Slashdot Mirror
Organizing Sim Protests
Shadow Wrought writes "Alternet has an article about how to go about protesting McDonald's in the Sims Online universe. According to the story "A deal struck between Sims publisher Electronic Arts and the fastfood mega-corporation allows Sims players to open up their own McDonald's kiosk and improve their game stats by consuming McD's greasy goodies." This then tells how to vent any rage that such may conjure. Mayhaps a venue to protest other issues as well?"
Most Sims players are already fat from eating McDonalds and playing The Sims all day. They don't want the shame of having their Sim alter egos puffing up on SimBigMacs and SuperSizedSimFries.
C - A language that combines the speed of assembly with the ease of use of assembly.
Like staying at home playing games.
To think, we've moved into a society that has a need to protest virtual issues online. Even more interesting is that sometimes people seem more interested in these virtual issues than the ones that actually plaque society.
Memories become legend, Legend fades to myth, and even myth is forgotten by the time that age comes again.-Robert Jordan
Don't buy the fucking game?
I for one, am willing to have a little bit of product placement in my video games to defray the cost. It's better than pop-up ads. Anyway, of course eating McDonalds is going to increase your stats. Anything that bad for you has to taste good, right?
A simple workaround would be to go "dine" at the particular McDonalds restaurant, spill virtual coffee on player's lap and sue Maxis for damages.
I am outraged that they have found a way to keep themselves profitable without charging more. If we don't all get in our comfortable shoes and make protest signs out of recycled cardboard,then the next thing you know we will start seeing animated banners and huge blocky ads on slashdot!
Seriously.
"Giant megacoroprations are adversely affecting the quality of life for my imaginary computer friends!"
This aint no posterchild for mental health and social skills.
There are enough injustices in the world worthy of protest, we don't need virtual ones.
EA's selling, McD's buying. Get over it.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Then they shouldn't hang out there. As it is, are these peoples lives so meaningless, that they have to get themselves worked up over a game?
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
that certain game players need to get out more?
sulli
RTFJ.
Hear me out.
So, McDonald's wants people to think their food is tasty and fulfilling. We all know that's not true (especially 60 minutes later when you're in the bathroom trying to get their filth out of your digestive system).
I say we organize anti-ad movements to pay the maker of The Sims to add the following code:
if(character.justAte(McDonalds)) {
wait(60, minutes);
character.CrapBrainsOut();
}
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
Virtual women burning their virtual bras....oh...wait...it's a family game.
Maybe letting people die of heart attacks in at the kiosks and haunting them?
The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
But, if you are this concerned about your SIMS stats, maybe you need to quit watching simulated people with lives and get one yourself.
Overrated / Underrated : Moderation
From the article:
History has shown gamers that online protest can result in positive change, as exemplified in Ultima Online's 1997 naked riot demanding bug fixes and server upgrades.
Not being an Ultima fan, I'm not familiar with the reference. Can anyone enlighten me as to what happened?
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
if they will have workers who speak english...
Just what we need - SimHippies stinking of SimPatchouli with hygeine meters redder than a baboon's ass sitting around in a SimDrumCircle outside SimMcDonald's because it's SimEvil. Please. Get me some SimTearGas and a SimTaser and I'll have them working the SimFry-o-Lator by SimTomorrowMorning.
Anyway, there are two problems with The Sims Online, given experience with the current play test: you can't fucking connect; and, when you can connect, it's boring as hell.
This then tells how to vent any rage that such may conjure.
Vent?! VENT?! How am I supposed to vent when I can't even GET TO THE ARTICLE?!
Arrrrghahjhbasjbdbajssdajbjjjararrrghagrhgrhgh!!
hmm... all that rage made me hungry. I could sure go for a cheesebur... uh... I mean... ARRRRARGAHRHGRRHGHGGGA!
I moderate "-1, Fool"
It's.
A.
Game.
I agree 100% that this type of product placement is a sad sign. But it's EA's game, and if they want to ruin it by giving points for hitting yourself on the head with a duck, well, either get a duck or spend your gaming budget somewhere else.
McDonalds provides most of the few jobs that people without any qualifications at all can do legally. They provide employment in poorer countries, and provide food to the hungry.
A large portion of their profits goes to charities every year. They are a true symbol of the determinism and individuality of free America.
Anyone who wants to protest them is at the very least a fool. Most of them are simpyl jealous of the success of the company. A patriot has no need to feel bad about a fellow Americans success. This jealousy is the reason the USSR hated the west.
Just build a swimming pool around your local McDonald's, then include a diving board, but no ladder to get out. Problem solved! :)
;)
Off-topic note: This is my 500th comment. I asked in my journal what I should do to mark my 500th comment, and somebody (can't imagine who) said I should say this: 'Not few enough to claim I have a life, and not enough to be super cool like gmhowell (who is currently typing number 2694).' So this message is dedicated to gmhowell, poster extraordinaire, to whose lofty heights (up to 2712 comments as of this writing) I can but dream to aspire.
Besides, he's got FortKnox beat by at least 400.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
Can I open a SimBrick kiosk near the SimMcD's to sell SimObjects to throw through the SimWindows? ( Hmmm. Aah, all right. We'll have, uh, two with points and... a big flat one.).
Can I SimSpit on people wearing SimFur? Maybe hit them with SimSprayPaint?
Now Maxis can market a new expansion pack to add black-shirted anarchists and French nationalists to the Sims. Co-option ho!
- - - Patent applied for and deliver us from evil
At subway, you get a sub prepared anyway you like, by the friendly, efficient staff. Choose from mouth-watering veggies, succulent meats and cheeses, and a variety of freshly-baked bread. Why not stop in today and pick up some subs for the whole family to enjoy. I suggest the Italian BMT, piled high with genoa salami, pepperoni, ham, and provolone cheese. Top it with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles, add a few spritzes of italian dressing and you've got a meal fit for king.
Subway: eat fresh!
Ironically, there are no fat Sims. Veterans of the original game will know this, and the same is true of the online game. There are various head and body skins that simulate different sexes, ethnic types .. even species.. but there are no various body sizes.
Maxis (EA) should really turn this into a profitable venture by allowing the Sims to gain weight from eating at the SimMcDonalds.. They could strike a deal with Ballys so that people can work their fat Sims out to loose weight at a virtual Ballys.
-gerbik
This is probably only the beginning.
... so I gave up on the idea.
At one point in time, I was consdiering creating a "real world" game, similar to everquest in terms of graphics and game style, but using modern weapons instead of old style weapons. The ctach was this: I was hoping to drum up enough advertising revenue from companies, such as McDonalds, but placing their companies in the game. The hope was to defeat everquest by reducing or eliminating the monthly service fee for playing the game with advertsing dollars.
Of course, then I realized the McD's probably wouldn't like people blowing up their buildings with a rocket launcher
But give it a little more time. I'm sure a game, like the one I just vaguely described, will exist before soon.
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
I remember the days when "product placement" meant that products were used as background and filler elements. They were still visible, but they weren't the focus of a scene.
These days it's blantant and in-your-face. It's disgusting. I already pay to see the movie. Then they show me ads and trailers. And to top it off, I end up watching a 90 minute ad rather than a movie.
I fully expect to see James Bond drinking a Coke in the upcoming "Buy Another Day" movie. He'll pick up the can, turn to the camera, they'll get a tight zoom on him as he takes a swing and then he'll say something like:
"The only thing I don't like shaken is my Coke. It's the Real Thing."
"Scientists prove we were never here."
-- Devo
Let your voice be heard from the comfort of your home. Send a Sim to a major city to protest (War on Iraq, IMF policies, or a hundred other causes), and watch your Sim be peppersprayed and arrested by well-armed SimCops.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
A pox on Ronald MacDonald!!
Actually, my kids have been boycotting MacDonald's since they were in elementary school (they are in high school now). A few years back, MacDonald's bought the failing Hardee's chain in the Washington, DC area. Hardee's also owned the Roy Rogers chain, about the finest fastfood burger joint in town (I fondly remember their "Fixin's Bar" and their fried chicken). MacDonald's then closed both Roy Rogers in our town and would not negotiate with other fastfood franchise for their old buildings. Boston Market tried and failed. Both buildings finally went to sit-down places.
Anyway, for closing Roys and for denying Boston Market, my kids decided--quite on their own--that they prefered Wendy's and Burger King. We haven't been in a MacDonald's since. This nonesense with Sims tells me that we're not ready to go back.
Maybe we should add Electronic Arts to our boycott as well!
"Love is a familiar; Love is a devil: there is no evil angel but Love." --William Shakespeare ('Love's Labors Lost')
Who cares about Organizing Sim Protests????? Ohh scary protesters are not going into my FAKE IMAGINARY MC Donalds! Who the Hell cares.
Games are for DOING stuff that you CAN'T Do. Not for stuff that you are TOO LAZY to do!
Go buy a real game like Counter Strike
If your life is that boring that you spend your time protesting at least put your efforts into something useful. Go protest sim Microsoft!
The monthly fee will $14.95, making it the most expensive online game out there. Mc'Dees is hardly defraying the cost of playing this. I can get ISP service for less than the cost of a game that has already paid for itself many times in the retail sales of the original games and addons.
You could also think about it this way. McDonalds is a part of the American Landscape. Sure they are advertising for McDonalds in the Sims and McDonalds my be giving them money to do so. But I think the point of the game is to make it seem more realistic. Sure the food will most likely kill us. I dont nessarly like the food. But McDonalds is basicly an American Landmark.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
If the game will allow me to play as José Bové?
Google the name if you don't get the joke.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
and have the characters in Sims sit around all day playing sims where their characters protest Mcdonalds?
I can't wait until they come out with a game in which you take control of a salaryman who plays The Sims.
Then I wouldn't play that, either.
My
Limekiller
Protesting by not purchasing fails when you can't find out about the thing you object to until after the purchase.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
EXACTLY!
Open source games? Want to make money? Offer marketing embeded WITHIN the game. It costs more money for your product to have 'good affects', etc. You could make a game, give it away for free AND make money.
The designers gets paid for his/her efforts.
The marketing people get tons of exposure for their products.
The gamer gets a quality game for free.
Its a win-win-win situation!!
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Maxis has struck so many deals with corporations that players of The Sims discover that their Sims are being oversaturated with commercialism, thereby causing them to buy a copy of "The Sims for The Sims" so that their Sim Family can get away from it all.
Marketing genius, I say.
After all that pigging out at MacDonald's, do your Sims end up weighing a simulated 300 pounds each? Do they get simulated atherosclerosis? Sim diabetes? Sim strokes? Sim food poisoning? Do Sim children come down with simulated ADHD?
Not entirely accurate then, is it?
Umm, that's rationale and plague, folks. A plaque is a small sign. Rational means reasonable or relating to reason. A plague is a widespread disease (and metaphorically a lot of something unpleasant). A rationale is an excuse or reason for doing something.
I don't play games (much less Sims) so I don't know, but I wonder how effective "virtual protests" are. One of the things that makes a physical protest effective is that, well, it's physical. If you fill up downtown Washington with people, somebody's bound to notice (even politicians). But when people congregate online, who really notices?
I also wonder about the effectiveness of email campains (i.e. when we send email to our 'representatives'). I have a feeling that a fax machine spewing messages is a lot more noticeable than a full mailbox.
So, yeah, it is interesting. But what interests me more is whether or not it works at all.
---
Open Source Shirts
This brings up an issue I have with simulation games such as The Sims. It does, of course, apply to other games as well, and to many other situations where the viewer or player must distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Nevertheless: simulation games convey a certain impression of verisimilitude. As you play them, you cannot avoid gaining skill in dealing with the simulated universe, and learning "lessons."
To the extent that the player preceives the game as authentically realistic, these "lessons" may sneak in past the barriers we've built against other forms of propaganda
Some are of these lessons are semi-political. And some, it seems, may be product placements.
For example, in SimCity, as I recall, the citizens clamor for a sports stadium and it is very important to the success of your city that you build one (at the right time, of course).
Did the creators of the game base this on actual data about the economic effects of sports stadiums on cities? (Unlikely). Or were they just building in a plausible and entertaining set of game rules? (Probably). Or... were they carrying water for some group that was trying to get a stadium built? (No, I don't really think so--but the possibility exists). Similarly, is the behavior of SimCity residents with respect to tax rates an authentic simulation, artistic guesswork--or a political agenda?
Of course these problems exist with all games, and to some extent it's an issue of developing antibodies against the newer games. There's no real danger that I will speculate in Atlantic City properties just Monopoly has given me the illusion that I understand how to do it.
Still...
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
I've seen a lot of /.ers already talking about not buying the game, not playing the game, etc. The problem I have with this philosophy is that it's like wrapping your face in a towel, figuring that if the problem sees that you can't see it, it won't be able to see you, and will therefore go away. THIS DOESN'T WORK.
The problem is not the people worried about advertising in games. The problem is that this could open up a Pandora's Box of other companies buying advertising time inside games.
"You have cleard the 13th level of monsters, through this door is the Ultimate Evil, all you must do is cross this threshold and defeat him... But first, here's a word from our sponsors..."
I already do everything in my power to eliminate my exposure to mind numbing advertising. If it starts getting put into video games, I won't be able to go for popcorn until the previews start, or to go grab a snack until my show comes back on.
Of course, it's just my opinion.
The chains are broken
Loki is free
Ragnarok is at hand...
Admittably, I don't know exactly what stats a Sims Online Sim has. So this is also half a question - what stats does it improve? I'd imagine that it isn't something stupid like eating a Big Mac improves your charisma, intelligence, and strength - it just satisfies a Sim's hunger (and increases the Bathroom need). Which makes an amount of sense - eating a Big Mac in real life is usually done to satisfy hunger. There are plenty of other people here to make fun of McD's crappy food, so I'll let 'em do it.
(Anyone else think McDonalds fries are crap? America's favorite fries? I'd hope not...)
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Don't forget to add code that makes the characters get acne and greasy hair, gain inordinate amounts of weight, and eventually die from throttled arteries!
Moderation totals that amuse me for one of my posts: Flamebait=1, Insightful=2, Funny=2, Overrated=1, Underrated=1
I am constantly amazed by the stuff people will get their panties in a bunch over.
Kiosk owners will find one of the business challenges is dealing with virtual nuts who form sit downs and disrupt the business for no good reason at all.
Maybe the owners will get to own virtual bazookas that fire burger patties...
Wow, and for a minute there I thought "Maxis" had something to do with what women wear a few days a month. After reading a post further down, I realized you weren't talking about making a maxi pad wet with coffee ...
In the long run, we're all dead.
The dining Austrailian philosopher's problem : seven software developers at a table and only one bottle opener!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Stop worrying about politically correct video games. there aremore important this to do.
It's been reported that eating virtual McDonald's hamburgers will positively affect your "Fun" and "Hunger" game stats. But what if you're a vegetarian? What if you're an eco-activist? What if you think it's more Fun dining at Biff's Family Restaurant? Although the game hasn't hit the stores yet, the free public beta is open. The time to act is now. Log in, Revolutionary, and fight the good fight:
What. The. Hell.
Seriously. What if you're a vegetarian? What?? Ok. I'm morally opposed to murdering people, but I don't have a problem with Quake 3, GTA3, Hitman 2, Dead to Rights. Heck I even enjoy playing those games. Why? It's a damn video game, and it's not real.
With EA touting such egalitarian rhetoric, it follows to reason that freedom of speech is as alive in The Sims Online as it is in the real world. Test this theory by standing up and shouting for what you believe in, my Revolutionaries! If the thought of being force-fed Big Macs makes you sick, you'd better start giving this advertising model a serious case of indigestion.
Alright. First off it says you have the option of opening up a McDonalds. Let me guess to, you also have the option of eating at said McDonalds. Seems like real life to me. No where does it say you have to open a McDonalds and have to eat at them. McDonalds just happens to be the only company EA made a deal with to use their image in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if in future Sim games we see Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, TGI Fridays, Bennigans, all those places. So what the hell is the problem?
And dare I say it, some people like McDonalds. I like the occastional French Fry from McDonalds or the occastional Quarter Pounder with cheese. I don't live off the stuff, I don't consider it high quality food. It's funny how these guys go on to say how we all hate McDonalds, and how we all 'know' McDonalds food is terrible, yet somehow, McDonalds continues to be the worlds largest fast food chain.
Then we get the people who believe McDonalds and other fast food places are the cause of obsesity in the world. I'm no underwear model myself, but seriously, Ronald McDonald didn't come to my house and force feed me Big Macs until I couldn't see my feet anymore. There are no bad foods, there are only food abuses. But I digress. The point is, it's a video game people. A video game simulating every day life. McDonalds for many people, is a part of every day life. So are other things. I don't think EA can afford to pay all the popular fast food places to use their likeness in the game, nor do they have the time to program the game to handle them all.
Seriously. Repeat after me. It's a video game, it's not real.
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
Would be to track the credit cards of people that protest the Virtual McDonalds, and see if they ever eat at the REAL McDonalds. Then send them a letter:
Dear hypocrite:
We see you protested our Virtual McDonalds, then went and gourged on a Big Mac. Please cease and desist your bitching and moaning. That is all
The author of the article wants you to take a stance against the integration of games and advertising by protesting in the online world.
Can anything make less truth?
Let's be honest: it follows logically that there would be a plethera of McDonalds in a simulation of America, because America really is over-run with fast-food resturants, advertisements, endorsements and the associated garbage.
Do you really want to make a change? Then follow these rules:
1) Don't protest within the Sim World.
This won't get you anywhere. In fact, you may wind up wasting more of your time away playing...
2) Don't support this game.
This isn't the first game to include coroprate advertising, but it has reached a new (sickening) level. SPEAK WITH YOUR DOLLARS: don't buy this game!!
3) Boycot McDonalds.
The fast-food industry's move to tie fast-food to children at an early age is well known, (they even admit it theirselves), but you don't have to stand for it. Do you REALLY want to protest? Take it to the streets in front of a real McDonalds. Talk to families... educate them.
4) Begin a letter writing campaign to EA.
Write it out by hand. Sign your name. Tell them that you refuse to buy their games until they change their policies regarding advertising. They'll get the message.
5) Support Ad-Busters.
If you don't have the time or energy to do these things yourself, then support those individuals and organizations that do. I'm not affiliated with them, but Ad-Busters (aka: the Media Corporation [Canada]) is great. You should support them.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
Would you like to play a nice game of chess?
New from Rockstar Games: SimActivist
From the streets of the WTO riots in Seattle to the steps of World Bank in Washington, D.C., your job is to stop globalization where ever it raises its ugly capitalist head. Guide your SimActivist through multiple venues of anarchaic protests! Pickup adhoc weapons of the street like chain-link fences and road signs, or show up to rally with an arsenal of homemade fireworks.
Invoke your right to civil disobedience, buy SimActivist today!
"You can't dissect him, predict him, which of course means he's not a lunatic at all."
11/18/2002
Sony/Verant has announced their partnership with several companies to produce an extensive sponsorship program in their upcoming online RPG, EverQuest 2.
Players will now be able to interact with several name brands they can associate with in the World of Norrath.
Verant has released a preliminary list of the new features of EQ2 as follows:
All armor will be replaced with namebrand apparel. All towns in EQ2 will have an OLD NAVY store instead of local merchants, where players will be able to buy normal clothes. Additionally, apparel designed by several top fasion designers will appear in the game. Only the most uber players will be able to obtain Versace threads.
PEPSI products have replaced the mundane food and water of EQ1. Players will have to go to the in-game KFC, Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut locations to refill on rations. The in-game stores will also provide Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Mountain Dew rather than normal water.
Players can now earn extra experience by slaying monsters with brandname weapons.
There will be a distinct advantage using a CRAFTSMAN Power-Sword Deluxe, rather than a regular sword.
"We feel that these imrpovements add to the game," said a Verant spokesman. "In EQ1, players had a hard time identifing with the normal items in the game. In EQ2 we are bringing players into a world that is full of the brand names they can identify with. We hope to promote a lifestyle where players can consume high quality goods from companies like OLD NAVY, PEPSICO, and many others both online AND offline!"
EverQuest 2 is slated for release for fall of next year. Players will certainly be pleased to pay the full MSRP of $60.00 for the game on top of the monthy $17.99 fee with such improvements.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
>> What exactly was Ultima Online's 1997 naked riot?
I wondered too.
I've seen ultima fans and find the concept disturbs me greatly.
This is a mental image I didn't need, though I imagine conceding anything to get even a half dozen UO players to put their pants back on.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
It is to be noted that McDonald's profits have dropped from 12 billion pounds (24 billion American) to 7 billion pounds (14 billion american) worldwide this past year. Activists and protesters are considering this a good sign and it shows that "McFilth" is becoming less popular. I think MCDonalds is becoming concerned, thus the reason for advertising in this unusual way. Will it help McDonalds? Probobly not. But if the players of The Sims decide to raise a stink, then the developers will take a second look at what companies they want to be asociated with.
... it's going for Sim Realism.
Players who have Sim Protests will get their machines Sim Wiretapped.
Sim players who organize the protests of McVomit's will get slapped with Sim Product Libel suits.
Players who have too many Sim House Parties will be Sim Evicted from the Sim Neighborhood.
Players who set up affairs on Sim Hot Date will be Sim Sued for Sim Alienation of Affection.
Player who have too many Sim Vacations will be Sim Fired from their jobs for Sim Absenteeism.
Players who go on Sim Safari will get Sim Blood thrown on them by Sim PETA Protestors.
Then it'll get even worse:
The people who play "Crush, Crumble & Chomp" with their Sim world will get sent to the Sim Guantanamo Bay for Sim terrorism.
Players who allow the "incorrect" pairings on Sim Hot Date will be Sim Damned.
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
www.fogbound.net
I dont' think slashdotting really counts as a form of protest. In fact, if we slashdot with the intention of protesting, that might be considered a DoS attack.
Besides, even slashdotting doesn't get noticed by anyone other than slashdotters and the victim... So it really isn't nearly as noticeable as a physical crowd (even when the number of peope involved is fairly significant).
---
Open Source Shirts
If you spend more than 20% of your free time doing any of the following, constider yourself dead.
Eating ready meals, Junk food, Going out to resterants etc... Eating food that isn't and crafted and loveling shared.
Playing computer games.... (Trolling excluded!)
Watching T.V, Movies, Sports
Working (i.e. working out of hours).
Sitting on your ass and doingh nothing except breathing and listening to music.
Shopping in general
Shopping online is twice as bad.
Reading gossip and lifestyle mags.
Following fassion.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Naked... riot...
Um, anyone have screenshots?
-T
McExecWithAClue: Quick! Post the story to Slashdot. That will take care of that protest site. Mu-ha-ha.
"Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life." -- Marcus Aurelius, _Meditations_, Book 9, 37
It's fun and easy to kill your Sims. Make your point by targetting the corporate employees specifically.
My word! If our leasure society has now "advanced" to where some no longer have enough real issues to protest, now they are staging virtual protests against virtual foodstuffs.
sigh...
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
It was pointed out much earlier but basically ignored so I'll restate. This is not simply insertion of some McD visuals into the game. It's building in reward (and by lack of rewarded behaviour, punishment) in a game that simulates modern life. I'm glad the article was posted here because until then I didn't really get the objection. Yeah, more product placement. Whatever. I don't play that Sim stuff, myself. But consider the (probably) hundreds of hours spent in the game where players take seriously the rewards and punishments dished out within. Don't bother just dissing that expenditure of time. Instead -- try understanding the effects! If we get influenced by a brief flash of one brand or another in a film (and the stats say we do), then how much more real-world influence comes when you condition behaviours to those products over hundreds of hours? Also, the article's point about the absence of an ability to protest something that IS protested in the real world makes sense to me. Only because it's a virtual community -- real people interacting. All of you would get in an uproar if they started some heavy censorship on slashdot, yet it's not the "real world" by any stretch. But silencing dissent on another virtual community -- the Sims -- is ok? For a community (slashdot) devoted to stretching our brains a little, let's question a few assumptions, people! All you guys do is dis!
http://shift.com/content/web/425/1.html
In other new, cases of carpel tunnel syndrome are on the rise as millions of online participants move their Sims avatar back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and so on, in virtual picket lines
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I really do. I don't pay money to have ads shived down my throat. I don't like product placement in my movies, TV shows or games. Maybe it comes from living in a place where billboards are BANNED and I can actually see the world around me. Or maybe it's because I do not being treated as little more than a consumer whore bred to feed the machines.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Protesting by not purchasing fails when you can't find out about the thing you object to until after the purchase.
Yeah, well it's $10 a month for Sims Online, where the protests are supposed to be happening. These people could get a (real, not sim) life, and stop shelling out $10 a month.
"And like that
Might want to quit posting slashtrolls that simulate your having real-world karma, and instead go out and do something with it?
No... I suspect you don't.
First, nothing begins if not opening
All you people who are saying, "If this bothers you then get a life." are missing a major point. Protesting in a virtual enviroment is fun! McDonalds has become a player in the game and players are treating it the same way they treat monsters in other games, as a villain.
I think this is a really significant case study in how people behave in virtual enviroments. There are people in the Sims Online who are protesting McDonalds who never would in real life. People are expressing their feelings about McDonalds that they never could in real life due to pesky laws about vandalism and such.
Step One:
Create a lareg "sims" family and purchase a plot of sim land
Step Two:
Create a square house with no windows, no doors and a television facing a wall thats turned on so the family can never sleep. Contact EA and eplain that your holding a family hostage in your sim-house and are protesting their McDonalds add-in.
Step Three:
???????
Step Four:
Profit~!
Many of you are missing the point. The point is that if this goes over and no one objects then soon all of our games will be stuffed with ads and product placements. Do yuo really want to be killing imps in Nike shoes? Nazi soldiers lobbing grenades painted like Pepsi cans? Imperial storm troopers in Tommy Hifliger (SP?) pants? Penguins in Victoria's Secret lingerie (wait, I retract that last one, some of you might!)?
At what point do we say enough is enough? Are we so inundated by advertisements that we can't even see them anymore?
Where I live billboards are banned. They do not exist. Every time I go to California I am reminded of the unholy blight those damned things are. Games have been one of teh few types of entertainment I've been able to get away from the pervasive flood of advertisements and I'm resentful that these people are trying to take that away from me.
To those of you willing to put up with ads to keep the cost down I ask this: How far are you willing to let them go? Do any of you rememebr the album bu Zig Zig Sputnik (sp?) with commercials between the tracks? Is that what you want the world to be reduced to: every possible medium to be exploited by advertising? How much spam would you be willing to put up with to keep the cost of your email down?
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
So, essentially, this writer is advocating becoming a griefer player simply because a real-life restaurant he doesn't like is showing up in the game. Even though he seems to have his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, it's still annoying.
Fortunately, TSO home owners have methods of dealing with griefers.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
People are getting upset because the game (which is supposed to simulate "real" life, sorta) is becoming more real by having corporate presences? Just imagine how up in arms people would be if some group wanted to protest the game because it depicted sex acts ("there is just no need for such things to be in a game, it cheapens it and you never know where it's going to lead. Next thing you know they'll be having Sim kids and worse Sim Abortions, STOP THE KILLING OF UNBORN SIMS") followed of course by ("My Bits, My Choice!")
well i'm in the beta, and so far at least there are no mcdonalds anything. i suppose they're working on it, but since they're getting paid extra for it i would think they'd have put it in by now. the high end computers are intel pentiums, though.
The article notes that this McDonald's object is currently in the public beta. I played the beta last night, and unless they have placed a patch in today, the McDonald's kiosk is still not in the game yet. So no real point in protesting, yet. Of course, they haven't put in any of the job modules either. So my Sim goes around and plays carnival games in order to make money for his home. He also basically lives and sleeps in the house next door which is owned by my friend. Talk about replicating real life . . .
Man, if I wasn't stuck at work on my lunch reading and posting this, I might have been offended.
Overrated / Underrated : Moderation
EA and McD sign another secret contract of which the contents are still unknown. Several minutes later, 80% of the playerbase of "The Sims: Online" was wiped and banned due to an "unfortunate accident". Film at 11.
Hate me!
Now we need a "fat" mod to the Sims, so that eating at McDonald's makes them fatter, slower, less socially successful, and less employable.
Actually, this is kinda a bogus story. While they may have the branding setup to appear in the game somewhere, its not there now. EA also got in a deal with Intel to brand them in the game, which IS there now. When a sim turns on a computer, the Pentium 4 logo shows on the sims computer for a moment, then it goes to him doing whatever. Gee, this sure influences me to get a P4. ;)
Even if this DOES show up in game its not going to be any different than the current hotdog stand thats there now. A sim could buy one of these and then run it charging the visitors for food to up their Food motive. Thats it. The Food motive that you have to watch can also be satisified by, a sim cooking you food, the grill, a couple different buffet tables, a vending machine, and the before mentioned hotdog stand. So whats the big deal?
Sims protests against imaginary McDonalds kiosks? I have to run up the B.S. flag over this one! Why not put your energies into protesting real injustice in the real world. If you have a problem with McDonalds, don't eat there, and encourage your friends not to, either. Here are some sites.
a tion/mcdonalds/t ivism/Anti-Corporation/McDonalds/
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/McCracker/
http://www.openhere.com/life/activism/anti-corpor
http://www.communityfood.com/dir-cache/Society/Ac
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
So people are protesting EA's "selling out" of The Sims by... playing The Sims. Sounds effective.
The Sims series has always been an impressive piece of work. Evolutionary computing is a powerful tool, and you can learn about it in part by playing the game. It's a great way for kids (and adults) to learn a little about computers and also how nature works.
So if a corporation can pony up some $$$ and perturb the rules in order to favor a particular outcome (buying hamburgers == good && selling hamburgers == better) then the value of the game as is reduced from both an entertainment and from a learning standpoint.
I don't think the rules should be tweaked for anything unless it is absolutely necessary to make the game playable, and corporate sponsorship has to be the worst reason to do it.
Does a Sim walk into a SimMcDonalds, order a 9-piece Chicken SimMcNugget (SimChicken McNugget? Wait, that's what they are now.) meal, and then SimShit his/her SimBrains out 1 SimHour later?
I wonder how many people would have complained if they had chosen Hooters with their busty waitresses over McD's?
In some games, product placement provides added realism. I think McD's and Sims is a good mix. If it were McD's and Star Wars Galaxies I could see a reason to complain.
'Same speed C but faster'
Not that this issue is important in any way - but given the nature of how Sims Online is going to be structured, online protests aren't going to matter.
Each user will control their own area. If you're annoying them or their guests they'll kick you and possibly ban you.
There is no account banning as I understand it - you'll just keep getting banned by various people if you're annoying enough...I suppose in theory eventually you'll have no where to go but your own area.
But really the only story here is that there are people out there that find this something worth getting upset over...
That The Sims would have a McDonalds in the Sims world is an absolutely abhorrent thing! The damage that it does to our children and our society, not to mention our lawns and bandwidth, is totally unacceptable. Something must be done!
That the U.S. might become an aggressor nation and attack a weak and irrelevant country like Iraq means nothing compared to this. The assault on privacy rights due to Ashcroft and his Homeland Security Act pales in comparison to the horror of a McDonalds in the Sims. Corporate corruption, billions of dollars being stolen from U.S. citizens, Dick Cheney's complicity in the Halliburton affair, the torturing of prisoners of war in a U.S. run prison camp in Cuba - Yawn! Only a moron would waste his time protesting about such trivial and meaningless issues.
NO MCDONALDS IN THE SIMS!
It's probably been mentioned, but the Pepsi machine, complete with Pepsi products is already in the game. Why are you getting all upset now?
No Zen is good zen
They announced the McDonalds advertising several months ago when the deal was struck.
They also announced that you can buy INTEL computers in the same vein that you can buy McDonalds hamburgers. Computers powered by Intel processors give you better stats as well.
Perhaps we should also boycott them for advertising Intel?
Since I was in the playtest of the game, I can safely say the following things about this.
I never saw a McDonalds kiosk anywhere I played. The deal was announced several months ago, and I saw it in the game, but it was too expensive for me to put in my house.
There ARE other places to eat. You don't have to eat at the McDonalds, and you don't have to put one on your property. A generic buffet table is just as good and much cheaper.
INTEL IS DOING THE SAME THING. You can buy a computer with Intel Inside and it gives you much better stats than a lower-end computer. Your "fun" goes up quicker when you play games on it and your "Logic" goes up quicker when you're studying on it.
So, if you're gonna go after McDonalds for being available, might as well go after Intel for the very same reasons.
I think this is a hook to make the Sims more interesting.
My kids just get them to fall asleep while cooking and set themselves on
fire, which isn't nearly as subversive as this.
Most of these games bore me out of my mind, but this sounds like fun.
Organize communist cells, spy on each other, denunciations.
Man those guys at E.A. are brilliant.
To the Chicken Littles on this issue, where were you when ads were placed in Pole Position? Where's the outrage in the fact that Gran Turismo is simply a advertising tool of auto manufacturers? Where are the boycotts of 7-Up for creating the Spot game? Should I stop buying Madden 2K3 because both John Madden and the NFL endorses the product? Should I protest that Tony Hawk 4 features brand name skateboards and products?
I don't see anyone complaining that some video games use cheat codes of brand name products. Has the gaming experience diminished from having "Winners don't do drugs" on arcade games? Seriously, has all this really tarnished your video game experience? The reality is that most of you don't even give all the product placements that are already inside the game a second thought.
You just basically posted that you misuse your moderation points, which with one email is rectafied. You're new at this whole stalking thing, aren't you?
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
To prove this, I began eating nothing but McDonald's food for the past month. And had an increase in many statistics!
* Weight -- I went from weighing a pittly 175 to weighing a healthy 350! That's a stat increase of 200% go McDonalds!
* Running time -- Before I began the all McDonalds diet, I could run a mile in 6 minutes. The McDonalds diet increased my running time by well over 20 minutes!
* Cholesterol -- Eating McDonalds food dramatically increases your cholesterol intake!
So, for any of those nay-sayers, I think I have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that McDonalds food does INDEED increase your stats!
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
I had this idea, too. Role playing in a modern world, with a sci-fi twist. Make money selling billboard space in-game with links to the web. Have clothes and accessories from major labels. Let people buy real world items in game, make the manufacturers pay for the privelege. Best thing is, you won't need to hire as many artists: the manufacturers would have to create their own graphics, then pay you to put them in the game!
I talked with some of my friends in the gaming business. This is a common train of thought these days.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
You made thecomment about Stormtrooperd in Hilfinger, but you've missed your own point. If we say away with the ads in games what you'd get would be:
Generic space game (Star Wars is a cash cow, wouldn't want the evil Lucasfilm corporation or Fox to tarnish the purity of our space gaming!).
Can't license real players or equipment for sports games, either, so no Madden, NFL2Kx or NBA2Kx.
The Gran Turismo series would not have "real" cars or accurate tracks or the accurate advertising on said cars and tracks. Nope. Fantasy cars and tracks only and plain walls. No Enkei wheels either.
GTA Vice City would have to drop those '80s songs as well. All new generic music to set the tone for a decade.
Advertising and tie-ins actually accentuate the realism in certain games. There has been advertising in games for a while now. This smells of issues with McDonalds (and maybe globilization) than with advertising in games. If that's true, then the protestors don't have a chance of making any difference because a) there simply aren't enough of them and b) IT'S VIRTUAL!!!! No one's going to notice a few crackpots whining in an online game (that apparently they bought and pay for anyway - you have to be in the game to protest the Mickey D's in the game - bizarre).
Anyone else think McDonalds fries are crap?
no, actually i *know* they aren't crap. they're Sysco natural-casing shoestring-cut 100% idaho fries (yes, sysco is mcDs supplier) - really a very high quality product. and i happen to think mdDs fries are the greatest ever, bit i don't go for big meaty steak fries...i LIKE small crunchy greasy salty potato sticks, withOUT that hideous coatink BK uses. wendy's area touchthick, but otherwise OK. Checkers fries *0wn*, but they're spiced so they're in a whole 'nother category.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
McDonalds maintained an *unsually* high temperature for optimal coffee taste that could (and did) cause third degree burns. Other vendors maintain *lower* temperature, that can still cause burns but not to such great extent.
meet behind closed doors.
"You're quiet. I like that."
Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
Yeah, but you're forgetting that it's hip to hate McDonalds. It makes people feel better about themselves to protest a virtual fast food restaurant, thus placating their instinct to look out for the welfare of others (or their guilty conscience) without actually having to get off their fat asses and protest something that matters. (like war, big oil, insurance and pharmaceutical company abuse of the poor and elderly, racial profiling, or excessing imprisonment of drug law violators)
In other words, welcome to middle class america, where people need to feel righteous without actually standing for something.
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I'm wondering if it's possible in The Sims to create a character who protests McDonalds without the mandatory stick shoved sideways up the sim's ass. I like playing these characters because they seem to have lots of time on their hands and they never seem to need jobs. On top of that, they seem to have no problem with the hygiene rating being persistently low. That's great, but the stick thing poses quite a problem. Does anyone have any hacks or mods to The Sims that would allow this or is this simply too unrealistic for me to expect?
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
Vote with your dollars!
Here's an idea... Don't play the game. Nothing speaks louder than your wallet.
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