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MGTOW: I learned how to live my life from The Sims

I told you fireworks were a bad idea.

Over on the Men Going Their Own Way subreddit, one Redditor tells his comrades how he developed his philosophy of life:


I learned mgtow from the original Sims (self.MGTOW) submitted 4 days ago by onbakeplatinum Way back when the original Sims came out and I was 14, I tried to play as my actual family. That turned out to be a complete nightmare, trying to control multiple people, always being short on money, dealing with their moods and unwillingness to do anything, etc. Then I played as just a single Sim. The game became ridiculously easy. I only had to manage one person, could live in a small house, and train/go to work all the time. My Sim was extremely happy. She became rich and I pimped her small house (I tried to make the smallest house possible) with the highest quality items. I maxed out all her stats. I don't remember much else. But it occurred to me way back then that this was how I wanted to live my life. Alone and simple. I didn't NEED to have a family like everyone else and manage/deal with other people. I could live in a small (but nice) place because it's just me, and even though I don't make much money, it's only me I have to worry about.

This seems a bit weird to me. I also played the original Sims game when it came out, and that wasn’t the lesson I drew from it at all. The lessons I learned were a little, well, darker. Some that I remember:

  • If you place a bunch of people in a house with no bathrooms and no doors, they will be extremely unhappy, and will start leaving puddles on the floor.
  • If you place a bunch of people in a house with the only toilet in the middle of the living room, they will be nearly as unhappy as the first bunch of people.
  • If you build a house with no doors, chairs, couches or beds, the people trapped within it will also be really unhappy, and will ultimately try to sleep standing up or lying on the floor.
  • Building a fence around them while they’re out in the yard will do the trick as well.
  • If someone is swimming in your backyard pool, and you quickly build an insurmountable wall around it, they will eventually drown.
  • Actually, never mind, I think if you simply “forget” to put a ladder in the pool, they can’t get out either.

So I guess I mainly learned some very basic “don’ts” in home design, such as the importance of having a door. And in fact I have not designed any doorless — or bathroomless, or bedless — houses since then. Or any houses at all, actually.

I’m not the only one who learned lessons about the importance of doors, as the following videos I found on Youtube make abundently clear. Also, shooting off fireworks inside a doorless room is pretty much a disaster waiting to happen.

Well, you get the idea.

Have you learned any important life lessons from the Sims, or any other videogames?

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wwax
9 years ago

And here was me thinking they took their inspiration from the “Leisure Suit Larry” Series. Am I showing my age with that reference?

Luzbelitx
9 years ago

@Shadow & Viscaria

Well, you better stop waving it like it’s a cow!

I mean, it’s appropriate that you fight like a feather duster!

… I might be a bit rusty for this.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff175/DustDevil75/Animated/1185218533919.gif

NicolaLuna
NicolaLuna
9 years ago

Tomb Raider 2 taught me that locking the butler in the meat locker is funnier than expected. And that if the ground looks cracked you should only stand on it briefly before jumping to the next bit of ground or you will fall to your death.

Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
9 years ago

Well this individual doesn’t seem particularly pathological. Wanting to live by yourself and on modest means seems a way to build a stable and comfortable life. If you don’t particularly want company, why inflict yourself on others?

Bina
Bina
9 years ago

From Tetris, I learned that the reward for frantically stacking and organizing stuff is: more stuff to frantically stack and organize! And do it faster this time!

And from Textris (like Tetris, but with words), I learned that I suck at making verbiage from falling blocks with random letters in them.

And I’m an English major. Huh.

Bina
Bina
9 years ago

After MGTOW games reviewing, how about some MGTOW film criticism?:

(Seriously, what’s wrong with these people?)

They’re robots, with robot voices. Badly programmed, too, by the sounds of them. Which might explain a lot…

Orion
9 years ago

As long as I’m the main character shockingly handsome, I can be a total asshole to everyone and they will still love and respect me.

Fixed that for you. Seriously though, women throughout the game just will not stop talking about how good-looking he is, and this is the explicit motivation for some stupid shenanigans, which was eye-opening to my little 10-year-old self. I learned a LOT from that game.

Actually, funny story. When I was in college, my girlfriend called me from her college all freaked out because he roommate “was playing a video game that is totally about you. Seriously, it’s uncanny how much this guy looks, acts, dresses like you.” Without missing a beat I said “Is it Final Fantasy 8? It’s Final Fantasy 8, right? You know, I did try to tell you this game was a big deal to me.” I had consciously used his style as inspiration for my own wardrobe, but what I did *not* know until my girlfriend told me was that I had unconsciously copied his gestures and posture.

So yeah. If any mammoths were wondering what I looked like in real life, now you know:http://operationrainfall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BC-Squall-pic-1.jpg

yutolia
yutolia
9 years ago

@monzach, @numerobis

Yay KoL!!!

Parse The Potatoes
9 years ago

What gaming has taught me:
– Use your words! (How appropriate, you fight like a cow!)
– Use your words! (Fus ro dah!)
– Use your words! (Your opponent writhes in pain, suffering 45 points of spelling damage.)
– Use your words! (What can change the nature of a man?)

bananananana dakry
bananananana dakry
9 years ago

If it sparkles, save it. (WoW)
If the ground gains a red field, get the fuck away from it. (Wildstar)
Magic-spitting dual-wielded pistols with infinite ammo are a thing. As are two-handed swords. With monomolecular, nuclear edges. Against giant robots.
Many objects can have multiple uses. Tablet computers, for example, make excellent roofing tiles when resized.
You can, in fact, kill things with your brain.
Bags have a function to vacuum up floating loot.
No matter how technically advanced an alien race can be, they will have the common sense of moldy shrimp pellets when it comes to, say, making a god. Also, ego and office politics will be involved. ( all Wildstar. You nay sense a trend.)

baroncognito
9 years ago

That video is really difficult to listen to. He has no concept of natural speech rhythms. I can handle a monotone, I have no objection to vocal fry, but the guy is just firing off sentences with no appreciation for the language.

baroncognito
9 years ago

Never be a tourist. (Nethack)
If you lose your beeper you can’t be a doctor. (Life and Death)
There is no healing arrow. (City of Heroes)
Screaming at people lowers their resistance. (City of Heroes)
Inspiration can be purchased with influence. (City of Heroes)

Paradoxical Intention
9 years ago

People will always pick up and eat donuts found on the floor. This is a flawless way to murder them without anyone noticing. (Lucius)

Sometimes hiding in plain sight is the best way to avoid detection. (GMod Prop Hunt)

Never trust a talking monochrome bear who sounds like Doraemon. (Dangan Ronpa)

Sometimes, if you can’t progress, you need to start all over. (Minecraft)

The best way to get people to defend your home, is if you make it their home too! (Unholy Heights)

Everything in the 80s was neon-colored and drug-fueled. (Hotline Miami)

Little children wandering in the wilderness will be eaten by giant spiders. (LIMBO)

Sometimes, in the quest to find answers, you will find a truth you cannot come back from, and you will not like. (Year Walk)

Your story is yours. Don’t let other people tell you how to live it. (The Stanley Parable)

Next time you decide to take an amnesia potion because you can’t handle your guilt, and you need to kill the man who got you involved in some shady shit, kill him, then make your way to the front of the creepy old castle and then drink the damn thing! (Amnesia: The Dark Descent)

EJ (The Other One)
EJ (The Other One)
9 years ago

That Amnesia lesson is a very specific one, Paradoxy. Have you often found it applicable elsewhere in life?

baroncognito
9 years ago

[blockquote]People will always pick up and eat donuts found on the floor. This is a flawless way to murder them without anyone noticing.[/bockquote]

That’s ridiculous, it needs to be on a plate or in a box.

Paradoxical Intention
9 years ago

@EJ: Kind of, with a bit of editing. It’s more of a lesson of doing things in a logical, proper order that doesn’t end up undoing most of the work you’ve done.

@baroncognito: Actually, in the game, the donuts come in a traditional pink bakery box, and you just throw some generic poison on the donuts, and then put them on the floor where the person will see it, and they’ll just drop dead. It’s hilarious, in a very dark kind of way.

mockingbird
mockingbird
9 years ago

@Lester – I agree with you.
In fact, I find no fault with any MGTOW when they talk of their desire to live alone / without romantic attachment.

Unfortunately, their otherwise perfectly reasonable lifestyle choices turn sour when viewed in context, surrounded by misogyny Tourette’s.

Orion
9 years ago

Baroncognito,

Why must you make me cry with your CoH memories? Why?

Orion
9 years ago

If you make plans to meet somewhere with 5 friends, someone will always get lost (Baldur’s Gate)

dhag85
9 years ago

surrounded by misogyny Tourette’s.

I think this might be ableist?

girlgeek80
girlgeek80
9 years ago

Let’s see, in sims 2 I learned that
1.you can lock a toddler in a room with a bottle, blanket and potty for like 12 hours no problem
2. Small children can be put to work growing weed (as long as they do their homework first)
3. I should probably never have kids.

mockingbird
mockingbird
9 years ago

dhag – If so, I apologize.

baroncognito
9 years ago

Paradoxical Information: Oh, okay, that checks out. If it was a poison I wasn’t immune to, I’d really die.

Orion: It’s still the video game I’ve spent the most time playing. I’ve got high hopes for City of Titans.

More lessons from City of Heroes:

Sometimes you need to ask everyone to be absolutely quiet so you can try to hear the subtle hum of something important.

If you don’t give people the numbers, they will find the numbers. (this was really learned from the forums, not so much the game. Thank you Arcanaville, where ever you may be)

If everything is a little too hard for you, you can talk to someone to tone it down.

While it can be nice to hold someone, it’s not so great being held.

Catherine Reed (@Radiojane1)
Catherine Reed (@Radiojane1)
9 years ago

Microsoft Flight Simulator taught me that I should never become a pilot, as flying upside down or in never-ending loops that I can’t pull out of, would get me fired from most airlines. Fun fact: It taught a friend of mine how to fly a plane into the WTC twin towers.

mrex
mrex
9 years ago

Legend of Zelda taught me that if anyone tells you they ate chicken for dinner last night you should punch them in the face for being lying liars.