The Sims is a game where the gamer
creates and rules the life of their virtual person and family. The cover of the
first version of the Sims explains quite a bit of what Sims can be and what
they can do. The top left image of the cover (image above) shows that a gamer
can make the Sim live its life as sneaky burglar. If the gamer wants to be more
just and more respectful the gamer can choose to make its Sim live a life in
the military such as the solder in the bottom right corner. The Sims is all about creating and living out
the Sims lives in any realistic way we can do in life. The cover shows a great
example of what the game has to offer for the virtual Sims and I believe was a
good illustration for the first game.
The reason why I believe the first
cover of The Sims was so great is because it signifies and shows gaming
consumers what The Sims is about. The signifier of the game cover would be all
the different images of The Sims. Every Sim is different by occupation and age.
Another signifier of this cover would be the title text “The Sims” with a roof
of a house above the letter “M”. This signifies that the game has to be about
building a house or living in a house. To look at these signifiers in a
syntagmatic way; we would see that both signifiers come together and show the
viewer that this game is about creating virtual people and houses.
Covers for virtually every video
game on the market requires an attractive and narrative cover to draw in gamers
to try out the game. As I stated above, The Sims was right on target with their
design of their first cover in explaining what their game was about. EA Games
created many new versions of the game; which allowed gamers to have more
objects and locations to play with in their virtual worlds. The Sims was once
again on target with advertising those new versions with covers that modeled
and explained in an illustrative way what those games would feature. Below you
can see a select few of the newer versions of the Sims that illustrate
beautifully of what the game is about.
Wow I hadn't realized they have made so many different versions of the game! I do agree with you though they did a very good job of using signifiers that help the viewer and potential buyer of what the game is all about.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, great post. The image with all the different covers is very strong. We can’t deny that EA games’ strategy of collaging all the scenes on one cover works. It quickly gives us an idea of what the game will allow us to do, despite how many big and small signifiers there are on it. :)
ReplyDeleteAndre you had a great post this week. I have to agree with Bethenny and say that I did not realize how many versions of the Sims have been created ! You picked up on so many small details that I overlooked such as the roof over the m.
ReplyDeleteThe EA games does a great job by signifying that the game is based in real life true events. That is why the game would be so popular because of the real life events you can have in that game. A agree that the cover of a game will make a person want to try out that game even more. The appearance helps tremendously. Good post!
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