Living through a game: Isolation and The Sims

Whilst we’re living through history, the pandemic is affecting all our lives. I know in many countries, including the UK, people are stuck at home and trying to get on with life from their living rooms. I thought it would be a good thing to address people playing The Sims franchise during this time as I have seen copious amounts of people playing the game on my social media.

On my Sims Twitter account, people are creating isolation challenges and seemingly playing more than before due to the spare time they have. My friends on my personal social media are also sharing their content - something I hadn’t really seen before. Even onTikTokpeople are sharing their Sim journeys. I'd be quite interested to know how much The Sims sales have increased by with all this excess playing! 

So why are people playing The Sims more now than ever? Whilst one answer is fairly obvious – people have more time at the moment – but there is likely to be some other reasons behind it. At least for me, my imminent future feels cancelled, whilst I’m trying my hardest to get on with the things I need to, I’m lacking in motivation and the days are flying by despite doing little with them. I’m missing socialising with friends, being with my family and generally going out. Many are in the same position, missing the things we enjoy in life, so can it be said that people are using The Sims to live out what they’re missing in their current lives?

The first thing that can be considered is the fact people may use games as an escape from reality. Due to the nature of The Sims – as a life simulator – it makes a good game to use to replace aspects missing in your life. There are no lockdown rules, you can socialise and visit parks, and you bet Eliza Pancakes will show up with fruit loaf. It is said that many do use games anyway as an escape from reality (Nordby et al., 2019), even in a normal world, so it is more likely that it is being used now more than ever.

The same study identifies socialising as another reason to play video games (Nordby et al., 2019). I don’t know about you but in the current situation I am feeling quite lonely and even though I’m trying to stay in contact with family and friends I still don’t feel like my social bar is adequately filled. 

Whilst The Sims doesn’t have a multiplayer feature like many other games do, there are still plenty of ways to play and stay social. Engage with the community through platforms like Twitter and Discord, here other Simmers are constantly sharing content and creating new challenges for you to try, and if you just want to talk about how much of a player Don Lothario is then you’re likely to find someone to do it with! 

At the end of the day, The Sims is helping get some people through a challenging time. Make sure to look after yourself and your fellow Simmers and don’t worry if you are spending all day playing, sometimes we just need to!

Stay safe all 💚