Suggestion - Sims 4 - Sims with Disabilities

[jpkarlsen]

@LonaBoom 

I'm sorry but I did ask about ways you could implement this in the game and you responded with a list of things that are in the game. Then you posted a screen from another game where one of the characters were labeled as being on the autism spectrum so naturally I assumed that you lacked a way to put a similar label on your sim.

You mention a program that they go to daily. That could be implemented as one of the after school activities. Are there other ways you could see to implement it within the constraints of the game?

[intensitywire]

I totally understand that and wouldnt want others to feel like the game had become the very thing you wanted to escape. I wonder if they can make it optional like you can turn them off if you dont want them in game like you can with some other the other packs features.

[xochiquetzl_xkvn]

I love the idea of Simmers being able to fully represent themselves, but feel like the tone of this would have to be right.  It might feel insensitive to call it a "gameplay feature," but allowing people to represent themselves in a positive way is important.  Because some differently-abled people might want to avoid the topic entirely it would need to be optional, but it doesn't feel right to charge people more money to be able to represent themselves, but there would need to be a lot of new assets and animations...

So... yeah, it would be tricky.  That said, it could also raise awareness. 

[intensitywire]

I think for deaf sims just seeing a form of simlish sign language when they comminicate with people, matbe some flashing stove tops for cooking or a new video phone option for cell phones and viable prosthetic limbs or wheelchairs. Blind may be a bit of a challenge but I think ot would be interesting to execute.

[BLAZECAST]

I do understand your point on the gameplay mentioned being hard to implement (Some ideas I thought were pretty good!) But some would be likely impossible. Though I can't tell you how wrong you are about "Most disabled that do play don't do it to be reminded of their disability." Absolutely wrong. As someone who is disabled himself and wheelchair bound at 3 feet tall and with PLENTY of disabled friends, I can tell you we all have talked at one time or another of wishing more games had inclusion of wheelchairs, prosthetics or other disabilities.

No, it shouldn't make the gameplay clunky, but maybe think of it being "An alternative way to play." Just like a real disability is "An alternative way to live."

Obviously... we don't get the choice irl... But in a sense, most games don't give us the choice either. I've actually made a character heavily based on myself that is wheelchair bound and recreated him in a game called "Second Life". I get a lot of questions why I'd make him disabled... Like.. "Don't you wanna forget about that stuff for a while?" My answer is always the same. "He is a part of me. So is the disability. The wheelchair isn't WHO I am. But it is a part of who I am. And I'd rather accept it than to pretend it doesn't exist."

Not to mention... It makes those with disabilities feel more included to have some form of representation in a game they love. Sure, it's not possible to get EVERY disability represented properly... But even starting with wheelchairs, prosthetics, and the like would be a huge step in the right direction. (Look at the avatar system Xbox has rolled out in the last few years doing just that, including wheelchairs and prosthetics as well as a few other things of that nature, props to Microsoft!)

Again, some of the elements mentioned wouldn't make for good gameplay but I think others were fantastic ideas and could for sure be done if not better implemented. 

[xochiquetzl_xkvn]

Yeah, there's been discussion of a disability pack for the Sims before.  I do think it would be an expansion pack level of effort for the Sims team, at least, but it makes me sad to think of people needing to spend $40 to represent themselves in the game.

I googled for disability mods and found a super helpful looking list that I probably would not be allowed to link here, including a wheelchair CC (adapted from the bicycle).  There are also mods to let you use elevators in residential lots.  Also walkers, CC and custom traits for a variety of conditions, etc. 

[klikeabosstyson]

They can add stair lifts to the rails of stairs. It would be pretty easy.

[bluesimscraft]

As a person with disability, I have to say that it's not true at all that most of us don't want to "be reminded of our disability". First of all because it's not something that we can forget about and even if it was, doesn't mean that we want it. Disability is not something horrible that we suffers off, it's just a normal part of life, a big part if who we are.And I would love to be able to play with sims that recembles me and my friends.

If now it's impossible in the game, well that's exactly why it was suggested to change it. And it shoud! Maybe if we had more representation, people without disabilities could star to accept us instead of thinking that we are a problem and that it would be impossible do things that acomodates us.

If you are not a person with disability, stop talking like you could speak for us. You don't represent us at all. Your comment was very ableist ans only show that behind the "I do sympathize with the disabled" mask you don't care at all about us. I suggest you star listening to what real PWD says.

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@jpkarlsen wrote:

@ChristianOtaku 

Sorry but this is just not doable. There are no elevators so wheelchairs is out. While ramps could be done it doesn't help much. The gameplay you suggest would be unmanageable. Take the suggestion to make everything mostly blacked out for blind Sim. What would happen when you changed to a seeing Sim? AAC devices. There are no real talking so redundant. while I do sympathize with the disabled much of what you suggest would make for very dull gameplay and most disabled that do play don't do it to be reminded of their disability. 

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[bluesimscraft]

@BLAZECAST Thank you for saying that. I'm also disabled and got really offended by that comment.

[Idiosyncratic53]

What confuses me about this thread was that the individuals who say that us disabled folk don't want to see their disabilities represented in this game often aren't disabled themselves and seem to have the mindset that just because some disabled folk use this game as escapism from their disability that there should be no disability options for everyone. I personally use a lot of mods to incorparate disabilites into my game (working elevators not just for apartments, wheelchairs, prosthetics, canes, hearling aids, etc.) so I know it's not impossible to include these things and if there are people who didn't want to play the game with disabilites included, they could simply not create disbled sims in the same way that if people don't want plant sims sims in their game they don't create plant sims. I find it frustrating that we get no representation in this game just becuase we're seen as "too logistically difficult" or "unwanted" when I know so many people who would love to create themselves and others in this game, disabilites in all: for a life simulation game it seems rather ridiculous to exclude something at least 15% of the world population experiences (which is over a billion people btw) or at least not give us the option to.