I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anymore expansion packs, I was clearly lying
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY MAXIS/ELECTRONIC ARTS
Let’s get one thing straight, I wouldn’t identify as a “gamer”. I enjoy the occasional It Takes Two, Don’t Starve Together or Borderlands session with my partner. But when it comes to my own escapism, the only things that have held my attention is the frustrating daily Wordle, House Flipper simulation games, but most of all The Sims 4. Despite only owning the game since 2017, my total hours played add up to over two years play time in total – yes, there was a pandemic to be fair. This statistic baffles my partner who games daily and doesn’t believe he’s ever given that much to a single game.
It’s always been a dopamine boosting ride of much needed escapism for me. I’ve spent hours, weeks, months building a safe bubble for myself. From creating a predominantly queer and POC neighbourhood to find some relief from the overwhelmingly white and cishet places I’ve lived to escaping capitalism and living in the tiny home with my wife and pet racoon.
I’m supposed to be on a Sims break. I promised myself I wouldn’t purchase anymore expansion packs. I’d had too many moments of realisation that I was chasing my dreams through a simulation whilst losing the drive to do so in the real world. But in January, The Sims 4 announced that it will be introducing customisable pronouns allowing people to use she/her, he/him or they/them pronouns which is a huge win for trans and non-binary players.
This week, a trailer for their game pack My Wedding Stories dropped. I’m not even going to pretend that I won’t be ending my Sims break the second it is released on 17 February. The trailer was wonderfully queer and I am all here for it.
I’ve spoken here before about getting en-gay-ged back in 2019 without realising I couldn’t get married in this country without doing so under a binary gender. Now that gender neutral pronouns will be introduced, I can’t wait to escape from the marriage inequality that transgender and non-binary people face in the UK and have the big day of my dreams.
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