Why The Sims Needs Disabilities ft

[@lucacommonjay7894]

I have Tourettes, the only disorder already represented in the Sims. I mean just look at that random shouting and waving and whatnot. Def Tourettes.

[@Alexa-be4sk]

omg made my day

[@galaxiiwolf3473]

Oh my god this is beautiful

[@feckethbalcony3666]

this comment wins

[@jadeauburn9220]

omg you made me laugh :D My husband has tourettes too :)

[@zoegaba405]

Fidjddkckdk too true.

[@isabelpt142]

When your friend makes you as a sim but has to give you the lazy trait when you actually have chronic fatigue

[@s181miri6]

I know! It kind of sucks. :P

[@emib4600]

omg I also do this when I make myself in the sims

[@flo9]

Recently diagnosed ADHDer here, and that would be directly triggering for me tbh.

[@runner7Chick]

The symptom or the health condition? I personally have ME / Chronic Fatigue syndrome incl multiple types of fatigue and had over 100 symptoms across the years. Try consider your language to improve people's understanding. Thanks

[@OmqSparklez]

@@runner7Chick there's a difference between someone talking in discussions about ME to say, "oh, i have chronic fatigue too" as if equating the two, and someone talking specifically about their experience with chronic fatigue, the Symptom. especially if they're currently undiagnosed with a specific disorder, 'chronic fatigue' is the only descriptor some people have. ME is a debilitating condition that has taken my and many people's lives away from us, and it is important to bring attention to 'chronic fatigue' and 'chronic fatigue syndrome' being equated, but this isn't it. if someone says they have chronic fatigue, they probably mean the symptom, especially in a context where citing the cause isn't necessarily relevant and someone might not want to give their medical history out to the internet.

[@christalcavanaugh]

And the people saying “but seeing a person in a wheelchair going by my house in the sims would be too depressing because disabilities are sad!” is that exact reason we need the representation so people don’t view something like a mobility aid as being tragic....

[@lowkeylonely4265]

Exactly! What would be tragic is a disabled person NOT being seen on the streets by your house because they're stuck inside with no mobility aid and can't go anywhere alone.

[@elenanojkovic2554]

@@lowkeylonely4265 I have the exact same opinion about the heart surgery I needed as a kid. People ask me how can I even look at my scar and not hide it, why not have it removed etc. Firts of, I had three surgeries as a kid-two heart related and one to remove my tonsils, do you really thing I WANT ANOTHER ONE? (if someone needs it for their own mental comfort, I'm not judging, I just don't want it) Secondly-it's a narrow line between my boobs, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't pull on my skin or something so I'm not bothered by it. I actually think it looks kind of cool. Thrdly, for those "but I'm certain you would get less questions about it if you had it removed". I'm not bothered by questions, I'm a med student and a total geek for medical topics, ask away! Just be prepared to listen to me geek out about it. And fourtly and most importantly-the surgery WASN'T something sad for me. It was good. It literally gave me a chance to live. With the mess of a heart I was born with I probably wouldn't reach adolescence. The scar is a reminder of that. And fiftly, for those "but it makes ME uncomfortable" people-Piss off, and stop staring at my boobs!

[@adaode3413]

Yes!!

[@NoBaloneyHomosapiens]

Especially because there are ways to make it fun too for people who aren't used to it in daily life. Like personally as someone who has to use a variety of mobility aids I think it would be a cool to see creative things like a hover wheelchai, or a cane that has a second use. Maybe even a walker with the ability for it to carry a boombox for the added bonus of Montréal representation 😂 But in all seriousness it could be a good opportunity for some fun representation that I could see being appealing to most players.

[@fenrisvermundr2516]

@@NoBaloneyHomosapiens I'd even include Prosthetics. Ranging from what we have IRL to Cybernetics.

[@monateru1712]

I want service dogs! There should be a trait that, when applied to an adult dog, makes them able to do simple tasks on command. Interactions w/ the dog like "Fetch water bottle, medicine, blanket, etc.". When the sims walks, the dog could be guiding them in different ways depending on the dogs task/ purpose. It would also be great if sims could work towards getting a service dog! Training a dog in service skill until it gains the trait, or attending events to adopt a trained service dog!

[@craftgrrl14]

YES! THIS! I hadn't even thought of that. I would love to be able to include my service dog in-game.

[@arseen33]

Guys I want a service dragon

[@adaode3413]

Yesss! I would buy Sims 4 Pets only for this!!!

[@shadowfayfurry1323]

There’s a mod for service/assistance dogs for sims 4

[@shadowfayfurry1323]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJnQc6KVrsuYfNk

[@glittery_cucumber]

NO to awful beige medical stuff, YES to inclusive world building and storytelling!

[@rosequill7925]

Medical looking things are awful it's the reason I've waited until now to buy wrist braces even though I've needed them for a while because I just found them in cool colors

[@Prinplup15]

I'm very tempted to start/make a company that supplies colorful and/or cute medical stuff.

[@mads4288]

Im really hopeful that when sims comes out with medical stuff it will be able to be customized. Colorful medical stuff as made me come to terms with my disability so much more and dunno what id do if it was all beige and black

[@anomalily]

@@rosequill7925 I need your recommendation for cool color wrist braces! (I was making sleeves for mine.)

[@izzysnyder5226]

I haaate beige medical stuff. I have lymphedema and have to wear compression stockings all day every day, and the beigeness is suffocating sometimes. I got tie dye ones from Juzo last year though and they made me feel a bit happier. Why do companies think just because you're sick you lose your personal sense of style?

[@nicolepohl2707]

I think adding prosthetics should be fairly easy for a billion dollar company tbh... But mental disorders... that's a tricky one... maybe adding a Therapist career could help with representation, or at least, to help aknowlege its existance. The suggestions you made on traits were absolutely brilliant ❤

[@HasabeMizurukara]

I would love to be able to send my sims to therapy. That would be so inclusive for people like me.

[@aishahsiddeeqa8311]

HasabeMizurukara I think having the option to pick a severity level of a mental illness and then being able to sort of reduce the symptoms using a therapy option would be cool. Also maybe cbt style therapy homework for a sim who chooses to go to therapy? I think that would be fun

[@lola22x]

or maybe instead of adding mental disorders to traits we could have a separate optional tab,so we can still have 3 traits + a mental disorder . Plus if you play and your sim has a baby it should be able to develop a mental disorder.

[@achoquenao3719]

Honestly the whole emotion moods need to be fixed as it is in the momenty, like someone u love just die and u immediately has a happy mood cause u house is decorated

[@Palitato]

I think there's a few that could be implemented fairly easily. Anxiety or panic attacks. ADHD maybe as well, but it would have to be handled delicately.

[@maggied1709]

i think a good way to add disabilities to sims 4 would be to have a cas menu where you can pick symptoms and stuff instead of naming specific disabilities

[@marry632]

Yes!!

[@sleepyhermit5758]

I think this would be a smart way to handle mental illness as well. For me personally if I wanted a sim who really reflected me I'd need to add fatigue, "gloomy" traits, and lack of confidence. All encapsulating the most influential parts of my mental illness without necessarily making my character "depressed" and thus more triggering for others. I want a sim with all the challenge I have so I can have that sim still build a cute happy life. It always made me so jealous that Sims can just DO what they want to do. Something I with my depression don't understand. Having a sim like me who is still building a good life would be so personally encouraging

[@elbellebenneth7512]

This is a great idea!

[@Ash-yh5oy]

yes. Instead of saying my sim is paralyzed just add a wheelchair in the outfit and the sim uses it. Add in a hates eye contact trait, easily injured, or hard of hearing.

[@heatherstock4491]

Agreed!

[@cutelilscrafty]

I'm autistic, and while I would personally not want to see that included, because I'm afraid of how it would be presented, I would love to see other disabilities added. Wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, walking sticks, service animals, etc would be great to see.

[@elbellebenneth7512]

Oh service animals would be a great addition!

[@Ash-yh5oy]

It feels like something like that would be hard to include as a type in and of itself. More like they could have optional traits that you could add to a sim and call it autism for yourself.

[@purpleghost106]

As an autistic person myself, I'd like to suggest that if they do a poor job then there's at least the option of giving feedback, can't give feedback on nothing. A sim that stims, and gets overwhelmed and needs to retreat would be-- I don't have a word but 'gratifying' might be the closest, it'd make me so happy, they'd be a sim more like me. I admit there cause for concerns with the possibility that they present us like A$ and fearful foolish parents seem to think we are, but if they spoke to autistic simmers (and there are a lot of us) they could easily get an idea of how to represent us as ourselves not some stereotype. I think we shouldn't give up before they even try, who knows :)

[@rejectfalseicons]

PurpleGhost holy shit. stimming sims makes me so happy. thank you for this thought.

[@artsy_marcypan]

Even injuries would be really cool in my opinion :)

[@maggieedna]

tbh I think the gloomy trait is a really lovely take on depression in the game. the get sad more often, usually just at random, and they get some special sad conversation options. they can deal with their sadness by writing in a journal or calling the sadness hotline. but what I love is that its just another trait the sim has, like loving the outdoors or being a perfectionist. nother sims dont like them less because theyre gloomy, and in some ways it can be a mild advantage, if for example theyre a painter, they can more easily paint sad emotional paintings.

[@theeveningcallsforfairies5246]

I don’t really play the sims so I didn’t know about this, but a sadness hotline? I LOVE THAT!

[@adaode3413]

Yes! I use the gloomy trait all the time!

[@thatboringone7851]

I can't say I agree, I wouldn't sum up my experience with depression as looking much like that, and using a trait you can't do anything about implies there's no getting better. The hotline could be carried over to a better representation of depression (though maybe with a slight rename?), but as part of the Gloomy trait it works much better as being a healthy check on a normal range of emotions. People over focus on sadness when it comes to the representation of depression, they entirely forget it can also present as numb, lost, irritable, etc, and comes with so many other symptoms (including poor memory, low motivation, and executive dysfunction, something that could be easy to add in the Sims). The idea that depression is just being sad more is already a pretty damaging stereotype - the same goes for the idea that depression is better for your creativity in some way (ability to draw on emotions in art isn't generally helped by depression, and it is very very much not worth it). It's not good representation - I don't think that it's impossible to represent mental illnesses well in the Sims, this just isn't it.

[@achoquenao3719]

@@thatboringone7851 Also depression helping with creativity it's a myth, it's actually the opposite. Honestly when I'm feeling extremely depressed the last thing I can do is "express my pain artistically", it feels like you get stuck and thinking about doing art only makes you feel worse cause yknow you not gonna be able to do it

[@achoquenao3719]

@@thatboringone7851 lol feels like I'm fighting you but I swear I'm agreeing, just got carried away

[@danielmcnestry42]

I think there’s potential for including lung illness (cystic fibrosis, asthma, etc.) Maybe a ‘wheezy’ moodlet could represent this? A kind of inhaler object that asthmatic sims can interact with?

[@AWindy94]

Maybe because of it they could have some type of uncomfortable buff when exercising?

[@mateojavan6782]

I'd really like this to be incorporated in the game as I do suffer personally with asthma & I would like to see gameplay with it

[@lowkeylonely4265]

Is it bad, that as a person who has asthma, I want death by suffocation or allergic reactions? Imagine if your sim works out too hard and has symptoms, like with elders, if they keep working out without rest (or taking an inhaler) they could die potentially.

[@violetquartz8817]

CAN SOMEONE PLS MAKE AN INHALER MOD I WOULD LOVE THAT OMG

[@flo9]

The next expansion pack Eco Lifestyle is supposed to have things like air quality and the like. What if asthmatic people would be more likely to have that as their goal in life because it affects them so much.

[@jypsplasticpants9309]

To be honest I think there needs to be more disabled representation and in media as well. Also I don’t understand why if someone in a film has a disability it’s never played by an actual disabled person. I think it should be played by someone with the disability they are trying to represent

[@Hannah-yf2yr]

I want to see more disabled actors in roles that weren't written with disability in mind, like the actor was right for a part that had no mention of ability, and so they cast the actor and their disability isn't necessarily addressed or a plot point

[@1901180108]

@thechosenonex3 But when it's already so difficult for disabled actors to get jobs, shouldn't they at least get to play the few characters who are like them? It's kind of like how white actors shouldn't be cast as POC when actors of color already have a hard time finding work and there isn't enough POC representation.

[@scw55]

@thechosenonex3 it's like casting a non-lbgt person as a lbgt role. It's the fact that it's a majority actor playing a minority role, when the minority people have fewer opportunities to get roles... I'm sorry if I explained this badly. In time you'll realise how empty your comment it.

[@WritingSch]

thechosenonex3 Ok then. Maybe they could try acting believably next time. And if you don’t think disabled people should act because non-disabled actors can play them, I guess we don’t need any white people in film because actors act. They’re playing a character, not their race. See how silly you sound?

[@connorfrost]

So I'm 13 and I have spastic cerebral palsy and when daniel tiger's neighborhood came out on pbs kids I remember when I saw a girl with leg braces I ran to my mom and told her while jumping up and down and flapping my arms. (That's how I react to strong emotions) But now my little brother watches daniel tiger's neighborhood and I don't see that girl anymore, despite her being daniel's best friend. It was like she had been snapped out of the show by Thanos. Worst part about this is she was such a great role model for being friends with someone that just happens to be disabled, because her disability wasn't her whole character.

[@Kay_Jay_Pea]

I'm SO glad you talked about this!! I've played the Sims 4 for years and no matter how many times I make myself in the game, it never really looks like me without the wheelchair or crutches. A lot of people who don't want disabled sims say that they think it would make the game too "depressing", but for me that would be the happiest thing ever, *disability is not a tragedy!*

[@sleepyhermit5758]

Even though for me some of my illnesses (mental included) are somewhat inherently sad in my experience, I guess I'd like a disabled sim so I can build a sim with challenges who still builds a cute lil happy life like I want to. Maybe that's just me. I also totally understand the concerns with it being handled properly, and the possibility of it being triggering but sending my sim through a mental health journey specifically like I did actually sounds I guess calming to me? Like I'm simulating what I want in my own life and what im striving towards

[@heliosfromacrossastar878]

Honestly it surprised me when you mentioned people finding disabled sims depressing as if the game is just rainbows and happiness. I mean it’s that, but it’s also the game where we figure out in how many ways you can kill a sim, create interpersonal drama, let our male sim get pregnant with a baby sim by most likely unconsential sex with aliens. But a wheelchair, yup, sure that’s killing our innocence 😂 I am not physically disabled in any way, but all I would think is “cool, more options”.

[@ceryssachristensen6831]

That is why I like that Jessica said it could be optional. Like aging or seasons effects. But I think it would be a great patch.

[@s181miri6]

Yes, I've downloaded poses for the game with wheelchairs and crutches for my sim, but obviously that is very limiting. :/ Love modders and cc-creators, though. So talented.

[@alisonbarker3862]

People actually listen and affirm negative things about disability [ie. that it's depressing] rather than calling it out for the rubbish that it is!! Also, this doesn't call a 'spade a spade' by, instead of listening to the people making this comment, calling them out by saying 'hey, you are projecting your negativity onto people with disabilities. Your belief has NOTHING TO DO WITH DISABILITY and EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE DESPAIR INSIDE OF YOU'. Case closed.

[@bunnylacy2097]

I saw someone say it may be helpful to pick through a list of symptoms rather than name the disability since a lot of illnesses have similar symptoms and I think that’s a good idea for easier representation of many disabilities. Obviously adding in things like wheel chairs, canes etc. would be great. Maybe you can remove them from your sim and add them back on when you want to simulate people who don’t need those items 24/7 but only when they go out. But you can also choose to always use them for people who do always use these items.

[@LillianRZP]

The individual symptoms is a cool idea! If they were implemented as traits I think we'd need more than the 3 slots for making a new sim, but maybe it could be its own category like the sex and gender thing

[@OmqSparklez]

@@LillianRZP I think it would definitely have to be a separate menu like the sex/gender options, otherwise there's the implication that disability somehow takes away some of our personhood or multidimensional personality, as well as like, it's just kind of not very nice for something like, ME or EDS or Asthma to be equivalent to lazy, snob or creative, yknow? plus... EA doesn't have a great track record of 'traits' that denote implied aspects of specific conditions, even ones that were accurate ('neurotic' in the sims 3 was pretty dead-on to a lot of peoples experiences with OCD... but it was also called 'neurotic.' Similarly with unstable, paranoid, gloomy and the infamous and long horrible now-'Erratic'-formerly-'insane' trait). Symptoms under some kind of 'disability' option and medical equipment (that isn't ugly and sad) such as crutches, canes, long term use wheelchairs, medical braces, inhalers, prosthetics, hearing aids, etc is really the only option imo. Still worried as to how specifically things like mental health, physical differences and cognitive disabilities (specifically autism) would be handled without it erring into somewhere I don't trust ablebodied people to interact with, but it's a start. It'll never be perfect, but it's better than a sad assortment of CC traits devoted to harmful stereotypes of conditions that are already set up to work with an ill-equipped system.

[@nameless568]

Yea I feel the symptoms idea is especially good for mental illnesses

[@MegaKhelditia]

Also, preferred sensory/mobility/cognition/etc aids in a similar series, with precoded preferences and needs based on what's selected, and together. I feel like autism could be a preset of character traits, but while you might get an extra positive from a preset list, you'd also have to pick another 1-2 negatives in kind. Strikes me as humanizing and contextualizing.

[@lunacouer]

​@@OmqSparklez That's how I felt about the Neurotic trait in Sims 3. It was so spot on and I felt seen...except for the name. Ugh...Neurotic? Seriously? The name is where it was making fun of it, but the coding for the wants, actions and moodlets was well-done for a game of that time. IMHO.

[@CloverElf]

Here's an idea: make all the wheelchairs a new, super-fancy style of power chair that can handle stairs! Or make hoverchairs. Or both!

[@lab_is_not_listening]

I "discovered" that boys can be in relationships with boys and girls with girls through playing sims. Yay for gay sims! 🤣

[@kaelin8775]

same here, played sims freeplay on my tablet.. first time learning about being gay.. did a bunch of research and now im lgbt+ lol. love representation

[@JohnZ117]

And bi/pan/a/sexual sims, which can also be played.

[@jadecarlile4842]

Same!

[@highwaysstar]

The Sims has always had no restrictions on sexuality ever since the first game. I got mad at my sister as a kid because in order to make her sim famous (we had the Superstar pack) she literally got the entire neighborhood to fall in love with her, including my sim family. She had maybe 30 sims in love with her sim to keep her famous and they ALL greeted each other by making out. There were constant fights in front of her sim's house because lovers would drop by to visit and bump into each other lol.

[@hillolovey5276]

Yeah it's the best way of representation for sexuality. I have a major "problem" where if I make a couple it's always lesbians. "Problems" in quotations because it's only a problem when you start doing it everytime and start hating on Bella Goth cause she's straight... Not saying that last bit is me though...

[@shackleshotgun]

Hey, semi game coder here writing this instead of working on a game lol: First of all, game dev isn't easy. The changes you proposed would be relatively doable (The Sims 4 has a lot of systems that are way more complex than what you suggested) but from what I've gathered biggest difficulty in implementing these kinds of features hails from 1) video game culture 2) sensitivity (or sensibility?) and they go hand in hand. Short version: I very approve of this idea, but given the state of gaming culture - in my opinion - EA can (and should) take as much as time as they want with this if it means that it won't be (accidentally) portrayed as a joke. Long version: We've made great strides but video game culture is still largely immature (read: a complete mess at times), so EA needs to think about how they present it. They need to make sure to market it as "here is an update we put a lot of love into for an often ignored part of the playerbase" and not "Here are some whimsical traits for your sims, have fun!". The last thing they would want to do is to release an update like this that later gets abused for laughs just because of a trailer they made, so to speak. With this update EA and their marketing team would need to show immense amount of responsibility and care. Also, what would be the best way to do it? Do they make a big deal out of it, or do they silently add in an update? I can see pros and cons for both. Either way I still remember initial responses back when they started experimenting with gender and it was really not good. The absolute most complex part of it would be definitely portraying mental disorders. From a coding standpoint, it would be a nightmare because of how complex they are, and we don't know much about them in the end. I have ADHD, and every person I know with ADHD is different. My teenage years were a lot of crying because I got really frustrated due to not being able to concentrate on schoolwork, yet at same time if I saw a sim have a crying breakdown over schoolwork I would feel insulted because it'd feel like a mockery. (and let's not forget the famous "Squirrel!" thing that happens with adhd "representation") (but this is just my opinion). So from a coding standpoint when it comes to mental disorders/illnesses (I'm not sure which term is correct to use), I think the smarter thing to do would be to add a LOT more traits (and a lot more traits slots to a sim) so players can pick and choose and truly tailor their Sims, and have those traits work together. I think in that way it would be more human, and give way to creating sims that feel human. Don't have traits such as "ADHD" or "Autism", break it down and have it like "Hyperfixation", "Impulsiveness", or "Avoids Eye Contact" (so it makes it that the sim model struggles with eye contact when in conversation). And then after that, leave room for more traits because I as a person with ADHD am far more than just my hyperfixation and impulsiveness, I like art and metal and mythology. People outside of er, "normal" aren't 100% composed of the thing that makes them "not normal". This got way too long.

[@salemsaberhagan]

As someone who has never actually played Sims, I see people (& especially children) who play this game as receiving the same experiences & emotions as someone who has pets. Maybe it's a fish, maybe it's a cat or a dog. Maybe your fish died. Maybe your bird flew away. Maybe your dog got into a fight with the neighborhood bruiser & now you have to take it to a vet or it will die. That is real life. Those experiences are how we grow & mature as human beings. Adding disability in the Sims might be something just as simple as spawning a wheelchair update when a sim gets run over by a car instead of just getting bounced around like a rag doll & getting up like nothing happened. Maybe it's just a temporary thing until their body heals. Maybe it's not temporary. Maybe there is a randomisation Russian Roulette Wheel somewhere in a special game mode that might spontaneously add some kinds of traits without users actively picking them. In my opinion, making it more "real" will take care of all the worries that people will abuse the disability addons. People are generally good. And it's always better for a person to be aware that their actions & choices have an impact on the world & the people around them. Even if the world is random chaos. Even if they don't feel like they've been able to actively choose everything. Even if they feel like they're simply being forced to play their part in a grand design too vast for them to comprehend. Self awareness is a good owchie.

[@hannahofhorror]

Felt like adding disabilities to Sims would be just an obvious inclusion. You raise some really good points.

[@VackraKatten]

This video is exactly what I've been trying to express! Every person I speak to about this matter just brush it off and say 'Oh, but people with disabilities just want to escape reality'

[@ChestersonJack]

In my opinion? Implement it, yes, but utilize stackable “symptoms” in a setting separate from traits like the custom gender settings. As an autistic woman, I’ve grown fond of the “sundae bar” metaphor, and find it would be a great way to represent many different disabilities, the symptoms of which may vary from person to person. Perhaps for physical things it can be it’s own aspect like the custom gender, but for mental things it can be included as part of traits (we should be able to pick more than three) because I feel that it would be easier to avoid glitching by traits and mental issues conflicting

[@QueenPineapples]

my sim had a kid with the grim reaper. who then sat on my couch and watched the sports channel, leaving my dead mother on the ground 😂 _educational_

[@clairem1612]

But if disabilities were a thing in the sims, that kid could require a wheelchair, so the Grim Reaper (ever the supportive parent) could attach black wings to it so it can fly, or have skeletal horses pull the kid around, or get a three headed service dog!

[@Mysterytour7]

Wow you can do that? I'll have to give it a go.

[@PrincessofEllabur]

@@Mysterytour7 not anymore since they took away the ability to have a kid with the reaper (unless there's a mod?)

[@Natalie-101]

YES MORE DISABLED REPRESENTATION!!!💖 I already love how so many features come randomized, like race or sexuality, so they can just add a list of disabilities to the features that might be added to any given npc sim! And obviously it should be a choice to add what when creating one Edit: I understand the issues that come with coding this, but it would be great if they worked on it for at least a few types of disability! I'm sure it would mean so much to millions, like how it meant so much to me when I realized they included lesbian relationships. Its amazing to be represented in such a mainstream media, and disabled people deserve that!

[@marimaiz]

Yes, there should be disability in The Sims 4. I just wish when there is, it's not just wheelchairs. Not that there shouldn't be wheelchairs in The Sims, of course it should, but I'm very tired of abled people thinking that the inclusivity of disabilities in any kind of media is just adding a wheelchair and that's it. There should be representativity for a lot of different kinds of disability. Not all, that would be impossible, but I'd like different kind of bodies in CAS. A foot not completely straight, scoliosis (I have severe scoliosis, I'd love to make me as a Sim), dwarfism, maybe a different kind of walk as well? It can be done and I think it's about time. Also, I don't care much about farming, sorry (runs away as fast as I can, which is not much, as I am disabled, XD).

[@ChestersonJack]

You know, I’d like to think that if they can include dwarfism, they could include different heights, but catch them reusing animations for adult/child interactions...

[@nataliapalak4383]

@@ChestersonJack If paralives team (only 4 people) can include different heights in their game, why sims can't? They have a lot of workers. EA just lowered our expectations for all simulation games

[@justmae1205]

Im abled but I have a disabled cousin and I think that adding disabilities is a great ideea

[@Randoplants]

I would like to see Adhd represented. I would love if they added stuff like a sim repeatedly leaving their keys in the fridge.

[@Randoplants]

I'd also personally like different energy and mood levels to try and manage. It would be a fun way to try and work out different strategies for myself to be able to manage things.

[@gnome5051]

That would be awesome, I'm not formally diagnosed with ADHD yet (was working on itwith my clinical psychologist before things Changed), i'm autistic and forget things are in my hands, i've hurt myself while cooking because i've forgotten i was holding a knife and started dancing and today i left my glasses in the freezer somehow? i'm so short-sighted that i cant see anything more than ten, maybe fifteen centimetres away clearly so i have no idea how that happened.

[@flo9]

You look in the fridge and there's the keys next to the tofu stir fry. And tbh my Sims forget what they were doing so much, it would hardly be difficult to apply that lol. Morning/Night people but energy levels rather than skills. Taking medication. Getting bored whenever they do something stupid for more than 30 mins. Coffee. Coffee addiction lol. Oh fuck today coffee makes you sleepy... NEED TO MOVE NOW. Having to do laundry rather than it being optional. I forget which makes my sim forget and now I can't go running because I don't have workout clothes... Need help with homework and projects because just finishing it is code. Has hyperfocuses!!! Learn skill at 3 time speed, but only half the speed when you're doing the wrong skill. Also more prone to accidents. Handiness skill is not their jam. Nor is working out. Even with the skill full they look like they are several points behind. They suck at walking on snow.

[@DorothyBanks]

There were add and autism traits but they got broken by one of the game patches or an expansion pack

[@sarahpaterson4606]

There is an ADHD cc trait that you can download. One of my sims has it, and he often becomes either bored, dazed, excited, and sad at random times (the explanation for the sad moodlet was 'misunderstood')

[@richardvelez3151]

There's nothing more I can add to your commentary, Jessica. It is brilliant! Clear, concise, and to the point. Representation is vital. Inclusivity is so important. Helping communities to be recognized and even come together has the potential to be incredibly beneficial for so many people. I see no reason why EA can't provide this for 'The Sims' immediately. And btw, you being the spokesperson for such an expansion pack would be fabulous! Intelligent, articulate, fun, sassy, and everything beautiful. I can see the advertisements now. Amazing! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, insights, and opinions on this subject, Jessica. As always, you relay the message in such an effective manner ... and are always - always worth listening to. All the best to you, Claudia, Walter & Tilly. Take care! Lovely as always 👍🤟💝

[@FatiguedButFabulous]

Jessica: Why are there so many steps? No one needs this many steps! My brain: *Foxbury Institute with bicycles flashbacks*

[@Piti_Pingu]

my High School was horrible, there was NO building you could enter without having to take steps... I used to sprain my anckle every other week so I basically walked with crutches all the time, plus I LIVED in my school since I was part of the students who were there for the boarding school.

[@aishahsiddeeqa8311]

Antje Gui my current university is like that. In order to reach the main campus you can either take the stairs or walk all way around the accommodation blocks and then awkwardly wind along convoluted building with way too narrow corridors is order to get to your classroom. Although the students union is trying to lobby the uni into making this place slightly more disability friendly

[@alexblack4048]

There's also a indie life simulator game called Paralives and they wanna include disabilities and lgbtq in the base game, they just uncovered their Parafolk. If you two can you should look into it 😊

[@lunacouer]

Plumbella just did a review of their version of CAS, and I immediately signed up for their Patreon. I want them to succeed!

[@alexblack4048]

@@lunacouer I suggest you also look up Pixelades channel he has covered the game many time so far. I hope the game succeeds too, they deserve it.

[@Meeeeeeeeeeeeh34]

Alex Black I’m so excited for paralives

[@shushuchan2913]

my game is already so heavily modded that I sometimes forget how plain the vanilla game can be. Yes to disability representation! It's not a good argument to say that people could use disabled sims for awful things, because then we should think the same for poc or women or LGBTQ+ sims. If someone wants to live out their sick fantasies, they'll find a way, but they can't be the reason we get less diversity ingame.

[@darkninjafirefox]

This is tangentally related to the SIMS but I feel that buildings made now and in the future should always be designed with ramps at the forefront instead of just an afterthought. There's really no reason for public buildings not to be made with disabled people in mind, especially schools.

[@cyrah00]

i think the new ‘cottage core’ pack counts as a farming pack. so, WE HAVE A FARMING PACK NOW😆

[@judyt.5702]

If Mattel could do it with Barbie, I'm sure the makers of Sims could do it.

[@nghsrae14]

Designing then sculpting various physical "disabilities" objects for a doll to be mass produced out of cheaply made plastics is WAY EASIER than adding a bunch of illnesses, symptoms, side effects, accessories, tools, reactions, and assistance mechanisms inside of a game that constantly is being coded and manipulated to insure bugs and glitches fon't completely wreck the game. That's way more complicated trust me I was in Quality Assurance for a video game. Adding something is a lot more difficult that it sounds.

[@judyt.5702]

It doesn't have to be. Mattel has a Barbie in a wheel chair. At first I was unsure how I felt. But a lot of people are in wheel chairs. I sure you could come up with something.You seem to understand it better than I do.

[@judyt.5702]

Of course I tend to think anything is possible. I'm an optimist. ♥️

[@marleesuarez7162]

preach

[@keitea7430]

Imo I have ocd and I definetly wouldn’t want to see that in the game as it would be quite triggering for me but I definitely want to see disabilities included. It’s a life simulation game but a huge part of life is ignored !

[@mrjmortimer8822]

I would love to have mental health issues in the Sims! I'm tired of mental health issues being so taboo that you can never talk about them or have them underrepresented to the point were people don't know illnesses outside of depression and anxiety

[@purpleghost106]

Yes, likewise! I feel so frustrated when fellow people who experience MH struggles want to shut down the idea of representation of us because they're convinced it's going to be bad. The Trans community was scared of representation for similar reasons, because of the amount of coding as villains-- but we can have positive representation! Bad past experiences don't guarantee bad future experiences. We don't have to be afraid of seeing ourselves in media

[@thundertea]

In case of the Sims it may do a bad service tho. Sims 4 has absolutely ridiculous mood system when you forget about the death of your child when you enter a nicely decorated room or eat a cupcake. This may lead to people (especially younger audience) thinking that psychological disorders are something like "mood" that can be overcome, if you, uhm, try hard enough. This is already a huge problem, and such approach will simply reinforce it. Mental health absolutely deserves valid representation in games, but the Sims would be a very bad and detrimental showcase.

[@roebearwhat]

@@thundertea I think it could be overcome by having things where your mood or activity level can be decreased for a period of time? Like you could tell the sim to make food and shower and maybe the sim can only give you the energy for one or neither?

[@lunacouer]

@@purpleghost106 I think you nailed it. We've experienced so much negative feedback and stigma in real life that it's hard to imagine a life simulator being able to handle it respectfully. But I kinda feel like we've already had some representation in the Sims 3? I'm not talking about the Insane trait, because it's ridiculous. But the Neurotic trait (needs a better name), the Loner trait, the Brooding trait...they give interactions and moodlets that are somewhat accurate for me and my mental health issues. And I like that none of it's overt, it's not called "Depression", "Social Anxiety", "OCD". But the interactions and moodlets reflect the symptoms of them. They have positive and negative aspects, just like every other personality trait in Sims 3. And that normalizes them.

[@thundertea]

@@roebearwhat there are many possible solutions, it's not impossible and there are mods that can enhance it (most notably Meaningful Stories that solves this ridiculous mood swing problem). So it's possible technically. But the problem is with EA in general and how they address the Sims 4 changes, it seems their vision is to make the game simpler and simpler, without any nuance and details, whereas introducing disabilities will require A LOT of nuance. That's why I don't even believe they will ever do it tbh. It took them 6 years to make free window and door positioning and 2 or 3 years to make toddlers (initially children aged from babies straight to schoolchildren). I wouldn't trust them with anything that can be potentially hurtful and stigmatising.

[@annalisaslibrary]

Your ideas about social anxiety traits sound wonderful to me as someone with that. I am taking so much joy right now from living vicariously through a pair of sisters I've made who are living their best lives with no romantic partners, and it would be so meaningful to me to also be able to have one of them have social anxiety like me and still be living her. best life.

[@Questionablexfun]

While I deff fall into the camp of “no, I don’t want my disability represented in a game that I play to escape the existence OF said disability,” I fully support the inclusion of disabilities for diversity 💜and for those who do want to see it because it would be optional, as are most things in the sims 😁(having said that, I’m deeply unsure of how one would represent mental health issues sensitively in the sims..other than overt stereotyping)

[@lowkeylonely4265]

Maybe have symptoms you could pick from in cas, like a separate menu, and like with aging, there could be an option to turn it off for townies.

[@pinkysworn]

They finally included a voting option for prosthetics, burns, and other physical differences as a CAS feature in the community survey. I’m hopeful that means they’re listening. It does take a long time to implement new ideas, though, which I’m sure is incredibly frustrating when you’re disabled and you’ve never been represented in the game.

[@destynnee]

I'm hoping so as well!!

[@Sophie_Cleverly]

I definitely want disabilities in the Sims! I find it weird thinking of my own invisible illnesses, though. It would be very hard to represent them - especially in a way that didn't make them seem trivial. As some people have said, maybe having symptoms like "fatigue" or "pain" would be a better way to do it, and perhaps you could choose whether your Sim has it permanently or fluctuating. I'd definitely have a go at making a disabled Sim-me at least once but I don't know how much I would play with it. I'm one of those people who likes the escapism!

[@yasminjenkins6568]

I would love to have operation scars be an option. As well as scoliosis, having a curved spine (where you could adapt the degree) would be a wonderful step for accepting all body types. Chronic pain would also be great to represent, maybe as a trait.

[@EleanorRealOne]

A sim with EDS and POTS could randomly faint and need more sleep. I wouldn't want the medicine item you can buy to fix it either. I'd love to see chronically ill sims..

[@MRuby-qb9bd]

I would love a sim that randomly faints or has seizures. Would also love if sims could learn first aid or if medical career sims could assist with emergencies like that.

[@laurawilson5666]

That would be a real cool Career, M.Ruby !

[@laurawilson5666]

Chronically ill Sims would also help step up the game play. So I agree with that, EllaRussell. I mean they add death to this game so make it so they also have cancer, Heart Problems, Diabetes of both types 1 and 2, etc

[@13gudadod]

What is POTS?I know how Ed is eating disorder

[@EleanorRealOne]

@@13gudadod no not eating disorder. EDS stands for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - Jessica has it and I do too. Google POTS , it causes all sorts of issues (stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

[@ayellowpapercrown6750]

Unpopular opinion (in our particular community) but I’d really dislike having my real life limitations in the game, I would really hate it affecting my gameplay. But I wish it was an option for the people who want to feel actually represented in the game, it would be a cool option.

[@aishahsiddeeqa8311]

I think it would be nice to have npc’s who are disabled. You wouldn’t necessarily have to play as a disabled sim but I think seeing disabled sims would be nice. I remember when I used to live next to a neighbour whose daughter used to comment that she was scared of disabled people and therefore my mum and brother. She had never had any negative interactions with my mum or my brother but seemed to have negative beliefs about disabled people. Her mother didn’t really do anything to counteract those beliefs as far as I could tell although she was quite nice to my family in a slightly paternalistic way. The daughter who was about 9 at the time never did anything hurtful to my family but did seem to continually keep her distance. I don’t think she had any ill will but was just extremely naive and ignorant. I kinda think having games where disabled characters were represented and weren’t scary or strange would be nice

[@tessajung6926]

Yes, I really don't need my Asthma represented in the game.

[@gameoftomes14]

We now have Cottage Living and Horse Ranch, which makes having a farm so much fun.

[@piarogala2438]

If you still play, now we have a cottage/farming pack and hearing aids and glucose patches (I think thats what they are?) to have some options for disabled people

[@lereloleloshakirashakira7710]

0:47 yes, the cottage living expansion is coming. Still Sims 4.

[@MarleyQuinn]

"Just throw me a bone! Carefully... so I don't dislocate anything." I lol'd good and hard. :3 Thanks for being realistic about wants/needs and the realities of how complicated a topic this is.

[@FrogglesMcBoggles]

Yes to all this!! I'm a disabled simmer with Cerebral Palsy and it's incredibly annoying to not be able to accurately represent myself in the sims!

[@spoonietimelordy]

If any sims guru see this message, I'm also 100% ready to answers questions and give advice about disability representation.

[@Fish_plz]

Same

[@morgan_c]

I’m very happy that you spit-balled about autism in the Sims. Neurodivergent disorders would be awesome to see in a life simulation.

[@Underpants678]

Stims! A “your gonna get overwhelmed soon” bar! Unique friendship and romance options!

[@sunnybugz]

I just want to have a cane in the sims !! ALSO I want my character to be autistic like me !! My autism and physical disability effect every part of my life. I just wanna see myself !!

[@nekolalia3389]

A cane, you say? [urge to shill Sims 3 intensifies]

[@sunnybugz]

Okay, I just not finished this video because I accidentally clicked off and IMMEDIATELY forgot (adhd time) but tHERES AUTISM MODS?? i love that !! i almost had a meltdown in Dollarama today and felt like a frustrated sim ngl

[@timstarkey3692]

@@sunnybugz wait THERE ARE AUTISM MODS?!!?!

[@KrissyChacon]

So crazy, because last night I was laying in bed wishing that there were Sims wheelchairs or amputees or things like that. Then this happened! So happy to know I am not alone in this wish for variable disability representation.

[@boredgrass]

You presented this magnificent! You voiced the issue with all it's urgency and at the same time all your suggestions are bridges, that invite! Inspired by your ideas my suggestion: How about as a "first advance into the matter" this: A setting called "take a walk in other people's shoes or wheel chairs". If active, it would trigger a number of disabilities for a day, week, month, year or permanent. The pronouncement of this would include a statement along the lines of: "The Sims team wan'ts to become more inclusive. To do this, the developer team needs help from the users. Everyone who activates the feature is asked to report what changes are needed in the Sims world(s). The ideas behind: 1. In my youth (I'm 57) wheelchair users was a big subject. A very common action to raise awareness was that school classes organised wheelchairs, and explored their vicinity in wheelchairs. That had a big impact on people's thinking in terms of their own experience, not to mention the changes in public building, i.e. ramps instead of steps;-). 2. The possibility of active participation and the option to explore something like a disability in the very personal manner of sitting in a wheelchair one self! 3. By announcing it as "Walk in other people's shoes " It includes everyone, i.e. people with and without disability. All explore this together. Thus people with disability are not put on a podium or stage, where people without disabilities can hang their fears, prejudices, ideologies around their necks. Instead, Sim users explore disability together. The Sim team is "in it with the users" in a positive constructive way. They should feel far less reason to defend their shortfall in this matter. (I suspect that this one of the reasons behind it: A fear to "not sell it right". Keep a your amazing work! You do good, really good! :-) Love from Thomas in Germany

[@rhiannon1833]

i agree! i have a couple mods too have a chronically ill sims, which is very relatable.

[@Karin141622]

Can you recommend any of those mods? :)

[@PensiveOmen]

Ooh I'd love to know what you're using too

[@rhiannon1833]

DementedDoll from a tumblr called eileenccfolder, there is a huge master post with links! (eileenccfolder.tumblr.com/disability2#c) i hope the link works/doesn’t mark as spam... i personally use the spoonie trait mod and a bunch of the cc, like kt tape, wrist brace, and there is this really cool artwork set. i also recommend the service dog mod, and i also downloaded some of the stuff from englishsimmers video too!!

[@PensiveOmen]

@@rhiannon1833 Thanks! I'll have a look at them :)

[@lowkeylonely4265]

The other day I was making a public build and I was struggling so much to make an accessible stall in the bathroom. I'm not sure why I got so stuck on it, but I wanted to make a stall that disabled sim s could use. I finally made it, having to substitute a lot of things and items with imagination, and then I realized that there aren't even disabled sim s to use it...😤

[@jennytony3535]

I was watching this while browsing the sims packs - i hope that Jessica has seen that there is a cottage EP coming that has cows and chickens so she can finally build that farm

[@bakaichigo]

Fun fact, I thought this too and went to look at mods. The game is UNDENIABLY better with more representation. EA always should have had that included and it will forever upset me that this isn't a more mainstream thing. Loved seeing this! :)

[@kiahmadison8541]

I am an adult Lego fan. I also have a deformed leg. Demand disability inclusion. Requests to the company made by many people will eventually result in something. It worked with Lego. Broken legs wheelchairs and disabled athletes have been included in some packs.

[@katiethayer1553]

Yes! I've been playing the Sims since it came out in 2000 and Sims 4 since it came out and I haven't made a self Sim because there's no wheelchairs and I want my self Sim to actually look like me. So excited that my favorite disability/lgbtq+ KZbinr and my favorite Sims KZbinr are collabing.

[@HannahHodgson]

The amount of times I have searched forums trying to find a disability mod over the years must be in the hundreds. I get that it would be a difficult thing to be do sensitively, but my goodness it would be so great to have the representation. Thanks so much for your love and light right now. I love the amount of effort you put into your videos and also your gorgeous outfits. Keep being awesome 😎 💜

[@Matteasun]

I thought it was soo suspicious when I saw notifications from both Jessica and Molly uploading videos about how TS4 should add disabilities to gameplay.. until I actually watched Jessica's video and realized her and Molly are doing this video together!! 😂😂😂 I genuinely thought these ladies were reading each other's minds!

[@plantyrae]

I was also the kid that made powerpoint presentations for my parents- thank you, Jessica! You beautiful, relatable spirit

[@NomadProductionsAndCoBTS]

I grew up without disability representation in everything (movies, series...). A superheroe in a wheelchair would be amazing (I have Spina Bífida and I am in a wheelchair)

[@ayellowpapercrown6750]

There’s a very bad movie called Mac and Me (it’s an E.T. rip off) and the main character as spina bifida (and so does the actor!). It’s never even mentioned that the kid is disabled. Too bad that the movie is just terrible in other ways.

[@girlofbraids]

You might be interested in The Defectives series by Burgandi Rakoska, you can find her books on amazon. I don't think the protagonist has spina bifida, but she is a wheelchair user with super powers, and the author herself is a wheelchair user so she knows what she's talking about. I only read the first book a while ago, but I do remember it being a pretty good story!

[@KaylaKasel]

I know "Oracle" from Batman is a wheelchair user, but... Might not be the best representation since that happens because of a traumatic event, rather than a condition she was born with. For context, she used to be Batgirl, an able-bodied person, so... Take it with a grain of salt, I'd imagine.

[@jwb52z9]

He wasn't a superhero, but several decades ago there was a TV show starring a famous actor named "Raymond Burr" who played a disabled lawyer. The show was called "Ironside".

[@NomadProductionsAndCoBTS]

@@KaylaKasel I know where are you going with that. But my point was that I didn't have that superheroe like Batman who is the main character as a disabled person. Not that much as I would have loved to have growing up.

[@mieliboo1]

For fear of sounding like an echo chamber as my disabilities are very similar to yours. I always download CC that allows for one or two black fingerless gloves to be my wrist supports. I also remember being excited that glasses were optional in the SIMS, but I never had crutches or braces etc. As a former CC for SIMS 2 (only decor etc. though), I understand how easy it would be for some things to be changed if a mesh (a kind of chicken wire template for an object) existed but that these could be modified for example KT Tape and scarring in the tattoo mesh. However, I would love it if simple things were drip-fed into the game, such as hearing aids alongside glasses like lipstick is alongside eyeshadow. Hopefully one day, until then I will rock my one glove.

[@pixiemeg]

I love your hair today! That updo is so pretty 💞

[@morgangrant3479]

Sims in wheelchairs, that could be inside as well as outside, would make me so happy. My brother sometimes needs a wheelchair, and I like to make my family in the Sims

[@matewis222]

Flippen awesome content! I love the "spitballing", does get the best ideas out of the old Brain. I always wondered why there were no disabled people in the sims. It would be a good way to help kids understand empathy, and help develop understanding of another person's perspective - like being in someone else's Sim-shoes. Ok that is my spitball for the day. Dankie!

[@elbellebenneth7512]

I have bipolar disorder. A lot of people do. I would be incandescently happy to have it as a character trait option. Like somedays your sim is depressed, so they have less energy and have a hard time. Then, whenever they are manic, they can have desires to buy just everything, dye their hair, things like that. I would love it, even if it's not perfect because being bipolar is a huge part of my life and my sims never really feel like me even if they look like me because that part is absent.

[@2kn111]

You don’t buy Laundry Day for the gameplay. You buy it for the build and buy objects, which are amazing

[@uncommonpurestbeauty]

I think forearm crutches would be great. Also they just announced cottage living!

[@kevinruby9241]

Instead of walling up sims and letting them starve, or drown, I expect users would find ways to torture their wheelchair-using sims (pushing them down stairwells, etc.)

[@jaclynmccosker]

Totally!

[@redcoatgaming4141]

Well sims is a torture simulator This is why there is a member of Mi5 living in my airing cupboard

[@AlexaPierce1]

I played Sims 1 back in the day and only recently played Sims 4, they've changed so much and have given us so many options for cas at this point that it's totally possible to have a medical accessories option when creating. I think invisible disabilities would definitely be harder to represent but not impossible. It would take a sensitive group in ea to accomplish this. Maybe in the next few years it can happen.

[@alonadaniel]

although i would completely love if disabilities were introduced into the sims in a multi dimensional and accurate way, i also know that game design takes so long and a lot of money and time, i also know that ea is a corporation whos main goal is money. having a disability dlc would be insensitive and so if they would implement it in the base game so they wouldnt make a lot of money off of it. i couldn't see the majority of players using disabilities so i dont think they could use it as a selling point for the game. so although i think representation is important, i know that financially it simply isnt viable. i think the cas stuff like hearing aids and prosthetic limbs are a great idea though and should definitely be added! but i know that the gameplay stuff is ALOT of work and to be completely honest, i think alot of people would prefer that time, effort and money go to different things like improving the emotion system, more in depth relationship affects and story progression to name a few. in an ideal world where production costs weren't a factor i would love this though!

[@OrangeCat1992]

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!! You hit on every point perfectly!!! I have MS and most of my symptoms are invisible, but some days I need a cane, some days I need to stay in bed all day, sometimes I’m blind in one eye for a few weeks to months and sometimes when I get overheated I need to use a wheelchair to get places. Those things should be available in the Sims! Generally, I don’t want to play myself, I play to escape my life, but sometimes I do want to play myself, and representation is so important!!! 🧡🧡🧡

[@lexlyno]

as sims brands itself as a “life simulator” and disabilities are a part of life, it would be a great addition to give sims a more realistic feel. which also means that the gurus probably won’t do a thing with it.

[@marimaiz]

Oh, and you should buy Laundry Day not for the laundry aspect (all you have to do is not place the washer/.dryer/hamper and your Sims will never have to do laundry just like it is now) but the items are adorable and I use them all the time. Clothes are also really really cute. Worth it.

[@booorue4876]

Different heights? Like as a very tall person I would like my sim to be very tall and get a buff when they're around people shorter than them and then get tense around someone taller than them. Then for shorter people they can be non affected by this and get a buff called "fury of the small" when they win a fight against a tall person. I mean obviously want disabilities but... My idea is cool too...

[@Kaleysia]

As a small person who had that wish for years: yes please!

[@katym2487]

There's a height mod by luumiasims that I've seen people use. ( Just google 'height mod luumiasims' and it should be the first result :D ) But yeah, would also love that in the game, but I think making the animations would be hell!

[@ashildrtheswift3028]

I'm short and would love that, but they'd have to remake every single animation for that...

[@booorue4876]

Yeah I understand it would take a lot of work (as a person who is taking a game design course) it would probably just be in the next game but I can still hope.

[@ashildrtheswift3028]

@@booorue4876 I'm also in a game design major right now, which is why I said that

[@anthologyofwhat]

I really appreciate this thoughtful, nuanced take on a complex subject. I've thought about it a lot over the years, but you really covered a remarkable range of angles.

[@kal5136]

omg I never considered this... but now I realize wow.. as an aspie, I´d love to have a few aspie sims, their life would be so much different! and I could relate so much more!

[@Luminousmorrow]

Thank you for this idea! You are absolutely brilliant for starting this conversation 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@stormRed]

My Sims playstyle is spending hours on a household and house and then barely play them.

[@ThisGirlReviews]

More customisation and gameplay options just makes sense from a gameplay standpoint.

[@juliaoliver2549]

When I was growing up, I'd have a friend over, and watch my friend and my sister play. Never once did I See anything to do with disability, and that concept really bugged me. More representation is so needed.

[@TombstoneToons]

I love your prospective on things. It is so refreshing. I have a brother that is on the spectrum and physically handicapped. He has never let his handicaps to hold him back from anything (however we did find that ice skating is definitely something that he cant do but he did try lol) I agree that representation is important in respectful and humanizing ways. Because none of these handicaps make my brother, or anyone else, less of a person just another person in society as a whole

[@destinymills255]

People are going to starve/drown/torture their sims regardless. Yes, people might trap a person using a wheelchair in a room where the only way to leave is by using stairs but people already and will continue to trap their sims in rooms. Just because the sims won't always be treated well doesn't mean they shouldn't exist otherwise no sims would exist.

[@aidenstrawhun5802]

Funny you mention this. The cover story I did for Polygon earlier this year on the sims, I brought this up. The reasoning I was given was that 1. They want to do it right and 2. They don’t want disability to create a negative atmosphere as much of the game is so lighthearted and whimsical-and since so much of the community uses the game as escapism, they don’t want counteract that. Not a solid reason, but that’s where they were standing in January.

[@chaotic.content]

I love this! as an enby, I was so excited to see the gender options in the sims 4...I think more inclusion is always awesome, and I wholeheartedly agree that it's time for disabilities to become a thing in the sims. 💖

[@RubidiumMoon]

The biggest problems is 1) portraying the disabilities accurately without offending anyone who has such disabilities 2) figuring out which disabilities to include, since there's so many 3) programming the disabilities as a lot of disabilities have tiny details that really make the disabilities what they are, and being able to include those details are challenging.

[@miasmacaron]

I still want a nonbinary pronouns option.

[@mr.mayonnaise5488]

Do you ever really see pronouns in the game though? I can’t really think of a situation where he or she comes up in sims. I’m a cis female tho so I totally could just be missing it

[@alien-k]

Rin - the pronouns are used in almost every “announcement” or age-up type things. Like: “(Name) just got a promotion. She will now earn more money per hour”

[@OmqSparklez]

Nonbinary pronouns is a really iffy way to phrase this, but the option to choose or at least omit pronouns is def necessary (tho there’s a mod for that for ts4, I think it’s called gender less or smth?)

[@notcarameldonuts6912]

Yes!!!!

[@beep3242]

@@mr.mayonnaise5488 Yeah, the pronouns are shown in the notifications, such as job notifications and such.

[@clickers8049]

I love this video, and I love how articulate you were in this video-I agree, I would really love disability representation. also, I laughed every time you made a vampire joke 😂

[@leojozsa612]

I’m disabled, my very close friends in a wheel chair and I’d love to see very different disabilities in the sims :)

[@PippyTheFan]

I... I'm gonna cry. I'd add something but you covered everything I would say. Thank you for this :) I'm autistic and have several disabilities (depression, anxiety, PTSD etc.) and I've been playing the Sims since I was 6 (15 years ago). Disabled and neurodivergent representation in the Sims is something that's very important to me and I really appreciate how it was handled here.

[@aviationaddict_1602]

I've played the Sims for ages especially the Sims 4, and to be honest I'd love to see disabilities represented, obviously with a lot of thought like Jessica said, not very sensitive topics like suicide or eating disorders but at least making a start to include disabilities in the Sims would be great as it would encourage people and possibly educate them a bit better on how to help disabled people and how not to accidentally seem like your treating them (with kindness) but accidentally treating them a bit differently ... Sorry if this comment seems to in areas not make sense just I myself suffer from a slight impairment of getting my ideas from my head to paper ... Btw Jessica thanks a lot for making people feel good about being very unique and for the representation that you yourself also achieve throught KZbin

[@januzzell8631]

This is a fascinating subject (sadly I am not a SIM player), one which, I believe, you tackle beautifully and present your arguments eloquently but may I also note that your asides to camera are adorkable! Such fun! Thank you for sharing and please, Stay Safe!

[@TheDundeeBiscuitLuvU]

Hmmmm I'm trying to think of ways that Autism and ADHD could be included Autism is tricky because of how wide the spectrum is, no matter what you do you are always going to be excluding large groups of people. If I was creating a sim to represent my autism it would probably be something like - Other sims feel uncomfortable when talking to them - Gets a stressed or anxious mood state when in busy places or when outside the house for too long - Stimming animations - Frequently overlooks things they need to do in favour of reading/watching/looking on the internet about their special interests, speaking of, perhaps a trait could be selected as being a special interest trait - No idea if this would even be possible to code, but perhaps keeping your sim on a routine could lead to an increase in mood, or perhas they would default more into a routine automatically These are just some ideas, and they don't reflect the full reality of autism, but we still want it to be a fun game right? haha The issue with this is, this doesn't reflect a lot of autistic people's experiences. Some are non-verbal, some don't have full independence, many can't hold down jobs very well etc. I worry that in choosing a specific way to represent autism, we would be choosing the type of autistic person who is worthy of representation and who is allowed to be seen, and I don't think that's right. It may just be easier to leave it out of the official game. For ADHD, I feel like this may be a bit easier as while ADHD is also a spectrum it's not quite so varied. The one thing I will say though, is that my experience of playing the sims is that many of them already seem to have ADHD haha, they're often always late, start tasks and don't finish them, forget to do basic things like eat and pay the bills, never go to sleep on time etc.

[@o9793]

It would be good to add extra traits separated of personality traits representing mental and physical disorders better though. And maybe you could chose for a trait "can't focus" or "deep focus" if it concerns writing, speaking or using a computer. And CAS items are easy to implement for EA. I would also LOVE that they implement routines in the game in general, it's so natural. Like your sim could be made for routines or chaotic. The one who can could begin to automatically do an action after another if it is regularly played. Or an option like "after that... do that...". They have to fix the sim's automatic behaviours first though :)

[@simscapism3810]

I love your view on that!!! I'm so glad you've made this video! I make my sims loners, erratic and lazy often just to somewhat represent what i'm going through (obv i mean the moodlets and animations that are the result fo those traits can be kinda similar to real life) but it is not enough, it's sometimes offensive to be frank and also - you can only have 3 traits so then my sims end up having NO ACTUAL PERSONALITY which sucks.

[@OuchMouse]

I totally respect the “hearing aids and cochlear implants don’t represent deafness” but also I love having the option to put a hearing aid on my sim, like I can on my Memoji (yay apple). Options are good!

[@ChepiFaerydae]

Thank you for talking about this! I have devoted a fair bit of time and energy (when I can) to try and advocate for disabilities in Sims, and looking for decent mods, because I find it very helpful to my mental health to have proper representation in the games I play. (Plus it makes me happy to have to have game realities show the diversity of the world we live in!) But so many places talking about Sims and Disabilities are just filled with ableism, and debating our value or existence. It can really get under your skin. So it’s very refreshing to have a conversation about it that’s not seeped in ableism, and actually makes constructive points of why we really should have that option! Very good video (as usual).

[@susanhillis5952]

I mean my favorite activity in sims 1 was trying to trap and kill neighbors that walked past before they could upset the world I had built for the sims I had created, sure that would be easier (maybe?) if they were disabled but my tortures would be because they weren’t created by me personally and therefore I don’t have any particular attachment to them-not because they are disabled... I’m just evil to 1s and 0s

[@megantaylor2871]

I definitely want to see things like mobility aids and even service dogs! My disabilities are invisible so they would be the easiest to incorporate into the game but I think they would be tedious to play with (even for me)! Basically your sim has an uncomfortable moodlet that goes from +2 to +5 and sometimes get dazed from brain fog. Energy depletes 2-3x as fast. Hmmm.... maybe it would teach people a little bit of what it’s like to live life on hard mode.

[@orlamcl]

My two favourite creators! Yay! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[@maiaadunleavy]

exactly!!! i would love disabilities in the game, because i honestly think being able to see myself in the “perfect world” of the sims would really help me! yes, some days i really just want to escape, but having the option there is absolutely the best decision so thank you for this video :)

[@drustanastrophel9538]

i use the trait that makes sims sad more often as an ersatz depression

[@StarlightEdith]

I would love to see disabilities represented in the sims! As a person with CP that's not often acknowledged by those around me (My parents often say I can "overcome" my cerebral palsy with enough willpower or something?? They're suuuuper ableist despite literally having a disabled child) it felt really good to hear you say that not al CP cases present the same! I've had to fight a lot of internalized ableism unfortunately and I'm finally beginning to allow myself to identify as disabled. I've been bullied my entire life for my disablity, and some don't believe me when I say I am disabled, and no, I don't need to go to the nurse, yes, my leg is fine, I just walk like this. Seeing that represented would be amazing, and I'd love to see autism represented as well (I suspect I'm autistic myself but I can't get a diagnosis currently because ableist parents)! If I had seen disabilities shown in media at a young age I doubt I'd struggle with the self-esteem issues I deal with now. When we are represented we're always "fixed." The character that uses a wheelchair can magically walk again, the deaf character can hear again, the blind character can see again... I've only seen autism represented as a bad thing which really rubs me the wrong way. I actively avoid movies that cover autism because of the frequent narrative of "Oh poor me my autistic child is a curse I'm so strong for dealing with this every day." I actually quite enjoyed Walter's son in Breaking Bad because they show his CP they show all of that stuff, and he's my age! Sorry for rambling, I just don't get to talk about this very frequently.