The Sims Social

One of my favourite discoveries this week: The Sims Social. Most of us are aware of The Sims as a pretty harmless interactive PC game. The user creates imaginary relationships between a set of make-believe characters in whatever environment they choose to create for them. But The Sims Social takes it one step further..

'The Sims Social lets you hook up with Facebook friends and invite their sims around to your virtual pad. If the sims like one another, they'll date and can even end up getting on very well indeed. If they don't get on, they'll become enemies, sneaking into one another's homes, nicking food and kicking over trash cans.' (www.theguardian.co.uk)

Hmm..social media gone crazy? Sounds fantastic for those of us who don't like to communicate with real people (or for those who blog mindlessly into the ether uhum), but I believe this game could cause quite a stir. Facebook is known for it's ability to get people into trouble - be it tagged pictures, comments, etc etc. So I sense a few jealous tendencies may pop to the surface should someone's sim fancy another person's sim. The computer-generated relationships are broadcast on your Facebook walls, allowing everyone to see what you've been up to in your virtual relationship! This is hard-hitting stuff.

But am I being too pessimistic? Apparently these types of games are set to strengthen relationships and friendships, but what's wrong with actual human interaction? After all, everyone loves a bit of tangibility.

We'll see. Maybe I'll bag me a Sims boyfriend. Score :)