The Sims It has long been a pioneer in terms of inclusivity, allowing same-sex relationships since the video game first saw the light of day. Now, the famous franchise has wanted to take another step forward: its new update will add sexual orientation options to the characters. Remember that Sims today were essentially pansexual and panromantic, unaware of the complexities of identity in the real world. With the update, the nuances in romantic and sexual attraction will be recognized.
The update. A few weeks ago, Electronic Arts communicated his intention to “take a new step for inclusive experiences”. This is an update that will allow The Sims 4 You can indicate the romantic and sexual preferences of the characters, to the point of deciding whether to make them heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, non-romantic or asexual. The change will come with the release of the expansion High School Years, which comes out tomorrow, July 28. But beware, because you will not need to buy it to have this specific update.
School is in session on July 28 ✨ 📝 so step into the classroom & live the best (or the most awkward) years in #TheSims4HighSchoolYears Expansion Pack 😎
Available Now for Preorder!https://t.co/XunFDdIVa7 pic.twitter.com/3W5ZCVwLwo
— The Sims (@TheSims) June 30, 2022
What does it consist of. When creating a new character or in its options, the video game will ask you: “The sim is romantically attracted to…”, whose answers can be “men” or “women”. You can select both, only one or neither. If you don’t select anything, the sim will have no interest in developing romantic relationships with anyone. The next question is: “Is the sim exploring romantically?”. The answers will be “yes” and “no”. The goal of this is to include those who are still in a “self-discovery process,” according to the company. The answer will make them open to having experiences with both genders.
The last question is “The sim is interested in having sex with…”, whose answers are “men” and “women”. In this case, he will be able to have sex or other interactions with the sims of the options he chooses. If he doesn’t select anything, he will be asexual and won’t try to have sex with anyone.
Until now. The Sims they have been the perfect example of pansexual subjects. That is, they could feel physical and romantic attraction regardless of sex or gender. In addition, they were even interested in beings of other species: aliens, vampires, werewolves, etc. In fact, The Sims have been considered “bisexual” by many since its first installment. continued like this in The Sims 2, The Sims 3 Y The Sims 4.
Until 2016, when the team released the CAS gender preferences update. This has allowed players to customize their gender through male and female frames and fashion preferences. The player can choose what physique and what kind of colors their sim will wear, if she can get or get pregnant, and if she can use the bathroom standing up or not.
change is not perfect. Options are still limited to men and women, something the developers have been quite transparent about. That is, while it is possible to customize a Sim’s gender and pronouns, non-binary Sims do not yet exist in the game. Until now it has not been necessary to declare a romantic or sexual interest, but now that it is, it does so with the labels of “man” or “woman”.
Within the team they are aware of this and explain that the lack of non-binary sims is due to technical issues with the video game. However, designer Jessica Croft has promised that they are in the process of “improving the representativeness of gender identities”. Therefore, we could expect related changes in the near future.