I didn’t want to make it seem like I’m better than anyone else. I was addicted to TS3 in 2019. Initially, it was exciting, thrilling, there were so many things to do! What I didn’t realize is how it overstimulated my brain.
It was also laggy when I played it (and it still is) so my brain just couldn’t handle such stimuli. I noticed that just starting the game made me go manic (after 15 minutes), and then my mood would crash (after 58 minutes)
I tried TS4 because I didn’t think it would be the same. And it’s not, because it’s way more subtle. Sometimes I’d play and it would help with my anxiety, but other times it would increase my anxiety, paranoia, OCD, I felt cranky and fought with my close ones.
It was still that unhealthy stimulus, but only this time it was way more subtle and diluted.
Playing TS4 I noticed this. I stopped having imagination. I just didn’t know how to name my sims or how to dress them or what would their backstory be.
I also noticed that, at the same time, I started feeling less hopeful about life and more cynical.
I’d play the game and then when it was done, I couldn’t even remember what I did, or what was an outstanding moment, it was just all hazy.
Because here’s what’s up. These games aren’t art. They are products made by a cunning corporation. Art inspires people, makes them hopeful, or helps them reflect on their humanity but I never had that feeling with TS4 (or TS3 tbh), It was just something (?) I was using. Though not to be a hypocrite, I don’t know if I managed to quit it or when or if that’ll happen.
And it shouldn’t be a binary choice, should it?
Here’s my hope and dreams, and my imagination, and here’s a little bit of my mental health in exchange for a game that distracts me from my real life problems, and then amplifies them.
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I have never felt this way about the Sims 4. It feels more like you have serious anxiety issues that I lack, and thus I think the Sims series just isn’t for you. It’s not a result of an evil corporation, it’s a good game series that isn’t for you. Maybe I’m just too optimistic, but I just can’t see it that way. Hope you’re doing alright.
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What? Lol. This is just the way I prefer to play The Sims. I play this way in all three games. It’s a gameplay preference – not a mental health issue. I love The Sims and it’s the only game I play, so I disagree that it’s “not for me.”
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