Difference between revisions of "The Sims Online"
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The Sims Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game that creates a virtual environment meant to mimic the real world. Participants get to design everything from their homes to themselves, with the ability to create an avatar possessing any traits that the user might see fit. In its attempts to mimic the look and feel of the real world, The Sims Online also mimics some of the ethical dilemmas, including identity, the creation and enforcement of behavioral norms, and censuring users who break those norms. | The Sims Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game that creates a virtual environment meant to mimic the real world. Participants get to design everything from their homes to themselves, with the ability to create an avatar possessing any traits that the user might see fit. In its attempts to mimic the look and feel of the real world, The Sims Online also mimics some of the ethical dilemmas, including identity, the creation and enforcement of behavioral norms, and censuring users who break those norms. | ||
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| + | =Background= | ||
| + | The Sims Online was created in 2002, as the first online community segment of The Sims virtual environment game. In the past, users were able to create their own online environments, however there was never any multiplayer interaction. The Sims Online allowed users to interact with others for the first time in this game's series. In this virtual world, users can participate in many activities that are associated with real world life, including making money, going to dances or weddings, hosting a party, or attending a party. These functions helped to give substance and purpose to the players in the virtual environment. The game was renamed to EA Land (after Electronic Arts, the creator of The Sims series), however it was shut down shortly afterwards due to a lack of users. | ||
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| + | =Ethical Issues= | ||
| + | ==Identity== | ||
| + | Users were permitted to choose their own identity from a set of standard avatars in the game, or were allowed to create their own avatar by choosing from various features such as body type, hair color, eye color, skin tone, and clothing. | ||
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| + | ==Behavioral Norms== | ||
| + | Behavioral norms are the commonly accepted actions or behavior, as determined by the collective group of users in the virtual world. New users to the community generally have to undergo a short period of learning during which they identify the norms of the community and seek to conform to them. For instance, one of the functions of The Sims Online was the ability to host a party at which other guests could enter the user's home and eat food, lounge on couches, and interact with other users who are guests of the event. One of the behavioral norms of this online environment was the idea that the host of the party was expected to act as any real host would in the real world. He/she was expected to cook or otherwise ascertain food, make beverages, provide furniture for the guests to sit and converse, clean up after dinner or other mess made by the guests, and generally police the party to make sure that the standard norms of any real world dinner party were being followed; those standard norms for guests included being polite to the host/hostess, saying please and thank you for the hospitality, and occasionally offing to help the host with either making or serving food or cleaning up after the meal. | ||
Revision as of 23:11, 5 October 2011
The Sims Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game that creates a virtual environment meant to mimic the real world. Participants get to design everything from their homes to themselves, with the ability to create an avatar possessing any traits that the user might see fit. In its attempts to mimic the look and feel of the real world, The Sims Online also mimics some of the ethical dilemmas, including identity, the creation and enforcement of behavioral norms, and censuring users who break those norms.
Background
The Sims Online was created in 2002, as the first online community segment of The Sims virtual environment game. In the past, users were able to create their own online environments, however there was never any multiplayer interaction. The Sims Online allowed users to interact with others for the first time in this game's series. In this virtual world, users can participate in many activities that are associated with real world life, including making money, going to dances or weddings, hosting a party, or attending a party. These functions helped to give substance and purpose to the players in the virtual environment. The game was renamed to EA Land (after Electronic Arts, the creator of The Sims series), however it was shut down shortly afterwards due to a lack of users.
Ethical Issues
Identity
Users were permitted to choose their own identity from a set of standard avatars in the game, or were allowed to create their own avatar by choosing from various features such as body type, hair color, eye color, skin tone, and clothing.
Behavioral Norms
Behavioral norms are the commonly accepted actions or behavior, as determined by the collective group of users in the virtual world. New users to the community generally have to undergo a short period of learning during which they identify the norms of the community and seek to conform to them. For instance, one of the functions of The Sims Online was the ability to host a party at which other guests could enter the user's home and eat food, lounge on couches, and interact with other users who are guests of the event. One of the behavioral norms of this online environment was the idea that the host of the party was expected to act as any real host would in the real world. He/she was expected to cook or otherwise ascertain food, make beverages, provide furniture for the guests to sit and converse, clean up after dinner or other mess made by the guests, and generally police the party to make sure that the standard norms of any real world dinner party were being followed; those standard norms for guests included being polite to the host/hostess, saying please and thank you for the hospitality, and occasionally offing to help the host with either making or serving food or cleaning up after the meal.
