Since 1989, simulation games, ranging from societal management games like the recently released Sims 4, to sports games like FIFA 15, to historical games such as Oregon Trail, have been a substantial part of the video game industry. These types of games are popular at Aragon.
Students who play these games do so to experience sports and daily activities without having to move from their couches. “You can experience things without effort, and still have fun. You can basically make your players play forever without getting tired,” says sophomore Tyler Ong, who plays FIFA 14.
The experience of being a different person attracts users. “You can be someone famous. You can actually be good at something, even if you can’t do that in real life,” says junior Dhruv Rohatgi, who plays Madden NFL 15 and NBA 2K15.
In addition, simulators give players the ability to take chances without suffering the long term consequences. Sophomore Meiya Lim says, “You can make hundreds of different choices and do most things you can do in real life.”
Others play just to have fun. “I built a roller coaster that goes really high up, and then it has a really steep drop, and then it curves up and the end of the track is right there and then it goes flying up into the sky, and you can pretend you’re a bird,” says Lim, who plays Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and Sims 3.
Because the games are an imitation of real life, players gain knowledge and inspiration from them as well. “You can learn how to get field vision and see what the opposing team would do,” says Tinmaz, who plays on the Aragon junior varsity football team and also plays Madden NFL 25.
Simulation games allow these students apply their interest in sports to their gaming lives and utilize these games to improve specific skills of the sport. “Simulation games help me integrate soccer into more parts of my life,” says Ong, who plays soccer at Aragon.
Realism remains the main objective of simulation games. “The games play by the same rules as [sports] and [try] to make the graphics as realistic as possible,” says Ong.
For a variety of reasons, students believe that simulation games have become more attractive. First, as modern technology advances, games become more realistic with better graphics. “Back then, it was all pixels, and now everything down to the skin tone is perfect,” says Tinmaz.
Also, the new gaming outlets such as smartphones allow more people to play these games. “The games are becoming more accessible,” says Rohatgi.
“New technology helps spread the popularity of the video games,” adds Ong.
Today, smartphone adaptations for most simulation games are available, as well as simulation games created for smartphones such as Surgeon Simulator and Goat Simulator.
Simulation games are different from other video games because they reflect real life. “Simulation games have a connection to real life, so everything you know about the game in real life helps you in the simulation, which you can’t do in a different video game,” says Ong.
In the end, simulation games allow students to escape the real world and find themselves in a realistic world where they have more power and freedom. Lim adds, “The capabilities are endless. There are so many possibilities, and each choice you make can change the whole [virtual] world.”
