It is so vital for us to be able to create a world within The Sims that mimics the world we see through our eyes as black people
NaeSimz
Virtual Reality
In February of 2023 the popular virtual game, The Sims celebrated their 23rd anniversary by introducing their new community stream for game updates. Developers have consistently stuck to their original roots, updating core areas such as Create a sim ( abbreviated to CAS), character interactions, and player requests.Over their 23 year period The Sims has become one of the best selling games, however as news circulates about the release of The Sims 5 it’s about time we acknowledge the talent and vision from one of its largest communities. In the eight years since the last game release simmers of the black community have modernized the game to new heights and creative outlets through mods and Custom Content.
A mod is an add-on that is made by one or more people, while custom content (otherwise known as “CC”) are player-made clothing or objects added to the game. These additions have reflected key aspects of everyday life for black players, such as feature accuracy, cultural dances, and realistic neighborhoods. Sims are considered a staple in households across the world. An escapist paradise where you control your own and other’s narratives. Whether you had the base game or numerous expansion packs the sims have always been a fun and accessible game for all ages. I spoke with three Sims content creators UrbanSimPlayer, Kimleetheesimmer and NaeSimz about their experiences and changes they would like implemented into the game.
A talk with Black Simmers
Custom Content is what keeps The Sims fresh and exciting. Simmer NaeSimz believes “having custom content that represents the experience of Black Simmers is so vital.” She goes on to express that the newest attempts at inclusion feel more like appeasement rather than progression. Though black simmers are appreciative of the inclusive efforts made by EA such as adding cultural sleepwear, over 100 different skin tone shades and three new black hairstyles, there is more work to be done. Candidly speaking she said, “we don’t really relate to that content given to us by The Sims team. With a franchise that caters more so to their white audience, it’s necessary for us to be able to download CC that represents us.” Her viewpoint was similar to kimleetheesimmer’s who explained, “it’s hard to find good content that does us black community justice.” more so she wishes, “the people who are over Sims 4 notice how much black creators put so much work into their craft.” Custom Content that highlights the uniqueness of the black community allows black creators to enjoy a safe space in the gaming community. All three players asserted that this content is the only thing keeping them engaged in the Sims community. UrbanSimPlayer also brought up an important point of how, “It feels great to see my actual life depicted into a game.” This is what inclusion and representation means and looks like to black creators!
When asked how long they’ve been playing The Sims and what was the first ever mod/CC they downloaded, answers varied, yet a consistent similarity was content sourced from black creators. According to UrbanSimPlayer, “I don’t remember my first mod, but my first ever cc was the urban hair bundle by Ebonixsims.” Which is an eye opening truth that black simmers have always sought out accommodations that are most aligned with their real lifestyle. NaeSimz who started in middle school reflected on her Sim journey, now 26 she stated, “The first CC that I can recall came from King Black Cinema.” King Black Cinema is a prominent 3D Animator / Artist who modifies his game to represent his black culture to “make it fun and enjoyable,” content. Between the three creators they all have more than a decade of playing experience. Simmer Kimleetheesimmer has been playing the sims since its original release on her cousin’s playstation where she instantly fell in love. She stated The Sims “have definitely come a long way,” despite slow moving progress.
The simmers agreed that the black simming community has been on a positive track since the introduction of CC/mods catered specifically to the black experience. The biggest obstacles facing the Black Sims community are problems with a lack of support from larger creators. Well established sims content creators are often too focused on engagement and numbers forgetting about or never expanding to collaborate with small accounts. An action as simple as sharing or reposting a smaller content creator can go a long way. In addition to internal support NaeSimz would, “like to see us advocating for ourselves more to EA and getting our voices heard. I’d like to see more of our creators partnering with EA to be able to voice our concerns.” From both the real and virtual world it’s important we continue to strive for better relations. On a lighter note UrbanSimPayer points out we could use ”more realistic mods.”
Support Black Simmers
A major part of advocating for black simmers is listening to the issues they’ve faced. The main issues black simmers face are not fitting the brand Sims has created for themselves which creates a separation in representation. This separation causes players like NaeSimz to feel “not as welcome as our non POC Sims players. I definitely feel like their content is more so pushed to the forefront and a lot of our insanely talented black creators are overlooked. So, it is discouraging.” This begs the question of how many Black Simmers have had to give up their dreams of creating within the community due to a lack of support and promotion.
Inside and beyond The Sims community there are many different things casual players and onlookers can do to support black content creators. Leave a comment below if you are a Black simmer looking to network.
- Interact with black creators social media accounts and videos through platforms such as YouTube, Tik Tok, Discord, etc.
- Financially support creators Patreon accounts for for CC starting at $1 but not exceeding $10
- Introduce kids to child friendly machinama YouTube videos that animate positive stories using sim characters. (https://youtu.be/5y7z5vHzSg0)
Follow and Support NaeSimz
Tik Tok – @NaeSimz
Follow and Support UrbanSimPlayer
Tik Tok – @UrbanSimPlayer
Patreon – Jasmineraditz
Follow and Support Kimleetheesimmer
Tik Tok – @Kimleetheesimmer
Twitch – @Kimleeonline
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