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Kayla Pittman
Ms. Greene
UWRT 1102-017
18 November 2016
Simulation Video Games
Simulation video games are games that try to depict real world situations, physics, and
events as accurately as possible, according to Jason Rybka, a game enthusiast. In other words,
simulation games are meant to be an imitation of real lifelike situations. There are many types of
simulation games, however he main three are racing simulators, flight simulators, and the life
simulators such as the game, The Sims. I want to focus mainly on life simulation games where
the games directly imitate life. Sometimes this means using the game to recreate a past event,
using the game to create events that are borderline fantasy, or using the game to create future
situation that can happen (Marchelletta, Courtney).
The Sims is a simulation video game with a very large community that is worldwide. The
community surrounding The Sims was majority personal computer, PC, users that interacted with
one another through forums, but as the game has evolved, so has the different interactions that
are available to the gamers. Gamers are now playing The Sims on their cellphones, tablets, play
stations and Xboxes. However, I want to focus primarily on the players that play this game on
the computer. So, the question then becomes how do you become a member? What is the main
purpose of the community these players are a part of? What impact does simulation games have

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on ones health, when the game is something that is primarily played by oneself? And what
impact does simulation games have one ones health when playing with others?
How do you become a member of The Sims community? The players who play The Sims
become a member of the community by simply purchasing the game. A prospective buyer can
purchase this game online or in stores such as Target, Walmart, and Gamestop. The Sims
community is not exclusive so anybody can join by simply creating an Electronic Art (EA)
account or you can simply create account on the website for the game. How do the players
communicate? And why does this community exist? The EA account and the website is what
connects you to other players who also enjoy the game. On these sites, there are blogs and
discussions that have varying topics, from cheat codes to just simply sharing about your sims life
and accomplishments. In this way, the players are communicating with one another. However,
there is no way to communicate with other players through the game when you are playing on
the computer. This makes communicating with others in the community not so reliable, because
instead of players talking in the moment something happens, they wait until after they are
finished playing the game. I believe this community exists for people to share what theyve made
their sims accomplish and to get game help and tips for progressing their sim.
What is the purpose of Sims? Are there health benefits? The Sims is a simulation video
game, where you create your own sim, in other words person, and you control what they like,
who they like, where they work, where they go, and what they do. The icing on the cake is
having a community to share your accomplishments or story that you have built with your sim.
The main purpose of the sims to me is to either relieve stress or for just plain enjoyment. I
believe this game can relieve stress or just be for simple enjoyment because it is almost like you
are living in an alternate reality through your sim. You can do whatever you want on the game

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and not have to worry about the consequences or what could happen in actual reality. Allowing
the player to be a more courageous version of themselves or even try new things.
This brings me to the community aspect of the game. Is there a need for The Sims to have
a community? I honestly do not believe that there is a need for this community because the sims
are played in solitary. I have played this game with a cousin before, and even then, we did not
play together. One of us was watching the other do everything. Which bring me to the question
how can you form a community around a game, where you do not need help from others or
interact with other players at the same time. Yes, there are cheat codes for the game, however
those are not a necessity to be able to play the game. They are optional to the player.
Does The Sims have a community? The community surrounding The Sims is not the
traditional community where individuals who meet up at a certain location and discuss and talk
about the game. It is a community where, if one does exist, everything is virtually online. There
arent any conventions for players to meet up and discuss the game and show their love for the
game,at least not yet there isnt. The specific aspect that I would like to focus on between gaming
and community is whether the need for this community is necessary because this game is one
that is mostly played in solitary. Also, I would like to know, if the game influences the players
physical and mental health on both the positive and negative end of the spectrum. I would like to
consider is whether a game like this helps individual that are depressed and lonely or on the
opposite side of the spectrum whether it takes individual who are outgoing and makes them that
way.
Is gaming beneficial to your mental health? What kind of benefits are there? A lot of
studies are now showing that playing video games can help your brain health pertaining to

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cognitive function. In a study, done by Queen Mary University of London, researchers had
volunteers and measured the cognitive flexibility (Chan). In this study, the volunteers cognitive
flexibility was described as the persons capability to shift between one task to another and think
about lots of different ideas at a time to solve different problems. Video games are often being
used now to improve reflexes and increase the rate that your brain reacts to stimuli (Malvaes).
Not only that, but games are now proving to have benefits related to hand eye coordination.
Reports show that surgeons who partake in simulation games related to their profession tend to
be the more skilled surgeons as the play these games over a period (Impact of Computer). The
simulations in the games allow you to keep track of your progress, so that you can see the
continuous progress over time. Games are proving to help provide other avenues for the person
or patient playing to enhance cognitive function in ways that is more interesting than the normal
pathways taken to improve cognitive function.
Does gaming have negative effects on your mental health? A study shows that video
games can take time away from studies, and while girls play for about 5 hours a week, boys
typically play about 13 hours a week (Malvaes). The time that goes into playing video games
can take away from your performance in the workplace for adults, performance in school and
studies and children, and lastly performance in other aspects of your life for both adults and
children as far as social areas of your life. Games like these are said to cause cases of addiction
and in some cases, there were reports of student not showing up to school or their higher
education due to games (Impact of Computer). Games like these also tend to cause social
isolation. Social isolation happens because players are spending so much time playing the game,
they are not interacting with other individuals. The article Impact of Computer Games on
society said this about social isolation:

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A gamer who spends so much time alone with no human contact

can become withdrawn and this will have a negative effect on their
social skills. However, many online gamers say that they are happy
with the friends they make playing MMO games and feel comfortable
at being part of a large online social circle. Indeed many gamers value
online friends even more than friends that they know in person. As online
is a virtual world there are trust issues and not everyone can be taken at
face value. Being able to communicate in a virtual environment is a good
thing but it should not outweigh everyday verbal communications with
friends at face to face level.

This can be very dangerous because this can cause people to become distrusting towards their
relationships and often can turn out creating situations where third party help needs to get
involved. For adults, this is more severe in my opinion because adults should not lose social
skills once they are developed. As for children, however I believe that it can be easily corrected
because children are still being molded until a certain age. Games such as The Sims can cause a
separation from reality. This is where you become so obsessed with the game that you believe
that you are a part of the game. This is not all bad, but in certain situations where individuals
start to become violent or the mood is changed when they are not playing the game.
Does The Sims have a negative or positive affect on mental or physical health period?
The Sims does not affect physical health in positive ways as much as it does negatively. It affects
your physical health if you form a kind of addiction to the game. Not only are you not engaging
in physical activity, but sitting in front of a computer puts a strain on your eyes, which in turn

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starts to have worsening effects on your body. The players are then no longer active and well
balanced individuals, but they are unbalanced in every aspect. Long periods playing this game
then starts to affect your social life and interactions, which can in turn start to have damaging
effects on your mental health. Players can develop extreme depression and develop social skills
that are less than what they previously had. It is very possible to start to pull away from other
people and start down a path that can be very hard to fix or break. Overall, these types of video
games have a more negative than positive affect on mental and physical health.
From personal experience, I know that playing video games can be very addictive. I
remember when I first purchased the sims, I would play the game for hours at a time, only taking
breaks to grab food or use the bathroom. I was forced, by my parents, to limit the time I played
the game every day because I could not limit the time I was playing myself. At first, I was very
upset with my parents because I thought they just didnt want me playing games. Looking back
at this situation, now I realize I spent entirely too much time playing the game. I started to fall
behind in my school work because I was not managing my time responsibly. I found myself
constantly grumpy and in bad moods because I was getting the proper amount of sleep due to
playing the game for long periods of time. In that moment I did not see the problem, but looking
back it could have progressed and got increasingly worse and could have become an extreme
addiction.
The Sims is a game that is proven to have different effects on all of it players. While, I do
not believe this game has a community that is worth noting and proved to have a negative effect
on me while I was playing, this is very different for other people. For some people, The Sims
may have helped them to connect to other individuals or helped them to learn different social and
mental skills. The experience and the definition of community from the game is different and

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separate for every and each player. So, the question then becomes what are some of the different
experiences that each player encounters?

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Works Cited
Chan, Amanda L. "Strategy-Based Video Games, Like Starcraft, Improve Brain's 'Cognitive
Flexibility'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.
"Impact of Computer Games on Society - Content Writer." Content Writer. N.p., n.d. Web. 04
Nov. 2016.
Malvaes, Luis. "Video Games and How They Affect Mental, Emotional, and Physical Health."
Prezi.com. N.p., 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.
Marchelletta, By Courtney. "Play Simulation Games." Lifewire. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
Rybka, By Jason. "Simulation Games." Lifewire. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.