What it is, Part One: Mario, The Sims and World of Warcraft

From my experience with Sims 2 so far (which has just been the tutorials), the does seem to very interactive, but I do not think it allows the user to have complete control over the plot of the story. Each avatar has different wants, needs and fears and this seem like they may help to fuel the direction of the game. However, I have not created an avatar yet, so I am not sure if maybe the user can control these wants, needs and fears which would give them more control over the plot of the story. However, if the user is not in control of these aspects of the avatar, the avatar would control the user more than the user controlling the avatar.

What it is, Part Two: The Three White Girls from YouTube

Once again, as my experience is limited I am not completely sure how Sims 2 compares with the examples of the YouTube avatars. The Sims avatars are clearly social within their environment. They have relationships as well as there seems to be a rather complicated weaving of connections between the Sims. However, the game may control these interactions based on wants, needs, fears and aspirations. If a particular Sims goal is to find love, this particular Sims’s social interactions will be different than a Sims who aspires for money and career success.

What it is, Part Three: A Point of View

Sims avatars seem to be the third level of avatar that is described by Meadows. The second-person camera avatar in which it seems that the camera seems to float above the avatars shoulder. Ultimately, you can “drive” the Sims, but you can also see the avatar as you drive it.

What it is, Part Four: A Simple Character

I agree that the core of the avatar comes down to its name, image as well as the social environment it is involved in. However, I feel that is it mainly the social environment that shapes how an avatar changes throughout the game. Based on what I have experienced with Sims, the avatars have very specific wants, needs, etc that much be attended to and it the social environment around these avatars that helps these wants, needs, etc to be met.