Sunday, February 5, 2012

This Game Will Ruin Your Life (MugenEdition)



The moment I enter my room at night, it's hard to leave my quarters. And the reason for the hermitic disappearance is this:


Marie Antoine (the little girl) and Deidre (her dad)


I have always wondered how it feels to have so many different lives. Like it is possible to jump from one consciousness to another. But with Sims 3, the game lets me indulge in this fantasy. I have been an old granny who leads a criminal syndicate in town; A cat-lady who is a well-known writer. A hunk-daddy whose been thrown out of the house by his two-timing wife; a rebellious teen who moved in with the hunk-daddy after his sexy mom died in the cemetery; an eccentric fashion guru who fondly calls his boyish daughter "Antoine;" and finally, a black cat named after a leading character in the anime series Darker than Black.  



looking out the window while little Orion is making poopoo

In this surreal world, not only do I design homes and watering holes, I let loose my hidden twisted self. The characters I play, while best left alone to lead conventional lives, get tangled in complications because of my doing. I could create a sim (and endow the character with charismatic and nurturing trait) then let her butcher the entire town with a single Cow Plant. I could force all my sims to make babies. Who cares if the town runs out of land to build homes. 

Given more time to play each life, I would come up with more sinister plots and unexpected upheavals. Those telenovelas on prime-time television are no match for my stories. And with fantasy elements such as imaginary friends, unicorns that appear at night (that you can ride a-la Rainbow Brite) and playable robots to enrich your game play, there are days when I really wonder, will this addiction end. 


Goodwin (my main sim) standing on the edge of a cliff

I've been a fan of The Sims since its first release more than a decade ago. Owing to its near-infinite playability, it's the first game I bought at Datablitz. It's also the only desktop computer game, aside from Civilization that I religiously followed to its latest successor.   

Some people may not see the essence of this life simulation, much less, appreciate the tedious and repetitive tasks of seeing your Sims enjoy meaningful (and miserable) lives. But if you're someone afflicted with God Complex syndrome, or just appreciate the grandeur of creation and its sometimes unforeseeable turns, you will find Sims 3 to your liking.


  

14 comments:

Nimmy said...

Ang fierce ng mga characters ha. Parang pwedeng gamitin for a korean movie. Hehe. I tried Sims once kaso fail agad. Namatay mga plants ko. Nafrustrate ako at tumigil na agad. Hehe

Happy Monday kuya :)

dario the jagged little egg said...

Sayang hindi kaya ng pc ko ang sims 3. Hangang ngayon naka install parin sa PC ko yung pinakaunang sims hehe at lagi ko itong ini-istall sarap kasing mag design ng bahay: ) Sims is the best sis!

Désolé Boy said...

I don't get the fascination for this, kuya. I mean, I'm all for role-playing and the likes, even tried this countless times but----
.
.
Anyway, the scene with a big bloke like you going gaga over this must be really cute.
.
.
Yun lang! :p

gillboard said...

i really never got into the sims mania. i guess it's because pag games mas prefer ko yung may naka layout na kwento rather than ako yung gagawa ng story ng character ko.

Lone wolf Milch said...

i love the sims as in!! i heard may movie daw based sa sims

ZaiZai said...

love ko ang sando ni Deidre :) I used to love Sims, only because I can create their houses :)

Leo said...

I used to play Sims where you can go on an Alpine vacation and all sorts. I enjoyed it, but just like any games I play on PC, i easily get bored.

I kinda remember your Marie Antoine, it was from a previous blog entry ba?

Gusto ni Nimmy yang interior design mo sa house. Brown kasi ang palette. Haha.

:)

Mugen said...

Leomer:

Ah, si Elvis yun. Hindi ko na-reincarnate yung character. Adopted child lang kasi siya nung cat-lady writer.

Actually, first time ko mag-design nung bahay. Living room pa lang yan. Wait till you see the sleeping quarters, kitchen saka yung bathroom. Haha.

Nimmy:

You gave me an idea. Wala pa akong Sim na into Gardening. Hehe. Thank you. :)

Mugen said...

Zaizai:

The sando and the hair speak a lot no? I'm thinking tuloy if I should let Deidre fall in love with: 1. lesbian 2. DOM or 3. horse. Haha.

Milch:

Yup. Nagshare ka pa nga ng mod para magkaroon sila ng genitals diba? Hehe. Wait, meron ba nun sa Sims 3?

Share us your photos pala!!

Jerjer:

You may want the simulation to serve as your inspiration to work hard. Bili ka ng high-end na PC at saka Sims3 original from your ipon. Tapos kapag kuntento ka na, play the game up to sawa. :)

Mugen said...

Desole Boy:

If you're someone who's into

1. Designing Homes and Buildings
2. Creating fiction with simulated individuals. This game is for you.

Come to think of it. Nasa harap ng screen ko yung cellphone at cordless phone, gawan ko kaya sila ng story. Haha!

Surprisingly, hidden talents ko pala yan. Lol. :)

Gillboard:

Kanya kanyang trip yan. What I'm saying is that hindi lang yung mahihilig sa Skyrim ang Dota ang nasisira ang buhay. Wahahaha!!

Eternal Wanderer... said...

tatay na ang pangalan ay deidre.

amf!

Kiks said...

I never buy playthings as a principle until Sims 2. I shelled out a few hundreds and my life has been changed inevitably.

We do become our twisted selves in Sims and I am pretty sure this Sims 3 is just going to be much much fun-worse.

Civilization was a game I played back in college until my editor in chief told me to delete it and start working on my culture articles and photographs.

Garpppy Garp said...

I played SIMs 3 but got tired of it after my character was already successful in everything. This same thing is happening in my PS3 game right now. Medyo boring na kasi he's already accomplished. As much as I want to make another character, I'm worried that I would spend 100 plus hours again for the second character. Haha!

Mugen said...

Garppy:

I play the whole town and mess everyone's lives. Lol. Pag isang character lang kasi, hindi mo makikita yung impact niya sa buong town.

Kiks:

I learned history while playing civilization: And I've been worldly ever since. =)

Ternie:

Panalo diba? Haha.