC. A look at four of the be-a-deity offerings.

Bruce Almighty (movie)Divine PremiseJim Carrey complains about God; God (Morgan Freeman) makes Carrey walk a mile in his sandals.Holy Power: 2Sales Power$484 million worldwide box office.Divine InterpretationCarrey plays an emasculated Everyman who seeks some control over his life. But the ultimate sign of soul-crushing suburban life—and Hollywood’s imagination deficit—might be Carrey’s lack of creativity once he gets it. If you had divine abilities, would you really use them just to mow the lawn?
(Photo: Courtesy of Electronic Arts)

The Sims (game)Divine PremiseGamers micro-manage emoticon-chirping characters in virtual burbs. Holy Power: 1Sales PowerBest-selling PC game in history, the franchise has moved more than 58 million copies. Divine InterpretationLike Bruce Almighty, the Sims unleashes godlike powers in the burbs—allowing players to well, redecorate. Carl Goodman of the American Museum of the Moving Image complains: “To play God, you should get to make the rules, but with the Sims, you play by the rules. It’s more about consumerism: ‘If I buy that TV, where should I put it?’ ”

(Photo: Tracy Bennett/Courtesy of Columbia Pictures)
Click (movie)Divine PremiseAdam Sandler uses a remote control to fast-forward, rewind, and pause life. Holy Power: 2Sales PowerOpens June 23.Divine InterpretationAccording to Arthur C. Clarke’s famous dictum, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”—so perhaps it makes sense that this new fantasy is based not on a miracle but on ever more mystifying home electronics. As Louise Krasniewicz, who teaches anthropology of cinema at UPenn, puts it, “Click is about using technology rather than letting it control you.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Electronic Arts)

Spore (game)Divine PremiseUpcoming from Sims creator Will Wright, this game begins with a tiny spore that players can use to evolve intelligent life and whole civilizations.Holy Power: 4Sales PowerOn sale in 2007.Divine InterpretationWright’s new game more than makes up for the limitations of the Sims by allowing players to build life from scratch. It’s not just science, says Goodman: “Spore offers a Darwinian approach to spirituality.” Fundamentalists should love it: Intelligent Design, the Video Game.

http://nymag.com/movies/features/17294/index.html?sssdmh=dm24.89144

I see the point, I mean there is something appealing about controlling people, I love Sim games. Sim City, Sim Theme Park, Sims, Sims 2 and games like Black & White or AfterLife where civilization is in my hands. I think it does give some reverence to our creator though, you play the game long enough and you realize how hard it actually would be to be God. ;)