Friday 4 February 2005

Pic of the day: In some ways, the Sims really do seem more human than I. Then again, it could just be that I have not been tested in all things like them.

Sims and humans

I am impressed with the game Sims2. It is far more realistic than its predecessor, both in the way things look and in the way people act. To the best of my knowledge there is simply nothing like it... it has no competitors. Well, you could say the original Sims is a competitor of sorts, but they are really in different leagues. And yet, even though I am impressed, and even though I like the concept behind the game, I find playing it slightly depressing. It is actually fun for perhaps half an hour or so, but then it grows gradually more irritating. If I play it for a whole evening, I end up feeling restless and outright upset. I have wondered why this is. If the game is so engrossing that it takes a real effort to stop playing it, why does it make me unhappy or at least dissatisfied?

And then I thought of one small detail: The wants. An important element in the new game is that each Sim has at any time four wants and tree fears. (There is a saying that a human can only keep seven things in mind at the same time, perhaps the developers have heard that too?) The wants are decided partly by the path each Sim chooses as he or she becomes a teenager: To live for riches, or knowledge, or family, or romance, or fame. But the wants are also influenced by family situation and recent memories. For instance, a family oriented Sim that lives in a loving relationship will want to kiss, cuddle, make love and have babies. Lots and lots of babies. But a family oriented Sim that is still single will just want to make friends and fall in love; babies are not on the agenda yet. And so on, depending on their personality and circumstances.

I won't swear, but I strongly suspect that the wants is the part of that drags me down the most. I want my Sims to feel happy (even though they are only electronic structures) and to experience their lives as fulfilling (even though I am the only one who actually experiences something). But whenever you satisfy one wish, another shows up in its place. Actually, sometimes fulfilling a wish also causes several other wishes to change, especially if it is an important wish like falling in love or getting a job. This happens immediately, without transition. The Sims never take time to enjoy their accomplishments, to just savor the feeling of being alive, of having the stuff they need, of being with friends or family. Even after a good meal, the most you can hope for is that they fart and wash the dishes.

I said to myself: The Sims are too human, certainly more human than I am. I also generate a steady stream of new wishes and desires, but it is not all that I do. Sometimes I think about the past, and occasionally even about the future. Sometimes I just enjoy my own feelings. Sometimes I do something I don't want, because it's the right thing to do. OK, so that is less often than it ought to be.

When left to themselves, the Sims will occasionally write in their diary or just lie down on their beds and daydream or read a book. Perhaps I should leave them more to their own devices. But even that is so random. They lack such essential traits as gratitude and a sense of accomplishment. OK, so perhaps those are human traits, and after all the problem is that they are not human enough rather than the other way around. I guess what they are is consumers. They are workers, customers, taxpayers... but in the end they lack spirit. They have ambitions but not values, goals but not reflection.

Of course it is unreasonable to expect soul in a machine. Perhaps I will enjoy the game more now that I have thought this through. And perhaps, perhaps even enjoy my own life a bit more.