Life simulation franchise The Sims was first launched all the way back in early 2000. Right from day one, The Sims games have aimed to reflect real life as closely as possible. As society has become more tolerant, the franchise has been at the forefront of crafting more inclusive games, pushing the boundaries and aiming to normalize diversity.
While some may feel there is still a way to go, including The Sims team themselves, you cannot deny that the franchise has continually made huge leaps forward in its quest to be truly inclusive. Senior Producer Michael Duke says, “We are not there yet, but every year we get a bit closer, we get a little more accessible, we add more diversity.”
The Sims Early Games: Simple But Effective
The Sims 4: Ramps Up Diversity
The Big Gender Update
In 2016 the Create-a-Sim tool was completely overhauled. This removed any and all gender restrictions, allowing players to customize physique, tone of voice, walk style, ability to get pregnant and more, regardless of the gender of sim chosen. All hair, makeup, and clothing options were also unrestricted, allowing full choice of all available items.
This meant that for the first time in-game transgender or non-binary Sims could be made, although we didn’t see a pre-made Sim using these options until earlier this year with Lia Huata, a non-binary Sim from Island Living. She was quickly followed by Morgyn Ember, a pre-made trans man spellcaster who plays a prominent role in the Realm of Magic trailer.
The advances in gender representation have been huge and players are now just hoping that the team will add the ability to choose they/them pronouns, which would be used for notifications and messages from other Sims.
Cultural Creativity
Flying The Flag For LGBTQ+
While the gender update and core dating options are great for LGBTQ+ players the franchise doesn’t stop there.
The Sims 4 now features several diverse characters in the pre-made Sim line up. Brent and Brant Heckling became the first pre-made gay couple when their wedding made the Cats & Dogs expansion trailer. Island Living also introduced pre-made lesbian couple Tane Ngata and Leila Illles, who are married but each retains their own name. There is also a lesbian couple on the base game box art, in the form of Dela Ostrow and Mia Hayes.
Alongside Sims, the game has a large number of pride-themed items. There are numerous pride flags, alongside a range of clothing items brought through a collaboration with the It Gets Better Project. We even have gender-neutral bathrooms!
Moving Forward
As the game continues to grow diversity is still at the front line of all the team are doing. The recent Discover University trailer includes a diverse range of students and features Sims of differing sizes, races and appearances.
Through the Play With Life Campaign, the team has also explored how the game is often used to explore gender identity and sexual orientation. With this in mind, diversity remains key and we look forward to seeing more of it.
Michael Duke says, “I want our game to allow any person in this world to feel like they can recreate themselves, and tell their story in The Sims. It will absolutely continue to be a focus for us… I have seen first hand how valuable diversity can be to building a product for the world and not just ourselves. As we continue to diversify our team, we keep getting new ideas and opportunities to better represent more of our players in our game.”
