Bizarrely there still seems to be some residual belief that only white heterosexual boys play video games, despite consistent and vehement opposition to this assumption, and so for some LGBTQ gamers it has felt like an uphill struggle. The acceptance of “alternative” relationships, and particularly bisexual and homosexual relationships, within video games has been a rocky road.
However, the act of having more than one fulfilling and emotional relationship simultaneously – with the others in the relationship in full knowledge of this – is slowly becoming more and more common, and more and more accepted (emphasis on slowly). Whilst many people have been, and are, open to dating several people at once, usually this kind of behaviour is stereotypically limited to young blokes who shag around. A similar phenomena is happening with polyamory. Sexual fluidity seems to be much more commonplace, in that people who may generally identify as heterosexual or homosexual can accept that there may be a point where they fall for someone of a gender that they may not necessarily have expected. While non-heterosexuality is by no means a norm, over the past few years it has become infinitely more accepted than ever before, at least in the western world. It’s no secret that that the 1950s stereotype of a gender normative heterosexual couple with a few kids on the side is no longer the most prominent family unit, nor is it the most desirable. The discovery of infidelity in The Sims 2 Nintendo maintained that they were trying to avoid a political statement by not allowing gay marriage within the game, although evidently inadvertently did the opposite, as The Sims have continually proven that this is not an issue for a life simulation game. In Tomodachi Life, released in 2014, you are encouraged to create an online “self”, and can pursue romantic relationships and marriages with others who have done the same. Compare this with the controversy that Nintendo garnered with Tomodachi Life, and you have a stark difference between the two very similar games. In the original game, sims could be directed equally easily to have a crush on and fall in love with other sims of either gender. Like its predecessors, The Sims 4 has pushed forward to reflect what are usually brushed off as “alternative relationships”.Ī little look at The Sims’ history definitely demonstrates that this isn’t particularly new for the series. If The Sims can be turned into a reflection of life, then obviously this is not particularly useful if you want your sim to be polyamorous, or even date around before committing.
In previous incarnations there was a fairly strict monogamy system, in which sims would become jealous and hate one another when discovering the object of their affection was “woohoo”-ing with another. The most recent release, The Sims 4, has taken this progression of sexuality further. Whereas many game franchises are, for some reason, still finding the idea of non-heterosexual gaming characters unthinkable, every sim is technically bisexual, something which has been expanded on throughout the sequels.
Even from the original Sims game, released way back in 2000, it already catered for non-normative relationships.
The Sims series has always been much more progressive than it often gets credit for, despite its fairly tame image.