The Sims 3 berates you for having a child out of 'wedlock' Yes they use that word...

[Hauntghost20]

Wait, these are the same people who that made Dante's Inferno and Dead Space.

Hypocritical much?

No, that's wrong. EA doesn't make games, they publish them. Maxis makes the sims, so blame Will Wright, not EA.

This has probaly been said but i think Will Wright left after Sims 2.

 

[i7omahawki]

I just don't think the game should push this opinion on you especially with that wording. It's pretty vicious in my eyes. I personally haven't seen any modern magazine hold this view of a celebrity recently even the dodgy mail or faux news. I think it's pretty old fashioned.

It strikes me as rather hypocritical for gamers to get up in arms about ANY game content. Let's flip the switch and say this was some right winged activist group complaining that the game allowed gay marriage I bet gamers would be tripping over one another to defend the game. As gamers either we want games to have free speech or we don't. Free speech isn't there to protect the things every one likes it's there to protect the things people may find less than acceptable.

Not all the content in games is going to be something we like. The ideal thing that gamers should do when they find something that might be personally distasteful to them is to realize it's a bloody game and not some deeply thought out social commentary. For gamers to get up in arms about the content of a game yet lash out at other groups of non gamers that do the same is pure hypocrisy. When you get all offended over something like this and then call out the game for it you are acting no better than the folks like Fox News that attack games over the violence or any other content they care to nit pick.

What you're saying makes no sense. Free speech means you can say what you like, not that you can't possibly be judged for saying it. Nobody is claiming that the Sims doesn't have the right to put that in a game, they are saying that they should've exercised that right with more care.

Somebody came up with the example of say, marrying a black person bringing similar disdain for your character. Sure, the game makers have the right (outside of encouraging hate crimes) to do that, but as I gamer I wouldn't support a game that did.

OT: The general consensus seems to be that it was a rather poorly executed attempt to reflect some aspects of celebrity culture. However given the sensitive nature of the issue, and its potential to offend, they really should've given more thought to its execution.

Captcha: larpob engagd, EA are on to us :|

 

[jpoon]

I don't think they took it nearly far enough, they should berate you for having a child...period. Not like this fucking planet isn't overpopulated enough, you have to keep kicking out those little bastards for no reason! -20 mood

 

[chstens]

Wait, these are the same people who that made Dante's Inferno and Dead Space.

Hypocritical much?

No, that's wrong. EA doesn't make games, they publish them. Maxis makes the sims, so blame Will Wright, not EA.

This has probaly been said but i think Will Wright left after Sims 2.

Left after Spore, then. He worked on Spore.

 

[Stryc9]

Umm having played the Sims 1-3 I honestly don't remember this EVER coming up from having a child un-married. Are you sure it isn't when you have a child with someone who ISN'T your spouse? Could be wrong here, but I don't remember this at all.

My sims has only ever had 1 boyfriend who she is engaged too. She hasn't even slept with anyone else (poor gal lol)

I can understand if people have other views but personally I find it ridiculous that this could be in a modern game.

I wouldn't get too worked up over it. The fact is that they just didn't take into account the 'engaged' aspect of relationships when they came up with this. This was put in there for people that try to play a totally slutty sleep with everyone in the game type character.

Considering the other kinds of things that the Sims games let you do like have homosexual relationships, sex outside of marriage and so on I'd say this isn't an attempt at social commentary or forcing the developer's beliefs on the players as much as it is an attempt to show people what kind of treatment Paris Hilton would receive if she ever got knocked up.

 

[b3nn3tt]

I'm sorry, but I think EA is right here. Having a child out of wedlock is shameful. It doesn't mean you're a bad person, but it does show that you are irresponsible. For all of the people saying "well, if you're in a loving, supportive relationship and you have a kid, it's okay" why are you not married or planning on getting married? There's a pretty big line between getting pregnant while you're engaged and just shacking up together and having a kid. Marriage is a benefit to both partners, it provides all kinds of legal protections and benefits, things like being able to visit your partner in the hospital, and certain property rights in case the marriage doesn't work out. There is a reason that the LGBT community has been fighting so hard for the right to marry, and the ability to show affection is a very small part of it.

TLR; if you're in a "loving, supportive relationship" and you plan on sticking together but not getting married, you are being irresponsible, and showing a fear of commitment -- and if you can't take the responsibility of marriage, how in the hell are you going to take the responsibility of a child?

Edit: As for the idea that it could have come from a one night stand, well, why is the woman not on birth control, and the man not wearing a condom? Accidental babies don't happen to responsible people, and it's still quite shameful.

I could not disagree more! Why is marriage the be all and end all of a relationship? In what way is it irresponsible to have children and not be married? Surely being in a relationship and having children is pretty commited, you don't need a piece of paper to prove anything.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm sorry, but I think EA is right here. Having a child out of wedlock is shameful. It doesn't mean you're a bad person, but it does show that you are irresponsible. For all of the people saying "well, if you're in a loving, supportive relationship and you have a kid, it's okay" why are you not married or planning on getting married? There's a pretty big line between getting pregnant while you're engaged and just shacking up together and having a kid. Marriage is a benefit to both partners, it provides all kinds of legal protections and benefits, things like being able to visit your partner in the hospital, and certain property rights in case the marriage doesn't work out. There is a reason that the LGBT community has been fighting so hard for the right to marry, and the ability to show affection is a very small part of it.

TLR; if you're in a "loving, supportive relationship" and you plan on sticking together but not getting married, you are being irresponsible, and showing a fear of commitment -- and if you can't take the responsibility of marriage, how in the hell are you going to take the responsibility of a child?

Edit: As for the idea that it could have come from a one night stand, well, why is the woman not on birth control, and the man not wearing a condom? Accidental babies don't happen to responsible people, and it's still quite shameful.

I could not disagree more! Why is marriage the be all and end all of a relationship? In what way is it irresponsible to have children and not be married? Surely being in a relationship and having children is pretty commited, you don't need a piece of paper to prove anything.

Did you read what I wrote about visitation and property rights? Marriage is a contract that protects everyone involved, both the married couple and their children. That piece of paper does quite a bit more than just "prove (something)."

 

[sexbutler]

Fact is, a lot of people still pass judgement on couples who have children out of wedlock. It can be embarrassing for some. I doubt EA was saying it's shameful, rather that in our society it is often viewed as disgraceful.
EDIT: You'll notice it doesn't say you're depressed because you had a child out of wedlock, but rather people found out. And so you became the social pariah or whatever.

I'm with... brunothepig... I could have chosen a better ally I suppose. Anyway, I would guess that it's just a social thing brought in from real life, not moral judgment on behalf of the developers. After all you can still embroil your Sims in bisexual love pentagrams (think about it) without any consequences, right?

 

[PrinceofPersia]

What you're saying makes no sense. Free speech means you can say what you like, not that you can't possibly be judged for saying it. Nobody is claiming that the Sims doesn't have the right to put that in a game, they are saying that they should've exercised that right with more care.

Somebody came up with the example of say, marrying a black person bringing similar disdain for your character. Sure, the game makers have the right (outside of encouraging hate crimes) to do that, but as I gamer I wouldn't support a game that did.

OT: The general consensus seems to be that it was a rather poorly executed attempt to reflect some aspects of celebrity culture. However given the sensitive nature of the issue, and its potential to offend, they really should've given more thought to its execution.

Captcha: larpob engagd, EA are on to us :|

Your partially right EA has the Freedom of Speech to say whatever they want to say, and people will judge them for it. However EA shouldn't go out of its way not to offend anyone. The worst type of censorship is self-censorship. You know what happens when someone gets offended: Nothing, Nada, Zip, zero, zilch, the world doesn't end, and your remain healthy. Steve Hughes said it best: http://youtu.be/cycXuYzmzNg

 

[Slash Dementia]

Wait, these are the same people who that made Dante's Imferno and Dead Space.

Hypocritical much?

I agree. You've got two games like Dante's Inferso and Dead Space that have plots heavily centred around celebrating having children out of wedlock and then they go and make this game.

Hell, my favourite part of Dante's Infergo was when Dante went up to that chick who had a kid out of wedlock and said "There's no shame in having a kid out of wedlock" and then turned to the camera and gave one of those hand signs where your hand is mostly a fist but your thumb is pointing away from your fist.

And let's not forget that part in Dead Space where the guy finds out that people were shunning him for having a child out of wedlock so he drop kicks those motherfuckers.

I think they should find the one person who made Dead Space, Dante's Interno and The Sims 3 and ask them to explain this outrageous behaviour.

Visceral Games made Dante's Inferno and were the team behind Dead Space. EA published the games. Visceral Games was made from members of EA that got put into their own branch to make games on their own.

Anyway, this is completely horrible. Why they put that up? There's nothing wrong with having a child out of wedlock, and from what I've played of The Sims 3, nothing seems to be religious. There's no reason for this. If I didn't already know that inter-racial relationships weren't shunned in the game, I would believe that they would have a -20 mood and be deemed inappropriate.

 

[Kingsnake661]

Edit: I'd just like to point out that my sim is a celebrity and this is why this message appeared, It's still not justified though...

When your a celebrity this is the kind of crap they deal with. Is it fair to them? No, not really, but it's a reality of their life. Under constent screuenty. I find it intresting they had the forthought to add it for celebrites only. If that is how it works. I have really played it, i'm going by your post.

 

[i7omahawki]

Your partially right EA has the Freedom of Speech to say whatever they want to say, and people will judge them for it. However EA shouldn't go out of its way not to offend anyone. The worst type of censorship is self-censorship. You know what happens when someone gets offended: Nothing, Nada, Zip, zero, zilch, the world doesn't end, and your remain healthy. Steve Hughes said it best: http://youtu.be/cycXuYzmzNg

When did I say that they should? I'm all for offending people, however it shouldn't be surprised if people stop buying their products if it offends them without any sort of commentary.

If the offending media dealt with or challenged pre-concieved notions, then sure go ahead, offend away. But if it was purely an ill-formed game mechanic which was not properly or carefully implemented, then it should be brought to attention and people should talk about it.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Its to do with the Goal Set you pick at the start (cant remember if thats what its called). You get it if you take the family one where the goals are to get married and have children.

Oh right, That explains that.

...wait did no one alse read this comment?

 

[ender214]

Well, if a celebrity in real life in these modern times had a child out of wedlock, she WOULD be publicly disgraced by the media and by a good fraction of the public. At the same time, the man who woman had an affair with would not receive as great a public backlash. It may be a bit offensive, but its realistic.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Go to buy monster munch, Come back to PC, 13 quotes

I think I've pretty much said my piece on this matter ad neaseum, so I'm gonna leave the debate down to you guys and see what's said now

Its to do with the Goal Set you pick at the start (cant remember if thats what its called). You get it if you take the family one where the goals are to get married and have children.

Oh right, That explains that.

...wait did no one alse read this comment?

She doesn't have that goal, her LTW is to be a master chef as you can see in the screenshot. That has nothing to do with it.

 

[Savagezion]

Haha, that is awesome. You are playing Natalie Portman.

So despite your feelings on the Sims 3 what do you make of this??

I think it is just fun. So your Sim has to watch public relations as part of their job as a celebrity makes sense.

Your female sim is the only one who recieves the 'shame' for this 'heinous act' Also note the term 'bad actions' and 'innapropriate behaiviour' :|...

Personally it made my blood boil. There is absolutely no shame in having children out of wedlock these days and many couple choose to remain unmarried because of cost and also religious (or lack of) beliefs.

I will agree with the males should suffer from it too as nowadays it seems males get more bad press over it than women. But no shame in having a child out of wedlock? If you are so broke you can't afford to get/be married, why in the hell is having a baby a good idea? Lack of religious beliefs being an issue I don't get. Again, if you know you are not going to stay together why are you having a baby? This goes into a lack of structure for the child as opposed to lack of finance. There are many reasons why a child should have a mother and a father around in a stable environment for the best development. If you aren't concerned with the "best" development you can give the child, why are you having one?

There is no logic in having a child out of wedlock. There are excuses as to why to do it but none are logical if you are thinking of the child first and the parents second. Which is why they are excuses, they are selfish on the parents end. A child with parents that care enough to lock arms and vow to the world to work together is better than 2 parents who have a reason they don't want to make that statement outside of when they are snuggling on the couch.

EDIT: Sorry, you got nauseated of this topic before I posted this. Don't puke on your keyboard.

 

[Ryuu Akamatsu]

Wow. At first I thought this was a troll topic.

"Nobody could be seriously offended by this, right?"

The message is a lot like finger wagging. Like the game is saying "Oh you scamp. Getting into all sorts of trouble~" Honestly it's very silly that people are getting upset over this. It's tied to celebrity status, right? The media loves to jump on celebrities for anything they can think of. Child out of wedlock? Media would have a FIELD DAY with that one. Like someone said, Arnold Schwarzenegger got "slammed" as it were.

Let's look at it this way. What do you think your parents would think of you if you had a child without getting married? Yeah. You'd get berated for your lack of responsibility A LOT. If you claim your parents wouldn't care then you are obviously lying through your teeth.

My mother is a single parent. Is this offensive to her? No, she's a good person. It doesn't matter if she had me out of wedlock or not. She didn't but a few of you assumed that single mothers get shunned simply for not being married which is completely untrue.

Truth of the matter is people DO judge you for that sort of thing and they generally focus on the girl because SHE had the baby. Now the guy does get some flak too but not nearly as much. Don't know why but that's just how it is. Does that mean it shouldn't be in the game? No. If you are "in a loving, supportive relationship" then why don't you get married? It shows you're committed, provides all sorts of legal benefits, it's better socially and financially, not to mention it shows you love the other person. If you've been in a relationship with someone for nine months at least, I would expect SOME form of commitment. Otherwise, I wouldn't think much of their relationship which is probably why the social stigma exists in the first place.

Of course there are exceptions like rape victims, couples who have falling outs, etc. But we're talking about two, responsible adults who love each other and want to be together. Also Sim's.

Really, there is absolutely nothing offensive here and you actually have to work to get this message. First you have to buy the expansion to even have the message show up. Second, you have to actively work to make your Sim a celebrity. Third, you have to intentionally get your Sim pregnant with the "Try for Baby" option. Fourth, you have to wait it out and not get married. Fifth, you have to have certain character traits to even GET that message after all of this.

Besides, like I said earlier it's more like the game is wagging it's finger at you going "Tsk tsk" and the only punishment is being shamed for three days which is the common punishment for anything "bad" you do as a celebrity. At the end of the day, it doesn't affect anything other than your Sim's mood. There is no other "punishment" than that and it even goes away rather quickly. I'm pretty sure if this happened to you, you'd be in a pretty sour mood too.

"It's just a game, I should really just relax."

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Those messages are considered tongue-in-cheek, i.e., not to be taken very seriously. The fact that the game features vampires, toasted cheese cults and other such stuff should tell you that The Sims 3 isn't a vital tool for social commentary...

 

[Anah'ya]

I'm allowed to have an opinion on somthing, and this is a gaming site. The Extra Credits this week looked at race in games, you know, those things people buy so they can have a bit of fun. Are they worth your pity also?

There is a difference between aggressive and pointless picket sign protesting, and being informative and entertaining.

Never said you aren't allowed an opinion, else I wouldn't be allowed to have mine: I don't like whiners.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

Is Sims 3 set in the 20's or something?