The Sims FreePlay - Representation blog tasks

Textual analysis

Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions:

1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies?

• The trailer for the teen expansion packs reinforces female submissive behaviour aswell as male protective ideologies. The characters aren't in expected outfits such as dresses or suits and ties, instead, they are wearing universal clothes that all genders can wear.
• For the boutique trailer, two females are highlighted. One is traditionally feminine whereas the other one wears more androgynous clothes with shorter hair etc..

2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay?

• the traditional gender stereotypes of male and female.
• The heterosexual stereotype, there is a lack of LGBT representation.

3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay?

• Butlers gender performance theory
• Gilroy- 'Double Consciousness'
• Baudrillard- postmodern theory 

Representation reading

Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:

1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be?

• The game doesn't intend to be realistic but its aims to be believable.

2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity?

• The realistic creation of avatars has helped improve the representation.

3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society?

• The Sims does challenge racism or sexism explicitly as the game is under the control of the payer, ot the game developers.

4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity?

• The game hasn't made any bold statements on fluidity and forces players to choose a gender.

5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?

• The 'American Dream' ideology is reinforced with avatars having to work for success and happiness.

Read this New Normative feature on LGBTQ representation in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:

1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?

• The game represented a minority community which gave it a lot of positive publicity.

2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?

• The sexuality is now up to the players as they have full control over their avatars.

3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?

• It gave positive representations on the gay community which hadn't been seen before in other games.

4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?

• The game allowed for players to have sex which wasn't a family-friendly addition to the game.

5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?

• More games are praising sexuality and are moe accepting of it.

Reality, postmodernism and The Sims

Read this Paste Magazine feature on reality and The Sims franchise. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4?

• The game is said to be too realistic and annoying to play.

2) What audience pleasures did the writer used to find in The Sims franchise?

• Diversion
• Fantasy element

3) Why does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC?

• The writer is frustrated with these DLC's because they reinforce everyday domestic tasks and don't prove a sense of diversion.

4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic?

• I agree that the game has been made to realistic as players cant go to the game for any division as they are faced with the same modern-day struggles of reality.

5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?

• This representation suggests that the game has blurred reality with virtual reality.

The Sims FreePlay social media analysis

Analyse The Sims FreePlay Facebook page and Twitter feed and answer the following questions:

1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels?

• To gain a fandom and start fandoms etc..

2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response.

• how incredible is this mansion? 
• Don't miss out on fashionista hairstyles
• Whose excited for the lake house grand prize?
• They encourage comments by players to give their opinion and increase excitement in the game.

3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay?

• More players are requesting new content.
• The game needs to update in order to stay relevant in the modern age.

4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA?

• There are no other revenue streams seen in the feed other than the content of The Sims mobile game.

5) Linking to our work on postmodernism, how could The Sims FreePlay social media presence be an example of Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra?

• The game is a representation of reality which means there are replications of real-life throughout the game which creates a blur for some players as they can't distinguish what is real life and what isn't.

The Sims FreePlay Case Study - Industries

Regulation – PEGI

Research the following using the PEGI website.

1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law?

• VSC - A Rating Board is an Administrator of the PEGI age rating system and is  used in over 30 countries throughout Europe. 
• Links to UK law through the fact that 16 and 18 rated games are legally enforceable and cannot be sold to anyone under those respective ages.' 

2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage.

• 13938+ Games Rated
• 15141+ Apps Rated 
• 1702 Number of Member Oultets
• 30 years in operation

3) What is the purpose of PEGI?

• The purpose of PEGI is being committed to providing as much helpful information we can about video game ratings.

4) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what do they include?

• PEGI 3:"majorityof games in this category do not contain anything that requires rating or warrants a content warning."
• PEGI 7"majority of games in this category do not contain anything that requires rating or warrants a content warning."
• PEGI 12"detailed and realistic looking violence towards fantasy characters is allowed."
• Parental Guidance
• PEGI 16:"expect to see more mature and realistic violence against human characters."
• PEGI 18:The adult classification, applied when the level of violence is both realistic or severe in nature, often being graphic with blood and gore.

5) Scroll down to look at the ‘How games are examined’ infographic. What is the PEGI process for rating a game?

• Assess the contents of the game 
•  receive video footage of the game as well as a copy of it.
•  Another assessment to ensure nothing has been misinterpreted from a questionnaire. 
• Play the actual game and assess gameplay and representations.
• The game receives a PEGI rating.

The ‘Freemium’ gaming model

Read this Lifewire feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) How does the freemium model work?

• A game with limuted features and is free to download but has in app purchases that expand the gameplay.

2) Why do some gamers believe freemium is ruining games?

• They limit the game play of the game.

3) What are the positives of the freemium model for gaming?

• expand the features
• "the ability to download and try a game for free is great"

Now read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.

• 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue.

2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?

• It allows players to spend more time playing the game.

3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?

• The possibility of addiction amongst players 
• Accidentally purchasing games by children.

Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?

• To enhance the gameplay with the addition of extra tolls when purchased.

2) The bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?

• They end up being a lot more profitable as well as reaching a wider audience.

3) Why does Peter Farago suggest independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than the major publishers like EA?

• “Freemium is a weapon against the establishment,and the establishment has a hard time even wanting to pick up that weapon.”

Electronic Arts

Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:

1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?

• There were limited amounts of avatars you could create but now you can have puppies,kittens and dragons etc...

2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?

• Players can communicate with each other and suggests improvements to the game with creators.

3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?

• They are involved in the development of the game.

4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?

• They use the excitement of the players and ask for new developments the players want to see in the game.

5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.

• The game has been installed 200 million times.
• It has been played for an equivalent of 78,000 years.

Finally, read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:

1) What audience pleasures for The Sims are discussed at the beginning of the blog?

• Diversion- escape of reality.
• Personal relationships.
• Personal identities. 

2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?

• Expansion packs 
• Stuff packs 
• DLC

3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?

• They felt that the features in the packs should have already been in the game anyways.

4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?

• The ability to have multi-generational legacies and travel between neighbourhoods and see other player creations.

5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?

• I thinks these packs are bad as they are subject to hackers and trolls which can steer new players away.

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 1 - Language and Audience

Language / Gameplay analysis

Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following questions:



1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

• Third person gameplay

• Control over avatar

• Avatar creation

• Designing creation

• Animals

• Love

• Exploration of areas

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?
The trailer is targeting Aspirers. Audiences who are 12+.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

• Diversion

• Personal identity

• Personal relationship

Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:

1) How is the game constructed?

• Third person gameplay

• Control over avatar

• Avatar creation

• Designing creation

• Animals

• Love

• Exploration of areas

2) What audience is this game targeting?
The trailer is targeting Aspirers. Audiences who are 12+.

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

• Diversion

• Personal identity

• Personal relationship

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?
People get addicted to the game and seeing these extension packs that the game offers make them want to buy it to exceed the game at a much quicker pace.


AudienceRead this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:  1) What critics reviews are included in the game information section?

• An overall rating of 4.5

• They said that it was a 'good game, but some really annoying/unfair aspects'

2) What do the reviews suggest regarding the audience pleasures of The Sims FreePlay?

• Decision making/ control

• Realism/ reflects real life

3) How do the reviews reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?Gamers/ audiences of the game give feedback and suggest new ideas for the Sims where developers would take these reviews and incorporate it into the new game.

Participatory cultureRead this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:

1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?Will Wright called the game a doll house.

2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?Tee board of directors thought doll houses were for girls only and were not keen on the idea of selling a game out that was linked to targeting female gamers.

3) What is ‘modding’?modifying the game to unlock new things, speed up things etc. Anything that is used to make a change to the original game play.

4) How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?With fans using the orignal content of the text to them move on to create there on products/ content of the game will lead to the idea of textual poaching and how products can be based on the original from fans.

5) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.Jenkins - ‘there were already more than fifty fan Web sites dedicated to The Sims. Today, there are thousands’. - shows how popular the game is
Pearce - ‘The original Sims series has the most vibrant emergent fan culture of a single-player game in history’. - how strong the community for the game is and how many people like the game.Wright - ‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’ - The community of the game was the people who truly brought the game to where it is today.

6) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)

• Anime

• Star Wars

• Star Trek

7) What is ‘transmedia storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?
Transmedia storytelling is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. They allow the player to make their own decisions throughout the the game play.

8) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?In the last 20 years, developers have been looking more and more at feedback from online communities.

9) Why have conflicts sometimes developed within The Sims online communities?sometimes what players want aren't what developers want. Due to this, it may cause several issues between the online communities and developers.

10) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?'The cult following that it engendered well beyond the lifespan of a popular computer game'


Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).

1) How is ‘modding’ used in The Sims?

Creating a  world where it becomes of blend of real life and game life. These are changes put to use where it alters certain aspects of the game play to make it more realistic or reflecting it on real life issues etc.

2) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?

The Sims is supposed to be take the players beyond the game, creating a realistic mini world where players can indulge themselves into.

3) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?

He wants it to empower the players where they are in complete control of everything around them. This power is seen as a self empowering tool to help users.

4) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?

I believe that The Sims is still a game after all where people will interact and the player will enjoy playing the game. Perhaps it may act as diversion for the player but in the end, it will still be a game to them.

5) How do you see the future of gaming? Do you agree with James Paul Gee that all games in the future will have the flexibility and interactivity of The Sims?
I believe that gaming has much more room for improvement. This is because of how fast gaming has already grown over the years. Gaming went from a 2d box set console to now a 3d vr set allowing users to live in a completely separate life. Gaming will only evolve quicker from now on. I believe that gaming will go even beyond The Sims where it is practically incorporated into our daily lives.

Videogames: Henry Jenkins Fandom

1) What is the definition of a fan?
An audience member that consumes a particular media aspect more often compared to other audiences.

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

• Hardcore fans
• Newbie fans
• Anti fans

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?
When a group of 'fans' come together to form a grouop dedicated to a certain topic. They act as a group and will discus  almost everything about that topic.

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?
Bordieu says that "cultural capital of fandom confers a synbolic power and status for the fan especially within the realm of their fandom"

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

• A Liverpool fans bedroom
• The walking dead fan arts
• A range of other fanarts and fan vids

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?
It allows fans to differentiate themselves from other consumers where they can start creating their own media from these different fandoms.

Tomb Raider and Metroid fandom research

Look at this Tomb Raider fansite and answer the following questions: 

1) What types of content are on offer in this fansite?

• Help resources
• Forums
• Games

2) What does the number of links and content suggest about the size of the online fan community for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft? Pick out some examples from this page.

Since there is a huge group in the online fan community, it suggests that the fandom is well known and very popular.

3) Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the short ‘About me’ bio and social media updates. Is this a typical example of ‘fandom’ in the digital age? Why?

Yes it would be considered as an example of fandom as it shares details about the fan creator where you can find out more about the creator just from scrolling down on a website.

Now look at this Metroid fansite and answer the following: 

1) What does the site offer?

• Games
• Social media links
• Game features

2) Look at the Community Spotlight page. What does this suggest about the types of people who enjoy and participate in fan culture?

These people tend to be gamers who are very into anything related to the game that they are playing.

3) There is a specific feature on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. What do the questions from fans tell you about the level of engagement and interest in the game and franchise from the fan community?

They make it obvious that they are truly interested in the game and put their all in to compete against each other.

Henry Jenkins: degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins. This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?

This means that the group of fans aren't just ordinary consumers of the game but have a much stronger and closer bond with each other.

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

"In the age of the internet, noone is a passive consumer anymore"

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

• Influencers
• connectors
• Loyals
• Media actives

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

He suggests that "investing in niche properties with small but committed consumer bases may make economic sense if you can lower costs of production and replace marketing costs by building a much stronger network with your desired consumers"

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

Producers will look at what fans want in order to make something successful. Without he fans, the producers wouldn't know what their audiences really want.

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.

"The media lanscape will be reshaped by the bottom up energy of media created by amateurs" I would agree since it is true that producers now look more and more at what consumers think of their games before making a second or a third version of  the game.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

Jenkins suggests that the new ideal consumer would be "someone who consumes a media text and then goes as far as celebrate it, talk about it and share it with their peers"

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandoms allow consumers and audiences to share and promote this game all over the world. It will be one of the main ways a company would use to promote and spread word about their product.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

Jenkin believes that is fan culture is commodified, companies would easily be able to take advantage of them which is why he says we shouldn't celebrate the process of commodifying fan cultural productions.

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

I believe that fandoms have been growing at an incredible pace. The idea of separate groups forming seems more popular. Everyone has an interest in something and on the planet, there must be a few others in the 7 billion who share the same interest as you. People will enjoy things and that itself can be called being a fan of something. Whether that person is really in a group about a certain thing and wehter they just enjoy it by themselves, they would still be considered fans. Fan communities are definitely mainstream or at least enarly there since there are so many platforms for people to hare these on. Eg. Discord, youtube, steam etc.