But who'll agree to be Piggy?

Numerous discussions around the hapenings in The Sims Online sprang up on forums that deal with gaming and with the experience of cyberspace. A few of those who commented noted a similarity between mob rule in the game and Lord of the Flies. Basically, these were passing references. One responder on a blog, for instance, wrote

Reading this entry on others on this blog makes me wonder if playing TSO is supposed to be like a "Lord of the Flies" simulator or something.

Another, on another blog, noted

I guess it's Lord of the Flies made virtually real.

But these seem to be rather aloof coments. They observe the phenomenon, but seem neither overly concerned, nor frightened it. They seem to take it all in stride. What seems to bother them, what might keep them from playing the game, isn't the undertone of violence, but rather the boredom. Among the comments in that vein in that same (and very worth reading) blog:

Actually, I would have continued playing if I saw more creativity like this pop up in the TSO world. Playing mobsters sounds way more fun than standing around making pizza and potions for hours on end.

and

I had some exposure to the first SIMs game, said, "This is so fucking boring it makes my dogs life look interesting" and never went back.

One reader mader her point of view very clear:

My husband got me Sims Online for Christmas. He thought that since I really liked the regular Sims game, I would like Sims Online. Not the case -- I found it dreary and high-schoolish. I would sit in front of the computer and knit while my Sim was skill-building. Which led me to think -- why don't I just go watch TV while I knit, since it would be more interesting.

And perhaps what this ultimately means is that in a game like this being Piggy isn't all that bad. The distressing thing would be a quick rescue.

Go to: It's all in the game.