So I finally got around to trying my kids’ recent video game purchase — The Sims 2 Pets. In the game, you build a home and life for your virtual self, attending to your various life needs (hunger, fatigue, companionship, and so on) by directing your character’s actions. In this version, you can also adopt and train pets.
I get a job. I go to work. I learn to cook. I clean the dirty dishes. I try to remember to bathe. I play with the cat. I clean the litter box. I fill the food bowl. I sleep when I’m tired. And I work to build responsive relationships with my neighbors and housemates (by talking, joking, flirting, listening).
When I finally achieve some level of happiness in the virtual world, I flip off the PlayStation to go to bed…only to discover that, in my real world, the cat’s food dish is empty, the litter box is full, the dishes are dirty, and my family’s fast asleep.
It’s an odd universe we’ve constructed.
