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Ethnicity, Sexuality, Religion, and maybe a Few Other Things

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  • GrumpyGlowfishGrumpyGlowfish Posts: 2,207 Member
    edited March 2017
    I rarely just create new sims from scratch. 95% of my sims are based on real people (like myself, friends and family) or characters from various media (mostly videogames and my own novels). So whatever defines them totally depends on who the person is in real life or the story they're from, respectively. I guess that answers most of the questions in the opening post about ethnicity and sexuality, although concerning the latter I should probably add that my play style does reflect the role that romance plays in my real life, which is quite minimal. Sim versions of characters who are in relationships in real life (like my sister and her boyfriend) are in those same relationships in my game as well, but I never focus on them dating or doing couple stuff, and people who are single in real life, whether they're straight, gay or anything in between, might as well be completely a-sexual (... seriously, why does the forum censor that word??) in my game because I don't pair them with random sims. That's not what I play the game for, and I don't care much about having children or creating legacies and that kind of stuff. The few times my sims do have children, I usually wait for them to grow up and then use them to try out stuff I haven't before, some of which may be ethnicity-, sexuality- or gender-related.

    As for religion, well... The game barely offers anything to go by, does it? I have Christian friends in real life and a few religious characters in my novels as well, and I've thought about building a church as a hangout for them, but other than that... As I said, there's not much in the game to create a religious lifestyle for a sim, so it's all in my head basically.
  • luthienrisingluthienrising Posts: 37,617 Member
    edited March 2017
    Since this is necro'd anyway, some of you with Twitter accounts might be interested in responding to this request:




    (And if you don't have Twitter but are starting to think you might dip your toes in, happy to help via PM. I used to teach groups how to use Twitter back in its earlier days.)
    EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
  • SimmerMoonSimmerMoon Posts: 204 Member
    I like a lot of my gameplay to reflect my life, if that makes sense. I'm gay, so I have about 50/50 LGBT and heterosexual couples. I also have a lot of white sims, but I make a conscious effort to incorporate more poc in my gameplay. As for religion, I don't think about it much. I never really consider my sims to be of a certain religion, unless it's as a backstory for a sim I created, in which case, it usually involves them escaping the religion they were born into. I don't consider myself their god or anything, I just pretend they're acting on their own free will, and if I make them do something that's out of character for them, I come up with a reason why they'd choose to do it.
    Just a little bean whose only aspiration in life is becoming a magical girl.
  • duhboy2u2duhboy2u2 Posts: 3,290 Member
    edited March 2017
    I don't put ethnic, sexual or religious rules in my game. I think all colors, lifestyles, cultural customs are beautiful in their own way and I love when my game has a wide variety of genetic diversity to create little nooboos from. As far as religion goes, my sims are not remotely governed by any sort of religion. I tend to steer clear of it because I, myself am not affiliated with a religion and honestly don't have enough knowledge of any one or more religion to impose it upon my little sims. I'd also say that the number of LGBT and straight sims in my game tends to be fairly equal. My sims fall for or find interest in a certain sim not their gender. When they've "chosen" a mate, I change their options for nooboos in CAS so that my bloodlines can continue.

    While my post might seem carefully vague and/or worded in a way as to try not to offend any specific race, sex, creed, religion, etc, its the truth for me. I don't place expectations on real people because of those things and wouldn't in my personal game either.
    Loving yourself is the most simple and complicated thing you can do for you.
  • PotterheadSimPotterheadSim Posts: 320 Member
    I usually create white ot black sims, because I'm not really good at making sims of other races, but when I'm choosing a romantic partner for my sims, I don't really pay attention to race, they just need to look good.
    For a long time I only played heterosexual couples, but lately I've been playing with some same sex couples and I think I'll be swichin between them in the future.
    While religion could be fun, I think it would be trouble. If they make Christmas a real holiday in the game, they would need to make a lot more holidays and it would be so much work and somebody somewhere would feel excluded because they couldn't add every religious holiday, so it would be best to not add anything religious.
  • tiramisu6tiramisu6 Posts: 43 Member
    My main Sim definitely reflects my own sexual identity and I do very much prefer him to have the feminine role. He's in a relationship with a Korean lad and it's going pretty well! In other saves I have quite a few heterosexual and homosexual relationships and don't mind playing as either. :relieved:

    I usually create Sims of Hispanic ethnicity (like me :p) and make them friends with lots of other Sims. I like to imagine my main family specifically as Dominirican. And, I don't avoid Sims of other races/ethnic backgrounds - there's no problem with them being friends with my own Sims. Embracing the Simversity!

    As for religion, I'm not even sure how I'd incorporate it into the game honestly.
    s7xTQov.gif
    "...but i’m just a soul whose intentions are good." - lana del rey
    week 102. still no open-world, pets or seasons expansion pack.
  • PotterheadSimPotterheadSim Posts: 320 Member
    edited March 2017
    Yoko2112 wrote: »

    Thing about Christmas is that it's also celebrated by people who aren't religious and even people of other religions.
    Snowflake day in TS3 was a pretty good way to handle it in my opinion.
    But I hate the idea that you can't do something because somewhere someone will get offended by it or will feel excluded.

    maybe in usa, cause it has become such a commercialized holiday there and in many western europeans countires. But certainly not everywhere in the world and the sims is played all around the globe.
    but they could create some holidays that are unique to the sims universe.

  • dollfaedollfae Posts: 66 Member
    my sims world is a utopian alien planet where everyone is a pastel gay space elf who worships the three goddesses of Aetheria. um .. yeah
  • Proteus42Proteus42 Posts: 891 Member
    Well, I do family play and usually start as a single Sim (male or female). My starting Sim(s) is/are always white (and almost always YA).
    They enter into relationships with the local populace however and the partner/s do(es)n't have to be white (which also means that any children of his relationship may be racially mixed)

    Regarding sexuality:
    My female Sims can be straight, lesbian or bisexual.
    My male Sims so far (in all Sims gams) IIRC have always been straight

    Regarding religion:
    I don't acually miss religion in Sims games. IMHO it is a good choice to leave religion out of Sims games.
    If they would ever think of introducing religion into Sims, I hope it will bee a totally invented religion that doesn't have to do anything with the religions in real life, as I think, any reference to real life religions would be like opening a can of worms, that brings more problems than good things.
    And nope, I totally leave religion out of my gameplay ... and don't imagine any Sim ever, during offscreen times visiting a temple/church
  • florathornsflorathorns Posts: 41 Member
    I love making all different types of sims, but all of them are very gender fluid. The gender update has been my favorite update/expansion yet, because it allows me to make sims that I can relate to. I think society takes things like gender, race, sexuality, and religion WAY too seriously, so in my game I try to make a society of sims that don't give an f-word about who is what and how (not that sims would care anyway because they'd rather know things like, what is your sim id # so I can use cheats on you lol). I find that not a whole lot of stuff in the online gallery for ts4 isn't very fluid like that though, and people tend to make very traditional sims.
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  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    Since this is necro'd anyway, some of you with Twitter accounts might be interested in responding to this request:




    (And if you don't have Twitter but are starting to think you might dip your toes in, happy to help via PM. I used to teach groups how to use Twitter back in its earlier days.)

    Zzzzzz these progressive little efforts are just gonna detract from actual gameplay. -_-
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • TerraTerra Posts: 1,353 Member
    Since this is necro'd anyway, some of you with Twitter accounts might be interested in responding to this request:




    (And if you don't have Twitter but are starting to think you might dip your toes in, happy to help via PM. I used to teach groups how to use Twitter back in its earlier days.)

    Zzzzzz these progressive little efforts are just gonna detract from actual gameplay. -_-

    I don't think adding a few swatch colours takes nearly as long as developing gameplay! Just last night I was trying to make Sims and felt like there weren't enough medium/dark skin tones, so I hope they do add more.
  • KayosCatalystKayosCatalyst Posts: 313 Member
    Ethnicity
    In my games I have a pretty open approach to ethnicity, if a sim is attractive I'll use them, however I have noticed that I make more white sims but that Is likely because I grew up in an area that isn't very culturally diverse. I do find myself making Japanese sims quite often which is probably influenced but the amount of anime I watch, however I try not to be stereotypical with these.

    Sexuality
    Oftentimes, If i don't make sims with a particular identity in mind I will play them out and see how their sexuality goes on their own, however around 60% of the sims I make myself are LGBT, 85% of these being gay males (cis or trans) -which does reflect my own identity- . If I choose their identity myself it'll often be before I make the sim. If I'm playing a straight couple interactions are rarely limited to each gender, same goes for same-sex couples their roles tend to vary from day to day.


    I am not personally religious and don't tend to notice the absence of it from the game.
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    edited March 2017
    Terra wrote: »
    Since this is necro'd anyway, some of you with Twitter accounts might be interested in responding to this request:




    (And if you don't have Twitter but are starting to think you might dip your toes in, happy to help via PM. I used to teach groups how to use Twitter back in its earlier days.)

    Zzzzzz these progressive little efforts are just gonna detract from actual gameplay. -_-

    I don't think adding a few swatch colours takes nearly as long as developing gameplay! Just last night I was trying to make Sims and felt like there weren't enough medium/dark skin tones, so I hope they do add more.

    You misunderstand me: consider this a symptom of bad planning, not the cause.

    That's a Sims Team staffer going out of her way to tweet and request new skin tones. I would presume that this singular worker does not have the authority to simply decide such a thing demands attention or inclusion, and that someone must approve it and agree that it's worth sinking time into, no matter how brief or extensive that time may be. This implies a conversation took place amongst the Sims team about this kind of thing: about inclusive stuff and including every culture, ethnicity, skin tone etc, and the conclusion of the discussion was to work towards these goals rather than to view them as unimportant. It implies these kinds of features are a focal point in development, at least to some degree.

    As such, my fear is this is just one example of their plans. It's not about the skin tones themselves, but about the general philosophy and the general fact that progressive little moves clearly are on the top of their heads and are on their to-do list. You suggest this would be no problem if it were to stop at just skin tones....but I disagree that it'll just be skin tones.

    After all, you're right that JUST skin tones alone won't be a huge issue, but let's look at where we are:

    -The game has something like ~20 skintones, ranging from "I'm allergic to the sun" to "I get mistaken for a shadow," yet we really need more...? Sounds a bit picky to me; I don't see my EXACT hairstyle or EXACT hair color in CAS, but whatever, I pick whichever is closest.
    -A rather sizeable patch catered towards transgender options ate into development time; I believe the staff said it took 6 months to make, which is as much time as Sims 3 EPs needed.
    -City Living tried make cultural foods, styles and "cultural sims" (white guys name Hideyoshi) into a selling point

    We've had plenty of focus on this stuff, yet they keep going. After City Living I would've thought they'd be done (especially since I cannot recall the last time City Living was NOT 50% off. That thing is eternally on sale and I don't think that speaks highly for it's reception), but the implications of that tweet are that no they are not. I sincerely doubt SimGuruMegs is acting on her own accord as a lone agent with the authority to include these things on a whim, and instead I'd bet the general attitude of the team is "anything that's progressive and involves inclusive political statements needs to be included."

    That right there is what I hate. I'm here to play a game, not to see a virtue signaling parade by the Sims team. Not ONE of the progressive little updates has included gameplay. It's a distraction and a cheap way to pander to customers that like that sort of thing. I'm done with it. To me it just screams misplaced priorities and poor management (or management focused more on sales rather than quality).

    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • CandydCandyd Posts: 1,261 Member
    @DeservedCriticism All EPs are 50% off almost all the time. I don't have GT and the first time I see every time I go to the Sims 4's main menu is "buy Get Together 50% off !" It's not just CL.
  • DeservedCriticismDeservedCriticism Posts: 2,251 Member
    Candyd wrote: »
    @DeservedCriticism All EPs are 50% off almost all the time. I don't have GT and the first time I see every time I go to the Sims 4's main menu is "buy Get Together 50% off !" It's not just CL.

    That's....not exactly doing a fantastic job of defending City Living. :# I mean Sims 3 expansions comparatively almost never go on sale. Did a massive double-take a month or two ago when they received the biggest sale I'd ever seen. It's also not really the same when a 1+ year old expansion is on sale (doubt there's many people left on the fence about Get Together or GTW, so a frequent sale price is a tad more understandable), compared to when City Living released, was full price for about ~10 days, and has been on a nearly-constant sale for 4 months now.
    "Who are you, that do not know your history?"
  • GrumpyGlowfishGrumpyGlowfish Posts: 2,207 Member
    I'm a white European with a rather ordinary taste in fashion, so I have no trouble finding the correct skin colour, hairstyle, clothes etc. to create myself and my family as sims, but I do understand the frustration of others who are unable to do the same, as I also sometimes run into problems trying to create characters of other ethnicities. This just seems a little contradictory to the way the game is set up, since I've met countless townies whose names I'm not even sure how to pronounce because they're so foreign, making it seem like the game is trying to unite all imaginable nationalities in its world. But it doesn't really go beyond a few exotic names and faces, and that's not just CAS, it's build mode too: A few days ago I tried to create a Japanese-looking yoga fitness centre, with ceiling lanterns, low tea tables, paper sliding doors and maybe a decorative katana hanging on the wall. All the game actually gave me were the lanterns, and not a great variety either. I'd use CC, but I don't know where to look for it, since my main supplier during TS2 times (Modthesims) barely has anything in store for TS4. Obviously, this isn't a huge problem for me because I'm not personally affected, and I only feel the need to build foreign-themed locations once in a blue moon, but I still think that for a game that claims to be so international, TS4 is definitely lacking in that regard.
  • shellbemeshellbeme Posts: 2,086 Member
    @robinsonfam are you still posting? I was thinking of your family the other day (The sim in your avatar is one of them I think). I think you mentioned once long long ago that you might put them up for download sometime? I'm still waiting!!! :) I'd love to have them in my game.
  • florathornsflorathorns Posts: 41 Member
    Yoko2112 wrote: »
    I find that not a whole lot of stuff in the online gallery for ts4 isn't very fluid like that though, and people tend to make very traditional sims.

    Yeah because the majority of people in the world is quite happy with their biological sex and they like to mimic their surroundings in The Sims.

    And not saying there's anything wrong with wearing with whatever you want, but there are clothing items that are specifically designed to fit a certain sex ( mostly for women ) and there are biological differences between men and women that will determine how we act.

    This applies differently to each individual tho, so yes of course there are women who act more 'masculine' and guys who act more 'feminine'.

    I think I commented on this thread a while ago, but I generally just don't care about these things and they just happen while I'm playing. I'm never going into CAS thinking "Oh, I'm gonna make a trans Sim now" or "I will make some queer sims of different ethnicities today" because I don't force myself to do things like this. It just happens, just like in real life.

    Forced diversity for the sake of being progressive is what I see many people do to make themselves feel better, appeal to someone or aggressively flee from reality, both with TS4 and in real life.

    putting even a virtual life through straight white metrosexual hell sounds awful, so if I were you I wouldn't try to point fingers at other people's gameplay and observations and whine.

    Oh and @Yoko2112 @ me next time ;)
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  • TrimothTrimoth Posts: 418 Member
    Ethnicity
    • How do you approach ethnicity in your game? I try to be as diverse as I can be however I always end up with a ratio of about 70% white 30% other. The majority of the main families I have created/play are white sometimes they adopt but I appreciate diversity in my game.
    • Do you avoid playing, marrying, creating, or interacting with Sims of certain ethnicity? No I play all types of sims and my sims don't see colour or race
    • What personal/cultural ideals do you fell you impose on your Sims? I try not to allow my personal/culutural beliefs be imposed upon my sims even if I am their God they have free will and autonomy for the most part. However I do get very upset when spouses cheat on each other when they have all the money in the world and beautiful families but like real life some sims just want more!
    • Do you create characters of a different ethnicity than your own and give them stereotypical personalities, hairstyles or clothing? Yes I create sims of a different ethnicity than my own and no I do not dress/style them according to stereo types eg. I have a family which is based in egypt (I turned oasis springs into egypt) and the mother is white the father asian their daughter asian and the son black. In their formal wear the mom an daughter wear hijabs
    • Do your Sims closely reflect your personal ethnicity and cultural values in gameplay? No they do not. I try to let sims have their own personalities even if I control it to an extent
    • Do you incorporate socio-economics when creating Sims of various ethnicity? No, ethnicity does not determine social class or socio-economic status in my game

    Sexuality
    • How do you identify your Sims in regards to sexuality and gender? Gay, Straight, Bi, Asexual. I have not made a trans sim yet but I may in the future
    • When and how do you choose your Sims sexual preference/identity? I like storytelling and usually I make a gay sim for a storyline or just to diversify the group
    • Do you avoid creating LGBT/SGL Sims or do you incorporate them actively? I incorporate them actively
    • Do most of your Sims or your main Sim reflect your sexual identity? No, I'm gay but I'd say about 85% of my sims are heterosexual
    • How do you feel about playing romantic actions with a Sim of a different gender or sexual preference than you?
    • If playing a couple of opposite genders, do you engage certain romantic interactions with one gender? Not really it goes either way
    • In same gender couples, do you place masculine and feminine roles on them? no

    Religion
    • Did you notice the absence of the word "Christmas" from The Sims team and do you have any thoughts on that? I appreciate the sims team for keeping the game as neutral in terms of festivals religion and matters of such
    • Do you incorporate religion/spirituality into your gameplay? Yes, I also have churches and groups for this one save file I play. The sims are Roman Catholic like myself
    • Do you view yourself as a God or eternal being among your Sims? Yes
    • How do you view/observe life and death in your gameplay? death unless unexpected or murder does not happen in my gameplay
    • Do you consider your Sims to be of a certain religion? Some yes, some no

    Fell free to add your own questions and social topics to the mix.



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    Origin id: trimoth

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