For my digital artefact, I am creating a visual podcast that focuses on the gameplay of The Sims 4 and how the game utilises its life-like simulation features when regarding fitness, and main problems, situations and issues in life, which my fellow classmate and I will relate back to our own lives.
The virtuality of a game comes from the concept of virtual reality meaning “Virtual reality gaming is the application of a three-dimensional artificial environment to computer games.” (TechTarget Contributor 2019) The Sims 4 being primarily a computer game doesn’t fall into virtual reality but have factual relations to health and fitness and real-life simulation.
Interactivity can relate “to describe how the player experiences the story, mechanics, and environment of a game.” (The Artifice Contributor 2017). The Sims 4 is purely based on the interactivity of the player, which can be directly related to themselves by making their character look, sound, act and dress like them.
The framework of connectivity although does not relate to the specific gameplay when in control of characters, The Sims 4 includes an online “gallery” feature where players are able to share, comment, upload, like and download other players creations as well as their own. The Sims 4 has little communities that form in Facebook pages, TikTok’s and The Sims 4 Youtube community.
The types of Participation include interpretation, reconfiguration and contractions. These three techniques all can be related to the life simulation game of The Sims 4. Participation can relate to understanding the issues that can be faced through life. Whether relating to health and fitness, or other life problems such as relationships, work and money. Reconfiguration may be considered through the information and preparation we discuss to really be able to connect the issues into gameplay. The contractions technique is utilising The Sims 4 separate additional features such as the expansion, game, stuff and kit packs which can be connected separately to the original game itself. This gives more opportunity to be able to relate the discussed issue in episodes we discuss.
Reference list
Klement, M & Dostál, J 2015, Multimediality And Interactivity – Traditional And Comtemporary Perception, ResearchGate.
Raessens, J 2015, Platform: Log in to the institution, moodle.uowplatform.edu.au.
TechTarget Contributor 2019, What is virtual reality gaming (VR gaming)? – Definition from WhatIs.com, WhatIs.com.
The Artifice Contributor 2017, Story Telling and Interactivity in Video Gaming | The Artifice, in M Sautman (ed.), The-artifice.com.
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