Coded gray.

Sunday 1 June 2003

Screenshot The Sims Superstar

Pic of the day: One of the annoying things about fame is the obsessed fans who photograph you while you crawl around on all fours searching for your house key in the middle of the night. (Actually, I arranged this picture, but the obsessive fan was there taking pictures on his own accord.) Oh, and this is a screenshot from The Sims. Even if you did not see the word "Sims" in the picture, you should know that I don't wear a white skirt outdoors; besides, I am not THAT famous. Yet.

Obsessed fans

My right arm hurt from my fingers to my neck. It is (almost) all due to The Sims: Superstar. The Sims is more mouse intensive than the game I usually play, and I have played like an obsessed fan in order to give you the news on this latest expansion pack from Maxis/EA. Furthermore, I have been writing longer entries than usual. And now I am doing it again.

There are lots of reviews out there, and a couple decent FAQs too. What you expect from me is something slightly different, I hope. You must have noticed how I tend to connect things, such as things in a game and things in the real world. Needless to say (for regular readers at least), I have done it again.

***

In the game, it is said that you risk getting an obsessed fan if you neglect keeping your fans happy. In practice, your personal otaku shows up as soon as you reach 2.5 star points. He is a nuisance, hanging around you at all times, laying roses at your doorstep, and trying to steal your awards (if any). You can delete fanatics but they pop back in. You can not trap them with walls, and they don't set off the burglary alarm. (Star doors keep them out, though, so keep your valuables in a star-door room. Then again, star doors keep out all people except stars, so don't use it on the front door. Bedroom perhaps?)

According to my sources the stalker will disappear once you have 126 relationship points with fans (surname Anybody in the American version, Hvermansen in the Norwegian – I love the Norwegian names!) Getting a couple friends from Studio Town should be enough. Ordinary townies won't work, although they will also behave like fans now, asking for autographs and gushing and trying to sneak a hug.

***

Wish that real life was so simple. There are no hard rules on when you get a stalker here, nor how to get rid of them. I'm not talking about personal stalkers, that would be enough for a whole miniseries already. But even if you never had any lovers, much less a spouse, you can still get a stalker if you're famous or just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Since famous people are at a lot of places at the same time, their display to mentally derange people is just that much larger. This, I firmly believe, is why fame and stalking are so closely related. Think of it as the time a potential stalker is exposed to you: If you are famous, a lot of potential stalkers are exposed to you, and sooner or later one will latch on. If you are not famous, but one potential stalker is exposed to you for months or years, you're also stuck. That's the way I see it.

Most stalkers are males. Either that, or a male stalker is just so much more of a nuisance. Since people tend to go crazy mostly over someone of the opposite sex (repressed sexuality is probably one of the fuels under their soul's cauldron) a female stalker is not a big deal for a man, unless she is heavily armed. A big male stalker is however quite a security threat for the average woman (football players not included, obviously – and they're more likely to have female admirers anyway...) and so the male stalkers are more likely to cause a stir.

If I had an obsessed female fan, I guess I could just cuddle her till she gave up and went away. This simply won't work with males. Not that I have tried.

I would certainly think twice about having a huge online journal like this with full name and approximate address, if I were female. Or rich. Or already famous. (An online journal is a rather slow way to gain fame, in case any of you wondered. Unless there be topless pictures, I guess.) But being almost unknown, rather poor and quite male, I simply have nothing that anyone desires of me, apart from fixing their software problems. And hanging around outside my home is not a good way to make me fix your computer glitches, in case you wondered. (Though you are welcome to try if you are female and cute.)

***

Leaving that sorry chapter behind, it is time for a few choice words about online fandom. A lot of people have an online presence this day, from supermodels to amateur writers. As a rule of thumb, the more famous you are, the less interested are you in the attention of Joe Random. So writing to Mick Jagger or Cindy Crawford is not likely to elicit a swift and personal response, while fan mail to a young and promising Harry Potter fanfic writer is almost certain to be read, quite likely responded to.

As a rule of index finger (we already used the thumb, right?), people who excel by their literary value is more likely to respond to mail than those who rely on their exterior. This is natural because they are able to handle written text with ease, so it is no big deal for them to read or write a short message. It does not require a break in their ordinary mindset. Rumor has it that Isaac Asimov responded personally to every letter sent him. Then again, he is dead now. Besides, that was before the coming of e-mail, where budding fans have a much lower threshold to writing. But there's still Al Schroeder, creator of the online comic MindMistress. He may not be Shakespeare, but Shakespeare is dead and doesn't respond to fan mail. Schroeder does. I don't think I have ever written to him without getting some kind of reply within 24 hours.

Most performers and artists like fans. Well-behaved fans, that is. Non-obsessed fans. In particular, if it is something they do rather than just the way they look, it would be suitable to mention it. Briefly. Show that you are familiar with their work, but don't write a thesis, just make it so that they know it's not a form mail you have sent to all famous people whose name starts with A. "I particularly admire your Harry/Draco lovemaking scenes" should be enough. ~_~ Don't gush. Keep your daydreams tightly to yourself. And you are probably not their greatest fan ... (Or if you are, you have now idea how disturbing that would be to them. "Greatest fan" is the last stop before "mad stalker", so don't even think it.) Don't ask for autographs. If you want autographs, go to conventions, tours, or other places where the idol shows up. Generally, don't ask for more than you give. They are not in your debt, you are in theirs, for making life a little brighter or whatever they did to convert you to fandom.

Have a star-filled night, y'all.


Yesterday <-- This month --> Tomorrow?
One year ago: Morrowind, day 2
Two years ago: Justice vs emotion
Three years ago: No friend, no pincers
Four years ago: Strangers in Paradise

Visit the Diary Farm for the older diaries I've put out to pasture.


I welcome e-mail: itlandm@online.no
Back to my home page.