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More representation of indigenous cultures?
GrimlyFiendish
Posts: 718 Member
The other day I noticed one of the new necklaces for female Sims has a colour option that is the same as the Australian Aboriginal flag, it got me wondering if perhaps there should be more indigenous representation in the Sims, or if it was something that was just too much risk of getting way wrong (like having Sims wearing first nation head dressed Coachella style, or female Sims being able to play a digeridoo).
What do others think, is more indigenous representation something EA should strive for, or is there just too much of a risk that it wouldn't be done right and would end up being tokenistic or insulting to indigenous cultures? Is this something better left to the CC and Mod creators?
What do others think, is more indigenous representation something EA should strive for, or is there just too much of a risk that it wouldn't be done right and would end up being tokenistic or insulting to indigenous cultures? Is this something better left to the CC and Mod creators?
Occult Simmer (All Occult All The Time)
Female Simmer from Australia (she/her)
I had one of my Sims marry the Grim Reaper & now they have a lot of kids.
Female Simmer from Australia (she/her)
I had one of my Sims marry the Grim Reaper & now they have a lot of kids.
10
Comments
Personally, I rather they spend their time fixing problems and producing worthwhile gameplay. I’ve honestly never really bought a pack for the culture they are focusing it on, I buy for the extra gameplay.
Wait? Females can't play a digeridoo? Is that akin to females not being allowed to play violins in the 18th century because it exposed their elbows, which were considered sexy?
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And a game that focuses so much on casual sandbox gameplay would of course need to take representation into account, and in any case it is a vital focus for any cultural product in media entertainment. I think it is something that should be done with subtelty though, again with the main focus adding actual gameplay features with depth. Which world, and what kind of sims and objects the next addition is set in and comes with should not be the main cause, but more of a side effect to an idea.
Ideas cannot be separated from cultural habits though. What a conundrum.
I would definitely buy a pack with a world associative of Australia, no matter never having been there; building lots in a sims' world of it would be very interesting.
But the representation of equality between sexes, and of representation of non-heteronormativity of gender, would break with an idea of making certain actions unavailable to sims, and this based on gender. The game is a sandbox with replayability as a clear drive, it’s openness and randomness would not support such a feature. If it did I would stop being a customer to it. Representation is not always strictly replication, but can be negotiation as well.
I think TS4 is better at representing variation; I was only appalled at how it was done in TS3. I think it would be done the same way as everything else in game, silly and shallow and from the perspective of US culture. Not necessarily a bad way; and the game is still entertaining, which for me is the main point of playing it.
Something fresh and new.
Also, I would like something historic or even better, futuristic.
But would it be? I have feeling they’d insist on using the Freezer Bunny like they did in Jungle Adventures and the Hispanic culture update from last month.
It's complicated, some indigenous tribes here have no restrictions on it, others have restrictions based on whether it's ceremonial or just played for recreation, still others have a strict taboo on women playing the instrument.
Female Simmer from Australia (she/her)
I had one of my Sims marry the Grim Reaper & now they have a lot of kids.
I did not know that!
My only experience with the instrument is through this video:
PS.The guy playing the digeridoo in this video is such a hunk. Gonna see if I can find an image to work off to make him in game.
Speaking of which, can sims incorporate celtic culture? Perhaps with faeries?
100% agreed.
I'd like to see a world with only 1 giant lot (perhaps an island) where there is NO walkby, NO visitors, no world structures as background, NOTHING but the lot and trees and hills/cliffs/mountain/sea/SCENERY that we can use.
I don't feel like Sims 4 has done very well with their original sell point of "YOU create".
No, we are limited in OUR creations because we have to play within theirs.
I’ve played a didgeridoo before. Don’t tell anyone.
Thanks for sharing that information. I had no idea about that.
Got'im
So have I, tried to at least. I've also had an indigenous gentleman try to show me the correct technique for playing a digeridoo, so the taboo on women playing is definitely not universal across all the different groups. It's just the groups that do have very strict taboos on who can play, or even construct a digeridoo can understandably feel very angered and upset when, for example, Ellen Degeneres plays a digeridoo on US television. It's one of those things that's a bit of a cultural minefield.
Female Simmer from Australia (she/her)
I had one of my Sims marry the Grim Reaper & now they have a lot of kids.
I get it. And I find it extremely interesting. Thanks for the enlightenment!
The US needs to have far more respect for other countries and cultures than they do...
I never play premades. Never have since original Sims. I thought the "Newby" tutorial was to show me how to make and play my own game. So that's what I have always done from 1 to now.
I play Nalani sometimes (does she count?), and I had a sim marry Lia, but I don’t play with premades that much.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
It doesn't have to be a pack the goes deep in their culture but nods to it and sims that are native would be nice.
First Nations/Native Americans are indeed exempt from "no more America" I'm thinking typical Western Culture USA.
They would probably be better off to pick a specific nation or group of culturally similar nations and work with them rather than trying to get a "universal" Native American/First Nations inspired pack. There's a lot of variation out there.