Custom pronouns in The Sims 4

Maxis is partnering with It Gets Better and GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to integrate players’ ability to customize sim pronouns during creation. An initiative that allows members of the LGBTQIA+ community To determine.

Featured Image: Maxis

It is a huge step forward in the world of video games. Using the It Gets better project and GLAAD, Maxis is introducing a new feature to The Sims 4 that allows players to define sim pronouns in Create-A-Sim, right from the start. Studio Behavior Tracking Initiative.

In fact, the Sims series has been repeatedly praised for having a diverse representation of characters, so players had the potential from the game’s release to establish gay relationships.

The current gender system allows only pronouns to be assigned based on the binary gender system (he/she). Huge changes have occurred over the years with the ability to choose whether a Sim can get pregnant, and their physical appearance regardless of their binary gender (male/female).

Updating custom pronouns will allow players to either select a base gender or create a custom group that fills in the entire combo of the Sim in question. The custom option contains fields for entering pronouns for the subjective, objective, possessive, dependent, possessive, independent and reflexive forms.

An important initiative for them

Game and future technology coordinator for The It Gets Better Project, Stephanie DiBiase explains that The Sims 4 has always been seen as an imaginative space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to learn about and remind gamers of that community. and understands.

So creating a simulation and identifying their pronouns and then using them seamlessly in gameplay is liberating, especially for trans and non-dual players who often encounter resistance and discrimination in their daily lives. These kind of virtual affirmations, especially from a major video game like The Sims, can go a long way in reminding LGBTQIA+ players that they are seen, valued, and understood.

She adds.

Producer John Faciane and Executive Producer Phill Ring said that this feature in The Sims 4 wouldn’t be perfect from the start, and it didn’t have the final resolution of The Sims’ representational issues.

Maxis encourages players to inform their team through social media or existing Sims communities to better assist in the development of the game.Something is still not comprehensive enough.

The feature is currently only available in English and is still under development. But the studio aims to expand the custom pronouns into other languages ​​later.

Despite some difficulties in developing the feature such as verb conjugation, the producers hope that Maxis’ work on the feature will encourage other game companies to consider similar options.

Read also: The Sims: The franchise’s best bonus content