When The Sims came along, we thought we had finally found a creative video game our whole family could play. It's the number one selling game in America. On the surface it looks harmless, but it can be as dangerous as a digitized Trojan horse. The Sims is the next installment of the popular "Sim" series of educational games. Previous titles like SimCity, SimWorld, SimAnt, and SimTower have challenged players to build and control buildings, roller coasters, parking lots and cities. In The Sims you build and control virtual people and families. While this may seem like innocent fun and games, the storylines posted on their Web site show how the game can easily appeal to the basest nature of man. Here's a summary:
1) The purpose of the game is to keep your Sims family happy. The best way to increase their "happiness points" is with constant physical gratification, through bigger and better possessions. A color TV will make you happier than an old black and white. A bigger stereo gives more "happiness points" than a portable. While this may not seem evil in itself, is this a value you really want to reinforce in your family? (see Matthew 16:26)
2) The Bible tells us sex without morals is destructive (Eph. 4:17-19). Since The Sims are "amoral," it is no surprise that homosexual behavior outside of marriage is not only tolerated, but rewarded with "happiness points." Many of the storylines posted on the Sims' Web site featured homosexual behavior or some other form of sexual deviancy. Nudity is also prevalent. It's not uncommon to see Sims characters walking in the park naked, sitting nude on the front porch waiting for the deliveryman, exposing their nudity to innocent bystanders, not to mention nude romps in the hot tub with their neighbors. Another immoral value that is tolerated in the game is that men could marry more than one wife without getting a divorce. The Sims apparently don't see anything wrong with polygamy.
3) No one goes to church in the Sims' world. Their religion of choice is astrology. Each character is given an astrological sign, and if you marry outside the suggested match for your sign, your Sims character will have a difficult relationship.
4) When you get tired of any Sims character, the best way to get rid of them is to kill them off. Some of the most common ways that the Web site storylines offered was to starve them to death, start a house fire and let them burn to death, or have them go swimming in a pool without an exit ladder and let them drown. Since you get to play god, you have the power of life and death in the Sims' world.
So be careful. Things are not always what they seem. This game appeared to offer the harmless, innocent fun of playing house, but it's really designed to let people play god. And judging by the examples of the storylines on The Sims Web site, humanity does NOT rise to god-like qualities, but like a modern day Lord of the Flies, descends to the depths of the lowest common denominator.
Used by permission of
AlMenconi.com a website to help parents understand their children?s entertainment and to communicate values to their children.
» By Al Menconi, Published 12/4/2005.
