To begin this second blog entry, I will first address the first reading, “The Anarchy of Paidia”. The writer made a detailed argument on the polar concepts of ludus and paidia and how games often gravitate on a spectrum between the two. I find this to be true for most of the games that I’ve played since I was young.
As a reflective note, although the writer did not specifically mention the reasons why in some games, paidia would slowly evolve to become more ludic in nature, I believe that it is due to the player’s need for a purpose for play (once the comfort and understanding of the game elements sets in) and essentially, to enhance gameplay, as why else would a player crave for rules if the rules did not ultimately make the gameplay more fun?
The Sims game series makes for a good example of the “unusual situation” the writer mentioned nearing the end of the blog entry, where in order to support more freeplay and spontaneity in the playing of characters in The Sims, the game developers at EA must work harder (and spend millions I reckon) to “construct these rules in a form that supports self-expression” or “the illusion of self-expression”. We can see this clearly in the range of social interactions we’re allowed to have with different Sims, objects, etc. However, I do observe a gradual shift from predictable interactions (that you would normally get in real life) to unique interactions, which are either thematic (vampires, rich and famous, shipwrecked on an island) or purely unpredictable.
Having played all the different versions of The Sims over the years, I can roughly visualise a diagram that illustrates the paidic-ludic balancing act The Sims have been in since its conception.
As you can see in the diagram, The Sims evolve to become more paidic AND ludic in nature over time, and I reckon this is to cater to different target audiences. The casual gamers would be inclined to enjoy versions like Sims Stories and Sims Social as it doesn’t take much effort to learn to pick the game up from the get-go. The hardcore gamers would then appreciate the intricacies of The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3, as it is a highly open-ended, sandbox freeplay, where these gamers would eventually create their own rules (within the confines of the game). This is typical of emergent gameplay (from paidic to ludic).
Sims Social (for web browser) and Sims Freeplay (for mobile), being the latest versions in the franchise, due to their respective mediums, probably had to limit freeplay and be more “story-based” (ludic) for the amusement of casual gamers that patron these mediums the most.
However, as we venture into the topic of modding, I have to bring up the fact that Sims Social is relatively new (released in September last year), modding Sims Social is still in its infancy at present time. Modding the previous versions of The Sims however, is commonplace. It is interesting to note how The Sims as a series has evolved over time, partly from the suggestions and the modding options that were created under a community of hardcore Sims players, so in a way, the game developers at Maxis benefitted from the creative modding techniques of their fans, and incorporated them into the later versions of the game as well.
I agree that modding comes in many forms, be it modding skins, changing components of the game, customisation, interface mods, and cheats, but different games allow for different modding techniques, influenced by the needs and interests of the players, especially the hardcore gamers.
In my opinion, having modding options for The Sims series is essential for its survival in the gaming industry. Look at Sims Online (released in 2002), which is now extinct, primarily because it could not afford players customisation options like Second Life, where players can create their own objects and interactions.
There is a website, www.modthesims.info, that’s dedicated to tips and help to obtain unique customisations and skins for Sims 2 and Sims 3. However, the current modding techniques available for the Sims Social are simply cheats and hacks, since its limited to being an app on a website.
So for a Facebook simulation game like Sims Social, with its limited ability to provide entry to modding opportunities, how else can it provide creativity and customisation to its hardcore players?
Here are some websites I found that has an active community of gamers that are determined to seek out new cheats and hacks on Sims Social.
