I grew up without playing a lot of video games. The most I ever experienced was playing online games on sites like Disney or Cartoon Network. I never understood gaming culture or how video games could be beneficial outside of recreational use. When I first started dating my boyfriend, we would always have tense conversations about the amount of time he spent playing games with his friends versus the time he spent just sending me a text. I truly saw it as an addiction, so I considered gaming a waste of time. Not exactly the healthiest outlook on my significant other’s hobby for the past few years. I might have warmed up to the idea after a while since it kept him out of trouble (for the most part), but that’s a different story.
I recently had a change of heart where gaming is concerned. The Sims 4 was on sale online for $9.99, and, since I was going through a hard time, I decided to buy it. This was the definition of an impulse buy, really crazy stuff.
Anyway, I gave them my money, downloaded the necessary software and created my first Sim. As anyone would, I made her look like me. Actually, I made her look how I wish I looked: tall, slim, tattoos, all-dark clothing – things that I can’t quite pull off in real life. I even gave her my dream occupation of being a writer, slowly climbing the ranks from intern to famous author.
My Sim (also named Paige) started off as a Young Adult because she was able to take care of herself and work without having to worry about school. Paige started working as a writing intern, working Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. She would sleep, eat, go to work, come home and start writing before she took care of her needs (bladder, sleep, fun, social, etc.). Very routine stuff. I wanted to watch Paige succeed quickly.
I would try to fulfill her fun and social needs during the weekends, but Paige would also need to catch up on sleep. If I let her sleep, her bladder and hunger needs would need to be attended to, meaning that Paige spent a lot of time cooking and going to the bathroom. My job gave me a measly salary so when things broke in the house, which happened frequently because they were cheap, I would have to repair it myself and clean the mess up afterward. I actually hated the weekends. This would still happen during the week, but it was a real time commitment on the weekends.
Paige aged into an Adult within 10 (real life) hours of playing time. This really doesn’t have much significance in the game unless you have family and friends that could come to a birthday party, but since work took up most of my time, I didn’t have anyone. There are some physical changes that happen to your Sim, such as filling out a little bit more to make them look like a “mature” adult.
Paige…well, Paige didn’t age the way I thought she would. She aged up and promptly gained a lot of weight since I never told her to go to the gym or exercise previously. Now, there’s nothing wrong with not adhering to “thin” or “skinny” culture, but one of my struggles is centered on my body image and seeing my Sim (and essentially myself) being overweight freaked me out. I had to figure out how to fit health and exercise into Paige’s already busy schedule.
I quickly became overwhelmed at the number of things that I wanted to do, being overshadowed by the things I needed to do. Just balancing work and my desire to be a writer on top of fulfilling my basic needs was so much work. There was so much to do in so little time.
When Paige aged into an Elder, things became so much worse. In real life, the elderly never have the energy to do things like go out or work, so they just stay at home and sleep or watch TV. It’s no different in the Sims. Paige was forced to retire, and she had nothing to do but read and lay on the couch. It got to the point that she couldn’t even do that. It became an endless cycle of sleeping, going to the bathroom, and eating. She would do one thing but it never fulfilled the need. Sleep was the worst because she could sleep for a few minutes, wake up because she was uncomfortable and then pass out while trying to fulfill the need that was low. I couldn’t do anything more for Paige than to constantly tell her to sleep.
Within 24 hours of playing the Sims 4, Paige passed away.
I get it, this is kind of a depressing article. This is supposed to be about the life lessons I learned from playing Sims 4, not how my self-insert character died. Would you believe me when I say that is the lesson?
Hear me out. My Sim starts her life as a young adult, passionate about her occupation and willing to do the work in order to get promotions until she is promoted to her dream job. That is a mindset that I, and many others, have at this point in life. We are told that we need to work hard, start from the bottom and do whatever it takes to get to where we want to be, just to say we’re successful, winning at life. This mindset sets up a future of endless work, need neglecting and loneliness. You would really need to have good time management skills to accommodate a fun social life and possible romances while dedicating your life to pursuing your dreams.
Playing the Sims 4 helped me put my life into perspective. Am I just putting my needs aside to pursue a false idea of success? Am I making time for the things that I want to do? If I’m doing either of these things, how can I be successful but also lead a fulfilling life with a healthy balance between wants and needs?
I don’t have answers for that, but at least I’m more liberal in how I dedicate my time. I have one life to live, and I can’t achieve anything if I’m scared I’m going to waste it. Living in fear of failure is a miserable existence. The Sims 4 taught me that there should be more to life than just working towards a goal. It’s the things that you experience along the way that make it worthwhile.