A brief history on how The Sims became an LGBTQ+ cult classic

No matter which way you cut it, The Sims is for queer people, and its development history is no different.

Much like the world it seeks to simulate, LGBTQ+ lives have always been at the core of the video game series, which is a big reason why the game has such a huge queer fan base.

From the moment series creator Will Wright convinced the initially reluctant board members of development studio Maxis that the idea was worth pursuing, mechanics representing LGBTQ+ relationships became a fundamental part of the life simulation’s gameplay.

From there, it evolved into a game packed with queer life, from Pride decorations to inclusive gender and sexuality options for Sims.

But where did this start and how did it happen? The Sims Will it become one of the most beloved series in the LGBTQ+ gaming community?

The Sims and same-sex kiss that changed the game

Released in February 2000, The Sims was a bestseller for over four years and one of the most acclaimed video games of all time. To this day, it remains one of the best-selling games in history.

In fact, it is possible to identify not only the first same-sex kiss in history. The Simsbut the moment the developers realized that same-sex attraction was a mechanic worth pursuing in the series.

During the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) – a turbulent make-or-break moment for the development team. The Sims A cultural hit or another dream dashed – Maxis shared a demo of the project with the press. During the showcase, two of the female Sims started kissing passionately, surprising several of the game’s producers.

Before the showcase, the decision whether to include homosexuality was a headache The Sims Long term development. Patrick J. Barrett III, one of the game’s programmers, recalled: new yorker Electronic Arts executives were initially reluctant to include homosexual intimacy, and the decision was ultimately made to exclude homosexuality from the game.

However, Barrett, who is gay, said he was unaware of the decision after joining the team and said the E3 demo he was asked to create included a homosexual relationship.

Thankfully, the moment stuck The Sims It was one of the big talking points at gaming conferences that year, and it was poised to become a cultural mainstay of gaming.

“You could say they stole the show,” Barrett joked. “The straight guys who were making sports games probably liked the idea of ​​having two lesbians at the controls.”

Sims are obviously too gay

The team quickly returned to discuss how same-sex relationships could be further developed. The developers recalled that one of the key issues with the game was that intimacy between Sims was based purely on proximity, which meant that roommates were always huddled together in a cabin.

“If you create a household with two same-sex Sims, they will always end up being gay just by the fact that they were closest to each other,” Barrett recalled. “That’s when we came up with a system that would determine a Sim’s sexuality through user-driven actions.”

The trick was to separate automated features like Sims fetching drinks or having a conversation from overtly romantic features like flirting or kissing. The Romance Meter was created to prevent Sims from immediately woohooing after 3-4 polite chats. Also, a more complex formula was created to ensure that romance options are less common.

Same-sex attraction and opposite-sex attraction are also now two separate mechanics, giving nuance to the same-sex mechanic as well as accommodating bisexual Sims.

Programmer Don Hopkins, who helped write the design documents for these mechanics, wrote in one such document that team members who were offended by the addition of same-sex attraction should “grow up and get a life, and we hope our game helps them in that quest.”

“People who are afraid of offending the sensibilities of others (though not themselves, of course) are clearly acting out homophobia, but they don’t realize it because they are projecting their own homophobia onto others,” he writes.

How did The Sims become an LGBTQ+ cult classic?

The Sims It was huge. At a time when PC gaming was far from a mainstream hobby, it was incomprehensibly huge. The game was widely praised by reviewers as a revolutionary development in the art and technology of gaming as a whole.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when The Sims has been called an LGBTQ+ cult classic, but somewhere along the series’ eclectic lifespan, it became a beloved game for gay people.

a study Starting in 2006, he hypothesized that games allow people to project their own personalities, values, and life goals onto them. This allows LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are isolated, to consciously or unconsciously apply their romantic and sexual feelings to the game.

in the column of brix magazinejournalist Megan Elliott recalls her relationship with the game before coming out. The Sims It also included unconsciously experimenting with their sexuality as a way to escape reality.

“The Sims has given countless people, including myself, the space to play out their queer identities and desires before they felt comfortable and safe doing so in real life,” Elliott wrote. “Some people around the world never reach the point where they can live openly…so The Sims continues to provide an escape and an opportunity to imagine a different world.”

The Sims 4 and the future of the series

While same-sex attraction remained a core part of the game’s sequels and spin-offs, LGBTQ+ representation was never significantly expanded. The Sims 4.

It’s probably one of the most controversial titles in the series, largely due to some surprisingly restrictive design decisions. The Sims 4 We have made some progress in ensuring that everyone, including LGBTQ+ people, feels represented in the virtual world.

The first major update with more options for queer sims came in 2016. get down to work An expansion pack that removes gender-based restrictions on clothing and hairstyles.

In 2021, developers added the option to choose pronouns for your Sims following a viral petition. This mechanism was further expanded in 2022 to include non-binary pronouns.

Further updates greatly expanded gender customization options, including options for whether your Sims can get pregnant, whether they can go to the bathroom while standing up, and character options like tucks in underwear and surgical scars on the top.

In 2024, the new system introduced a polyamory option. love struck The expansion allows Sims to date multiple other characters.

It’s hard to know where the series will go from here and become one of the most comprehensive games in modern gaming. Recent leaks suggest the sims 5 could be coming soon, and developers may not stop making their games more inclusive anytime soon.