A new update for The Sims 4 has finally given players the ability to choose pronouns for their Sims in the Create-A-Sim mode.
According to a report by the Washington Post, this is the latest step by long-time series developer Maxis to allow players to see more of themselves in the Sims they create. Players can now choose from certain preset pronouns such as she/her, he/him,or they/them. And if they want, they can also set custom ones - though it might be a bit of a challenge considering how the English language works.
That's because making a custom pronoun would require players to type in different forms of it. This could include objective, subjective, possessive dependent/independent, and reflexive pronouns. Fortunately, Maxis and EA made sure that there will be sample sentences to help players come up with their custom pronouns.
EA announced the update in a blog post on their website, where more details about the new feature were shared. For instance, choosing custom pronouns will make the feature change pronouns automatically whenever a reference to the Sim you created pops up, so it can match what you picked. But due to how intricate the English language is, it might still result to the incorrect pronouns being displayed.
Either way, EA promises that this is only the first iteration of the feature. As per their official Twitter announcement, they intend to "update and expand this feature over time across languages."
And on the subject of languages, the developer said it plans to add more, though no release date or vague release window was given. For now, the update will be available on in English, reports Polygon.
The Sims 4's newest update is the latest in EA and Maxis' long road to making the game more inclusive to gender-diverse players. While the game still has gendered words like "policeman" or "policewoman," a FAQ notes that the team still has work to be done to make even more sweeping changes to the game.
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The Sims Franchise As A Safe Haven For Queer Gamers
In The Sims 4 (and almost the entire The Sims franchise in general), people can play out a different kind of escape fantasy which cannot be had in other types of games. This rings especially true for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who mostly consider The Sims games as a safe haven where they can be who they are with not a lot of restrictions, writes Polygon.
Many of these gamers say that The Sims games help them process thoughts that they never knew how to voice out themselves. To them, this means a lot because it allows them to put forth a version of how they visualize themselves in real life. And in terms of being queer-friendly, the franchise has been actually quite ahead of the curve.
It was revealed that as far back as the original The Sims game (which released in 2000), there were already gay relationships. According to VICE, this was made clear by a bunch of game design documents from the late 90s. Eventually, these design decisions came to define the series as a whole.
Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce