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"The Sims" To Have Its Own TV Series?
rev420 writes "Variety.com and SimEden.com are reporting that Maxis is working with Tri Star Television and Pet Fly Productions ("The Flash", "The Sentinel", "Viper") on a potential television show based on "The Sims"." This sounds pretty lame... unless they use my Sim Neighborhood: I used skins from 20 Female Television stars ranging from the girls of Friends, Xena, Buffy, and beyond. I made many households and played the game normally for awhile. After the ladies all fell in love with each other, purchased everything available in the game, and had successfull careers, I started luring
neighbors over and trapping them in my attic, or drowning them in my pool. You haven't lived until you've seen Xena Warrior Princess die
in a terrible grill fire while Sculley flails her arms in terror. Now that would be good TV. Especially with anatomically correct skins.
Gee, when I play computer games, I get a kick out of trying my best to take the alien/monster's side. I'll do my best to feed members of my squad to the wee beasties. And games that are designed to let you play the bad guys? Those are aces in my book!
Does this make you think I have genocidal tendencies? Or that I'm just messing around and blowing off steam in a fantasy environment? One of us is having trouble distinguishing reality from make-believe.
...is that it is the *first* software title, simulation or otherwise, to be a big hit among females (that are not geek-types in the first place). I mean, heck, I like the game, but my wife *loves* it. Another interesting bit: Here in Japan the "Livin' Large" expansion is titled "Happy Life". The phrase "Happi Raifu" means essentially "wedded bliss" and is one that shows up mostly in girls comic books. It is obviously meant to attract women, and it runs the risk of repelling most men. I mean heck, why would I buy a game titled "Happy Life", when Japanese software outlets typically have several hundred games with titles like "Enormous Breasts"?
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
I don't know, you hit on an interesting point. If the TV show is going to be anything like the game, every character needs to, (at least once per week): pee his/her pants, throw a tantrum, and then pass out on the floor in rapid succession. I might tune in for a couple episodes of that. P.S., why doesn't the hot tub take care of the Sims' "bladder" needs? They must not use hot tubs the way I do.
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
They're two very very different things.
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
I couldn't agree more with your analysis of The Sims' gameplay. Apparently we are in the minority, though, since The Sims was a huge commercial success. Apparently, the mass market loves really boring games -- look at the runaway success of the screensaver-esque Deer Hunter and its thousand clones and sequels.
I play computer games because they aren't reality... if I feel like cleaning my house, taking a bath, and socializing with my friends, I'll do that instead of playing a game. A game needs to immerse me in another world, or I have no interest in it. Half-Life, Deus Ex, the old Ultima series, Baldur's Gate... the games I like the best are the ones that create a living, breathing, different world. I don't need a computer simulation of the one that's already around me.
Commander Taco, forget the abuse from these silly wannabe feminist-cause-chix-dig-that men and hyper sensitive Americans who think that any mention of sexuality is automatically harrassment.
This is very very funny. If I had sims this is what I'd do. Though probably with more cute TV boys than you have in your house.
xxxxxx
No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up.
You should seriously look into this, and oh yeah, thanks for alienating all the female readers of /.
Bullshit! lesbianism is erotic to many men. That's why I have so many bisexual and lesbian women in my sim neighborhood. It has nothing to do with misogyny, it has to do with liking lesbians.
In fact there are only two heterosexual females in my sim neighborhood. There is nothing cooler in the game that watching to sim women kiss. Don't like it? Tough!
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
What about a white van, & some fertilizer?
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
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rooooar
And i would pay to see a scene like that! Sure beats the hell out of most sitcoms today
Non-Deterministic Finite Automata
I think perhaps we learnt a little too much about CmdrTaco's (not so) private (and disturbing) fantasies...
My experience with the Sims was rather negative. I started out by creating my character and playing for a few hours... I got bored with it, as I tend to do with games, and started haxx0ring it.
I h4xx0r3d myself up a ton of money, and set to work building "The Sims Skinner Box!"
I put a 'fridge on one end, boxed the people in with it, and made a complex maze leading up to a toilet.
My Sims all died, standing in puddles of their own urine. Poor bastards. If only they could navigate a maze, that terrible tragedy could have been avoided.
I then attempted to create an M.C. Escher-esque house, but the game's structure was too rigid. Why CAN'T I have stairs coming out of the walls, leading to nowhere? Damn Maxis. They stifle my creativity at every turn.
A friend of mine had his own magical "The Sims" experience, which he chronicled at this URL:
The Secret of Happiness, Sims-style
This isn't the first time The Sims appeared on prime time. Drew Carey is a very big (hyuk, hyuk) fan of the game; in return for having plugged the game on the show, he is slated to appear in a Sims expansion pack.
Hmm, no, I think you miss the point.. As Good American Consumers, we love the idea of controlling one or more people in their boring, mundane in order to *buy stuff*. It's the american dream.. Is there an option in the Sims to invest your money? Hell no. You buy a big screen TV to increase your "entertainment" lifeforce. The goal of sims is the same as american life (he with the most stuff "wins")...
Shayne
Today I didn't even have to use my AK; I got to say it was a good day -- Icecube
uh, their best series was "The Sentinel" which isn't exactly popular.
maybe they're making it just so that they can later develop a spinoff called "Sim-sons."
Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
Nah. Misogyny is only a problem if (a) you think it's acceptable behaviour, and/or (b) act on it.
In other words, CmdrTaco can be as sick as he wants in his games. I'm hoping (and fairly confident) that he certainly doesn't hold real women in contempt or treat them like dirt. It's just a game!
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Why is it a common assumption that an intelligent woman MUST be pissed off if someone makes a comment about lesbians or setting Xena on fire? Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor anymore?
of the nature of the game! What I really enjoyed about the Sims is that there is no real "goal." All sitcoms are these 30-minute packages where everything ends up fine at the end. Has this ever happened in a Sims game? It's not goal-oriented like a TV show plot, so I don't see how it could be carried through on. That, and there aren't really recognizable characters (like Mario, Sonic or other vid characters).
I see that your definition of "acting" doesn't posting your misogynistic fantasies on a major website, then?
-- the most controversial site on the Web
I supposed to could have your terrorist scenarios, inner city setups, complete with drive by shootings, etc. But after a while I find I am much more interested in world design where real people can have fun, and my interest in the sims drops off.
In other words, I like a bigger game.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Can you also buy a rifle with a scope?
Just wondering.
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
So this would be Virtual Reality TV?
Lets see.
We've progressed from imitating reality (sitcoms) to reality (reality tv) to imitating virtual reality with reality mixed in?
This is all too confusing, I'm going to go play Sim Life and see if something better evolves.
When I first started playing, a neighbor walked into my house. We were both males, but I noticed one of the available options was "Tickle". He shoved me, and never came back. I cracked up laughing, and decided to start calling him at 3 AM.
Sadly, though, I ended up quitting, because my character got to be in such horrible health that he refused to look for a job or clean up, and eventually couldn't afford food. Another highlight: when he ran out of money, he had a maid cleaning -- she took my trashcan as collateral!
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suwain_2
Screw the Sims, what we really need is a Leisure Suit Larry show. Now that would be worth watching!
But seriously, why would anyone want to watch a TV series about other people going about their daily lives, doing nothing out of the ordinary. (No Seinfeld references, please). I grew quickly tired of The Sims because it seemed *way* too passive for my interests. I bought the game after hearing several friends rave about it, and I think I played for two or three hours before deleting it from my hard drive. Sim City was fun because you could build and design an entire metropolis (and destroy it ;-) but The Sims lacks any sort of interesting qualities, because the characters aren't doing anything worth watching. My own life is boring enough without me sitting at the computer all day watching other people eat, go to work, and take a shit. Maxis usually makes decent games, but they definitely missed the boat when they though people would play a game that involves such uninteresting gameplay. A railgun or chainsaw would definitely make the game better in my opinion.
"Technically, a cat locked in a box may be alive or dead." -Kurt Cobain
A TV show based on a computer game? What a crappy, stupid idea. Why the next thing you know, they'll be giving Bette Middler her own show.
From the article: A new Sims Online version of the game is being planned for launch in February that would require the purchase of software to be played through the Web site EA.com. The Series being developed is a live-action sitcom about a normal family, called the McNallys, that move into Sim City, said Danny Bilson, VP of intellectual properties for EA, and executive producer and writer of the planned show. The '50s-style program would have a host named Bill Simmons. Every week a new character created by a real-life consumer at Sims Online would be introduced along with the creator, who would be flown in. The family and host will migrate online, interacting with real players at EA.com.
Diplomacy is the art of letting people have your way