– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

...

Why do people love "The Sims"?

Could it have something to do with "Duck Dynasty"?

...

Even if you somehow missed Will Wright's

"The Sims," the best-selling PC game of all time,

it still needs little introduction.

That's because you basically live it every day.

You wake up.

You go to work.

You hit the gym.

And then you find your virtual girlfriend

in an embrace with Carlos from down the street.

Mi amigo Carlos, por que?

Then you find a glitch and end up in a suit

made of your own skin.

Oh, wow.

So maybe your life isn't quite so dramatic.

So why then, is a game about the humdrum

existence of everyday life so freaking popular?

So there's a couple reasons just right off the bat.

One reason is that you can be, well, you.

You can make a Sim that looks like you, acts like you,

and accessorizes like you.

As Will Wright once cynically said,

"No game designer can go wrong overestimating the narcissism

of their players."

And just like in life, your ambitions

are lofty and goal-driven.

Owning a lakeside mansion, or hooking up

with the perfect guy, girl, or centaur

can be better motivation than high scores.

Which is ironic, as the game is meant

to be a critique of consumerist culture.

But the similarities to your everyday life

go even further than that. "Sims 2"

included life stages which allowed

your Sim to age from a baby to your uncle Eddie.

In perhaps one of the strangest nods ever to philosopher

David Hume, "Sims 3" added Moodlets.

My current Moodlet is Eureka.

Also, Very Hungry. "Sims 4" will add

even more complicated emotions, such as anger, vulnerability,

and titillation.

But lots of games have complex characters

with a range of emotions.

So why do people get so deeply drawn into this one?

Well, I may have found a clue during one of my weekend "Sims"

binges in the form of Lena, a 20-year-old Finnish Simmer, who

published this on her Tumblr.

A dramatic reading.

"Darren goes every now and then to remember his wife

and tell her how things are.

Apart from still mourning her, his life is looking better."

There's another clue in the form of "My Darling

2," a 28-chapter soap opera about a family named Darling.

It even has dialogue.

The Sims don't speak English.

[GIBBERISH]

[LAUGHTER]

OK, here's what's really weird.

Although these people are in the driver's seat of the game,

they talk about their Sims as if they have no control over them.

And yes, the Sims do have some semblance of logic.

But ultimately, you're in control of their life goals.

You know, like taking a shower.

So here's what I'm thinking.

Maybe "The Sims" is so incredibly popular

because it's the ultimate reality television

show, where you're both the director and the audience.

All right, let me explain.

This isn't a criticism.

The things that we love about reality television

aren't so different from the things

that we love about "The Sims."

Oh, my girlfriend happened to walk in.

She's pissed.

Is there really that much difference

between Kandi's wedding planning on "The Real Housewives

of Atlanta" and your average Sims dinner party?

Eh, not really.

Both are crammed with over-the-top drama, which is

why it's so much fun to watch.

Go and [BLEEP].

And what we get from "The Sims" and the "Shahs of Sunset"

is a reality that's manufactured to generate a lot of conflict.

It's like going on an insane person safari.

[BLEEP].

Get the [BLEEP] out of here.

But here's the crazy part.

The fact that it kind of is and kind of isn't real

is exactly what we love about it.

A 2005 study of TV audiences found

that people who love reality television

revel in its contradictory nature.

They know it's not 100% real.

But people enjoy the tension of figuring out how real

or manufactured it actually is.

Was that explosion at the shop generated by the director?

Or is that spat between Kourtney and Kim genuine?

No.

All right.

Are the cast of "Duck Dynasty" actually

that dumb in real life?

It don't take a physician to understand those physics.

In the case of Phil Robertson, yes.

With "The Sims," you're constantly

engaged with the question-- how much

am I doing this vs. how much is the computer running things?

Is it my fault when Susan kisses Mike and Tony gets devastated?

Or when Amy fails out of school and turns into a vampire?

To fans, it seems like the Sims are actually

living out their lives.

You feel like you know them, the way that you know Evelyn

from "Basketball Wives," even though you don't really

want to.

If you don't like me, too bad. [BLEEP].

Because of this, it feeds our craving

for what academics call confessional culture, which

is just a fancy way of saying that we like

to eavesdrop on the lives of others,

as #rooftopbreakup proves.

Research shows that reality television

appeals to people's desire to observe

real people rather than actors.

"The Sims" is so convincing that it kind of has the same effect.

We can be a fly on the wall without ever really feeling

guilty.

And we can do this because "Sims" and reality TV

never end.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

...

NARRATOR: Next time, on "The Real--"

Since they're not tied to some narrative goal

about a starship that's the last hope for humanity,

there's no need for it to stop.

Even if you die of starvation while doing lunges at the gym,

your Sims can still come back from the dead.

Just like Vanilla Ice, who reality TV revived.

NARRATOR: Word to your contractor.

Sunday at 8:00.

Both reality TV and "The Sims" play

with the idea of a media-constructed narrative.

What we love about both of them are the blurry lines,

the contradictory nature of something

that feels kind of organic, but also kind of designed.

We like to set the wheels in motion

and just see what happens.

In the '60s, historian Daniel Bornstein

worried that we were moving towards a world

where fantasy would be more real than reality.

He was right.

But "The Sims" demonstrates that all people really

want is a little bit of romance, betrayal, and backstabbing,

and to not have to personally deal

with any of the consequences.

Woohoo!

Also, to have to go to the bathroom.

Oh.

Uh-uh.

Perhaps this reality isn't quite so bad.

What do you think?

Why are "The Sims" so popular?

Hash it out in the comments.

And if you like what you saw, please subscribe.

And I will see you next week.

Oh, and before I forget, if you haven't ever

read "The Sims" patch notes, you really should.

It's the funniest thing ever.

Seriously.

We'll put a link in the description.

So we didn't plan this, but Mike over at "Idea Channel"

also did a video on reality television.

In his case, he's looking at its relationship to surveillance.

You should check it out.

Last week, we asked why there hasn't

been another "Minecraft."

Let's see what you had to say.

To John Lambie and tons of the rest of you,

this was by far the most popular comment,

yes, there have been lots of other clones of "Minecraft."

We mentioned that in the video.

But what I'm trying to say is this larger question

of why hasn't there been another "Minecraft,"

I'm not talking literally.

There have been games like "Terraria,"

games like "FortressCraft," that pay direct homage

to a game like "Minecraft."

I'm speaking more metaphorically,

that if "Minecraft" is as revolutionary as we think

it is to be, we would see these wider

effects in the outside world, similar to other types

of invention.

Also, it's worth noting on the whole clones thing,

if you look at other mediums, you can see some good examples.

So for example, the film "Bonnie and Clyde,"

which was released in the '60s, was a big inspiration

for what was called the American New Wave.

Sure, I'm sure there are other people who made other crime

movies with a guy and a girl, and they get in a car,

and they go shoot people.

I'm sure other people cloned that movie exactly.

But there are other movies that were inspired

by "Bonnie and Clyde" that were part of that movement that

didn't follow those rules exactly to a T. It

was part of a broader movement.

I think what we're asking here with "Minecraft"

is why we're not seeing, not just clones,

but a larger movement towards these procedurally

generated worlds, outside of the ones

that I had already mentioned.

There are two games that you all did point out-- "Rust"

and "No Man's Sky"-- which I do think are emblematic of this

post "Minecraft" existence.

Maybe there will be more games like this in the future.

I sure hope so.

To CaptainAlliance and the others of you

that point out that "Minecraft" is not, in fact, endless.

There is an actual limit to the edge of the world.

That's a really good point.

I guess I could go back and say, yes, I

was speaking, like, endless in a metaphorical sense.

But I won't do that.

That was a mistake.

And thanks for pointing that out.

I'm curious if anyone has actually

seen the end of "Minecraft."

If you have, leave a note in the comments.

drawnman1 astutely points out that part of the reason

that we haven't seen a "Minecraft

2" is that there are so many aspects of "Minecraft" that

allow you to build things for yourself

through skins, mods, et cetera, et cetera.

And certainly, "Minecraft's" very generous terms

of service, as I pointed out, allow people

to create new things without the fear of lawyers stepping in

and whatnot.

So yes, no need for a "Minecraft 2"

if you can sort of make a "Minecraft 2" for yourself.

Cuong Doan argues that everything in "Minecraft"

has already been created, so there's no need for updates

because people in the community have already

created all the things that need to be created.

This reminds me of a statement that the Postmaster General

made around the turn of the century

where he argued that he wouldn't issue any new patents

because everything that could be created

had already been created.

That's what's so exciting, right?

The idea of the adjacent possible

that I alluded to in the video.

That there are these amazing things out there

that are just waiting to be built, like that 3D

printer that someone built in "Minecraft" just

a couple weeks ago.

Yes, that's what's so, so exciting

is that there are other creators waiting out there

to make amazing, amazing things.

I look forward to seeing what those are.

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
narcissism /nɑːrˈsɪsɪzəm/ C1	noun - excessive admiration of oneself
ambitions /æmˈbɪʃənz/ B1	noun - a strong desire and determination to achieve success
cynically /ˈsɪnɪkli/ B2	adverb - in a way that shows a lack of faith in the sincerity or goodness of people
ironic /aɪˈrɒnɪk/ B2	adjective - happening in a way that seems deliberately strange or funny
critique /krɪˈtiːk/ B2	noun - a detailed analysis and assessment of something
consumerist /kənˈsjuːmərist/ C1	adjective - relating to or based on the consumption of goods and services
emotions /ɪˈmoʊʃənz/ B1	noun - a strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
complex /ˈkɒmpleks/ B2	adjective - consisting of many different and connected parts
drawn /drɔːn/ B1	adjective - attracted or interested
binges /bɪndʒɪz/ B2	noun - a period of excessive indulgence in something
contradictory /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪktəri/ C1	adjective - mutually opposed or inconsistent
tension /ˈtenʃən/ B2	noun - mental or emotional strain
craving /ˈkreɪvɪŋ/ B2	noun - a powerful desire for something
confessional /kənˈfeʃənəl/ C1	adjective - revealing personal secrets or feelings
adjacent /əˈdʒeɪsənt/ B2	adjective - next to or bordering on
revolutionary /ˌrevəˈluːʃənəri/ C1	adjective - involving or causing a complete or dramatic change
surveillance /sərˈveɪləns/ C1	noun - the action or process of watching or guarding someone or something