Videogames: The Sims FreePlay - Audience and Industries
Audience
Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:
1) What game information is provided on this page? Pick out three elements you think are important in terms of making the game appeal to an audience.
In the game description we can see that they have:
-Real life connect
-The ability to create their own story
-The ability to customise to their heart's content
I think that this really allows the player to make their own ideal world and have a more personal connection to it.
2) How does the game information on this page reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?
They have a whole community that plays the game and even has a link to join that said community, there is also the ability to visit your friends in game, this shows how they make their game accessible to everyone and how it makes the game more social.
3) Read a few of the user reviews. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures of the game?
they say that they like the game due to its nostalgia and how in the game it is a free world in which they can do what they want and customise to what they want.
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?
He described the game as a "doll house"
2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?
They said that the doll house Idea was meant for girls as other games such as doom and quake where they were targeted at men, were popular at the time
3) What is ‘modding’?
Altering or adding to the game's code to change or add certain features, content or models.
4) How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?
It links to textual poaching and how audiences take the original content and make it into their own kind of reality.
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’ - Jenkins
6) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)
Intertextuality examples in relation to The Sims include replicating scenes and character settings from famous works of popular culture, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files, Japanese anime, and manga.
7) What is ‘transmedia storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?
Transmedia storytelling’ is a process where the primary text encoded in an official commercial product is dispersed over multiple media. The Sims allows players to create transmedia storytelling by providing a platform for fans to play out the simulated lives of their favourite characters and engage in fannish activities within the game.
8) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?
There are still fans that are trying to keep it alive as they were fans of the original franchise from the first game.
9) Why have conflicts sometimes developed within The Sims online communities?
There were concerns if the game would even last that long as they thought that even the latest computers couldn't even run the game.
10) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?
The writer suggest that the cult that follows the sims will be what it is most remembered for and how it "engendered well beyond the usual lifespan"
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?
They use modding to add features to the game, add models, music, etc. Usually things to add to the game or change how something looks.
2) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?
He says that it is meant to take people beyond gaming.
3) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?
He wants players to express their own creativity and learn new skills.
4) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?
I strongly disagree with this statement, I think that it is simply a game, a mediocre one at that, it is a game that doesn't really add to much to it, it is a life simulator, games are usually something made to convey narrative, there are other games that include some of the aspects such as the house building and do it way better than the sims.
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?
As for the future for gaming, I definitely think that gaming will always and definitely be a successful industry.
As for the sims I think that there are already games that are so much better than the sims and made even better with more detail and more feature.
Industries
Regulation – PEGI
Research the following using the VSC website PEGI page - look at the videos and Q&A section.
1) How does the VSC and PEGI ratings system work and how does it link to UK law?
The rating system is to show what age the game is suitable for, it gives examples of what can be shown and what isn't meant to be shown. Then they will see what it contains and then play the game themselves to see if they hold true to their claims and then they confirm the rating of the game.
2) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what content guidance do they include?
Age ratings help parents or carers decide whether a particular game is suitable for their children. The ratings do this by indicating the minimum age at which we think a child should be allowed to play a game. The age ratings for games are 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18.
3) What is the PEGI process for rating a game?
The PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rating process begins with a submission by the game publisher or developer, who completes a detailed questionnaire about the game's content. PEGI experts then review the game, considering factors such as violence, language, and discrimination.
The ‘Freemium’ gaming model
Read this Lifewire feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:
1) How does the freemium model work?
It makes the base game free but contains micro transactions.
2) Why do some gamers believe freemium is ruining games?
The amount of micro transactions that is within the games make the game a "pay to win" basis
3) What are the positives of the freemium model for gaming?
It allows everyone to try or play the base game for free and then depending on the players they will decide if they like the game or not.
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.
-Free to play is a successful revenue model for app developers.
-The idea behind the freemium model is that free apps are more downloaded than paid ones.
2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?
It gives them more people to appeal to and allow them to create more DLC or add more things for players to buy or get
3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?
It is dependent on how popular the game remains and if it even retains the same amount of popularity throughout its popularity.
Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:
1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?
It allowed players to get hooked onto the actual game and if anyone who enjoyed the game could spend more money on the game's cosmetic and spend more money on getting a better score.
2) The bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?
Because the free price at first will attract people, and when the people start to like the game, they will start to earn money from their
3) Why does Peter Farago suggest independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than the major publishers like EA?
Peter Farago suggests that independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than major publishers like Electronic Arts because the freemium strategy requires ongoing maintenance and a focus on live services. Smaller companies are better positioned to start from scratch, concentrating on releasing and maintaining freemium products.
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?
They have added a lot more content into the game as a result and there are much more customisation options in them.
2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?
Amanda Schofield argues that games, especially in the realm of free-to-play development, have transitioned from being standalone products to continuous services.
3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?
Amanda Schofield emphasizes the active and engaged nature of The Sims FreePlay community. She describes the community as always hungry for more features and content in the game.
4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?
EA has kept The Sims FreePlay fresh and maintained an active player base through continuous updates and a responsive development approach. The game is treated as a service, with live operations requiring a team that operates differently from traditional development cycles.
5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.
The Sims FreePlay has been installed well over 200 million times
Finally, read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:
The blog discusses the emotional rollercoaster experienced by players of "The Sims 4," focusing on the central theme of players' ability to create virtual humans with personalities and ambitions.
2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?
There were many DLCs that came from the game such as cats and dogs as pets.
3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?
They had included lots of DLCs and made a lot of them to be paid for, there were a lot of small things such as the pets DLC costing $10 just for some pets.
4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?
From their franchise from the sims 2-3 is where they got their ideas for the family and the hyper-realistic world.
5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?
I think that it is a bit of both bu more on the side of EA manipulating their customers as they are putting it behind a pay wall, when they could just make them free as I do not think that adding a pet DLC is worth $10.
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