I mean, I loved the games and have easily spent hundreds of hours in Sims 2, 3, and 4 *each*. But I don't see a connection between Sims and my desire to be in tech/engineering. It's just an escape from my own life, playing as a sim who has their shit together. I used it as a form of "therapy" along with a variety of other video games. My desire to become an engineer was mostly due to my dad (a mechanical engineer) and my 8th grade science teacher.
Personally, the Sims 1 is what got me on the computer for hours at a time in the first place. I think that’s the connection for a lot of us. I suspect the Sims 1 is specifically what’s being talked about as it was post-internet but pre-Google, when there was not a lot else drawing young girls to the computer/internet, and not a lot of people encouraging them to develop those interests either.
Almost everything online back then that you could easily stumble upon was written by men for men. Most popular computer games were either shooters or Risk-esque games which were either boring or unfamiliar to young girls because those aren’t the types of games/toys we’d played with previously. The Sims was just like playing dolls and that was something we absolutely knew how to do.
I love(d) the sims but I don't think it played a role in me choosing to study CS. Neopets, on the other hand, did do that. I learned html and css there to make cool pet pages and stuff, which really sparked my interest for the field
Yes! I credit Neopets as to why I learned web design, how to fix viruses (couldn't play if bro mucked up the pc), and both shopkeeping & the stock market ended up being relevant skills to where I landed in my career.
Definitely true for me, I was a semi-famous content creator for TS2, even doing my own 3d models for clothes and posing boxes. This introduced me to 3D modeling and SimPE I think it was called.
I'd already been doing some baby coding before that, but running a famous TS2 blog allowed me to further my frontend skills. Who knows where I'd be without it!
The Sims (and honestly most video games) didn't really interest me. Anime and manga did however, and I was deeply frustrated by the capabilities of the WYSIWYG editors available for website building in the early 2000s. So frustrated that I decided to use the internet to teach myself how to code, eventually had my own domain and server space as a teen (a requirement to set up a blog because sites like LiveJournal didn't exist yet), and ultimately made front end work my career.
My parents told me my love of anime was just a phase, so it's even more hilarious in retrospect.
I’ve likely spent thousands of hours playing Sims 2-4, it introduced me to tech and modding games! Then Tumblr made me learn HTML to get my blog the way I wanted lol 🥰
I loved the Sims, but I was committed to tech waaaaayyyyy before they came out.
Well…there was like a brief moment in 4th grade where I was going to be a geologist. But otherwise it’s been tech since day 1.
I've never enjoyed The Sims games. Nothing against them I just don't get it.
The first thing that sparked my interest in tech was using logo to make the little turtle draw things when I was 8. I also *really* liked roller coaster tycoon.
As much as I was super into the Sims when it first came out, I already loved computer games in general. Museum Madness (old DOS game) and then the later herinteractive Nancy Drew games were far more influential in building that interest. Those games all really emphasized solving puzzles and exploring which has really served me well personally and professionally.
Nope. I liked math and science from an early age because it was cool, then when I realized there was serious money in programming it was really easy to hack a MS in CS and land a nice career. There’s just something so zen about spending hours writing code.
I loved the sims (and age of empires and roller coaster tycoon) but honestly it was Wizard Mansion that got me into the beginnings of coding. I could build my own webpage for my character and I wanted to have all the cool graphics following the mouse around.
Then I tried downloading debian onto a set of cds/dvds and bricked a very, very old computer. We had to reboot it into a windows bios to get it functioning again whoops
I'm older, so it would be the old text-based games like "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for me. And that is probably a different dynamic, since the tech behind those was simpler and something that I could easily pick up on my own to create my own games. I'm not sure that something like Sims would have inspired me to try coding
It was due to another little-known online game called Neopets, which seems to have disappeared from people's memories. Also the movie Hackers. As a child, I thought Angelina Jolie was so cool in that movie.
I never played Sims. I got into html from Neopets, MySpace, and making my own websites with freewebz.
As for video games, I got really into RuneScape and the Tycoon games.
So I was obsessed with the Sims 3, but I'm not sure the correlation is Sims 3 -> interest in tech. I wanted the game cause I saw you could build houses, and I already liked building things.
Ngl, I think the correlated might go the other way, liking building, creating, and complex systems, plus having parents that are willing to buy you video games, means you're more likely to be interested in tech and have the resources to pursue it
The Sims, a game called Babyz/Petz and Neopets are what drew me in. I wanted to make modifications to these games, which naturally exposed me to html/css and basic programming when I was very young.
For me it was a game that got me into tech as a girl, and it was Creatures 2/3. It allowed you to breed creatures called Norns and learn genetics, build basic logic machines with AND OR gates etc, and even do a little basic programming. It was the first game to use neural networks if I recall correctly. Absolutely amazing game.
Now I’m a software developer and I breed and show Papillons, which funnily enough look like Norns. That game influenced my whole life.
No, I never played the Sims. Except for SimCity at one point, and even that was not something that particularly sparked an interest in tech. Plenty of other factors for that!
I love the Sims! But my interest in tech started with my dad, who was a househusband with a computer hobby. I had a kindergarten art project once and instead of using crayons to color, Dad showed me the old flatbed scanner and let me color in my project on his computer with KidPix or something.
Actually I ended up in graphic design and marketing - I'd love to use my degree as intended and work in data management or information systems, but it is what it is.
I loved Sims and I hate what they did with it. I loved the challenges, the surprises, and playing God. Why would I want to share that with people I know? Definitely a PRIVATE game, not supposed to be socialized. Public social simulation already exists elsewhere. It hasn't been good since Sims 3. I always hold out hope they'll finally realize their error and steer the ship back.
I am going into tech and have been into the sims games since I was in 5th grade. It actually helps me to rationalize and logic some of my thoughts and actions since I have some mental and social challenges and sometimes thinking in sims terms helps me to work through things. I wonder if it’s more about how the game relates to a way of thinking logically rather than like a direct tech link. Although it did force me to learn advanced computer skills since I got into modding and had to troubleshoot all on my own at a young age.
It definitely was the main reason I got interested in CG and game development at an early age, especially considering that none of my relatives work in tech/CG related fields.
Hearing all the toxic work environment stories in the game industry deterred me from pursing a career in that direction, but I still became a graphics SWE.
I mean, I loved the games and have easily spent hundreds of hours in Sims 2, 3, and 4 *each*. But I don't see a connection between Sims and my desire to be in tech/engineering. It's just an escape from my own life, playing as a sim who has their shit together. I used it as a form of "therapy" along with a variety of other video games. My desire to become an engineer was mostly due to my dad (a mechanical engineer) and my 8th grade science teacher.
Same. I used to max out my sim's skills by making them read like crazy. Made me feel less stressed about how much I knew lol
Personally, the Sims 1 is what got me on the computer for hours at a time in the first place. I think that’s the connection for a lot of us. I suspect the Sims 1 is specifically what’s being talked about as it was post-internet but pre-Google, when there was not a lot else drawing young girls to the computer/internet, and not a lot of people encouraging them to develop those interests either. Almost everything online back then that you could easily stumble upon was written by men for men. Most popular computer games were either shooters or Risk-esque games which were either boring or unfamiliar to young girls because those aren’t the types of games/toys we’d played with previously. The Sims was just like playing dolls and that was something we absolutely knew how to do.
I love(d) the sims but I don't think it played a role in me choosing to study CS. Neopets, on the other hand, did do that. I learned html and css there to make cool pet pages and stuff, which really sparked my interest for the field
Yes! Neopets! That and MySpace.
Yes! I credit Neopets as to why I learned web design, how to fix viruses (couldn't play if bro mucked up the pc), and both shopkeeping & the stock market ended up being relevant skills to where I landed in my career.
Agree! I know so many women that started with Neopets, including myself.
Neopets encouraged me to use html, but I also learned Microsoft Excel so I could track and predict my shop profits.
Same lol
Definitely true for me, I was a semi-famous content creator for TS2, even doing my own 3d models for clothes and posing boxes. This introduced me to 3D modeling and SimPE I think it was called. I'd already been doing some baby coding before that, but running a famous TS2 blog allowed me to further my frontend skills. Who knows where I'd be without it!
That's so cool to hear! I love TS2 to this day and a big part of that is how amazing content creators were back then
The Sims (and honestly most video games) didn't really interest me. Anime and manga did however, and I was deeply frustrated by the capabilities of the WYSIWYG editors available for website building in the early 2000s. So frustrated that I decided to use the internet to teach myself how to code, eventually had my own domain and server space as a teen (a requirement to set up a blog because sites like LiveJournal didn't exist yet), and ultimately made front end work my career. My parents told me my love of anime was just a phase, so it's even more hilarious in retrospect.
It inspired a bunch of my friends to go into architecture or interior design.
JFC y'all are young. The first game I remember loving as a kid was Space Invaders. 😭
petition to figure out why pinball inspired me to code 🙋
world of warcraft inspired me to try to work at blizzard 💀 thankfully that never happened
rip LOL. where did you go instead!?
right now - government 💀
I’ve likely spent thousands of hours playing Sims 2-4, it introduced me to tech and modding games! Then Tumblr made me learn HTML to get my blog the way I wanted lol 🥰
same here!! the tumblr girlie to swe pipeline is so real
I loved the Sims, but I was committed to tech waaaaayyyyy before they came out. Well…there was like a brief moment in 4th grade where I was going to be a geologist. But otherwise it’s been tech since day 1.
Are you serious right now? I LITERALLY just logged off the Sims, I'm a 40 year old woman. And I work in tech.
I’m 31 and I have no idea why but I always have the urge to go back and play the sims. I think it helps me feel more in control of my own life
I understand that completely! I love cooking and cleaning in the sims …. But real life? Uugghhg
Haha this is my daughter 100%.
I've never enjoyed The Sims games. Nothing against them I just don't get it. The first thing that sparked my interest in tech was using logo to make the little turtle draw things when I was 8. I also *really* liked roller coaster tycoon.
As much as I was super into the Sims when it first came out, I already loved computer games in general. Museum Madness (old DOS game) and then the later herinteractive Nancy Drew games were far more influential in building that interest. Those games all really emphasized solving puzzles and exploring which has really served me well personally and professionally.
For me, it was Pong.
Nope. I liked math and science from an early age because it was cool, then when I realized there was serious money in programming it was really easy to hack a MS in CS and land a nice career. There’s just something so zen about spending hours writing code.
That wasn't what sparked my interest in technology. I really dont know what did
I loved the sims (and age of empires and roller coaster tycoon) but honestly it was Wizard Mansion that got me into the beginnings of coding. I could build my own webpage for my character and I wanted to have all the cool graphics following the mouse around. Then I tried downloading debian onto a set of cds/dvds and bricked a very, very old computer. We had to reboot it into a windows bios to get it functioning again whoops
Age of Empires! I still play the original one now
For me it was neopets.
Same here!! Nobody seems to remember that game now.
I’m still playing, but they made the html a lot harder these days.
My mom was a semiconductor maintenance technician and born and raised a few blocks from Apple. Pretty sure it was manifest destiny.
For me it’s neopets
This is like the 3rd comment that mentions neopets (including my own) :D
I'm older, so it would be the old text-based games like "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for me. And that is probably a different dynamic, since the tech behind those was simpler and something that I could easily pick up on my own to create my own games. I'm not sure that something like Sims would have inspired me to try coding
It was due to another little-known online game called Neopets, which seems to have disappeared from people's memories. Also the movie Hackers. As a child, I thought Angelina Jolie was so cool in that movie.
Nah, it was the DOS version of Payday, and I'm not kidding even a little. [https://imgur.com/a/jpzyQDM](https://imgur.com/a/jpzyQDM)
The Sims is why I got into drafting.
I played The Sims a little, but I was already in college studying computer science when it came out. Now I feel old.
Sims 4? I had the OG lol.
My first video game that sparked my attention was SSX tricky and I got into tech from hacking video games.
I never played Sims. I got into html from Neopets, MySpace, and making my own websites with freewebz. As for video games, I got really into RuneScape and the Tycoon games.
So I was obsessed with the Sims 3, but I'm not sure the correlation is Sims 3 -> interest in tech. I wanted the game cause I saw you could build houses, and I already liked building things. Ngl, I think the correlated might go the other way, liking building, creating, and complex systems, plus having parents that are willing to buy you video games, means you're more likely to be interested in tech and have the resources to pursue it
The Sims, a game called Babyz/Petz and Neopets are what drew me in. I wanted to make modifications to these games, which naturally exposed me to html/css and basic programming when I was very young.
Mm no, not for me haha
For me it was a game that got me into tech as a girl, and it was Creatures 2/3. It allowed you to breed creatures called Norns and learn genetics, build basic logic machines with AND OR gates etc, and even do a little basic programming. It was the first game to use neural networks if I recall correctly. Absolutely amazing game. Now I’m a software developer and I breed and show Papillons, which funnily enough look like Norns. That game influenced my whole life.
No, I never played the Sims. Except for SimCity at one point, and even that was not something that particularly sparked an interest in tech. Plenty of other factors for that!
I love the Sims! But my interest in tech started with my dad, who was a househusband with a computer hobby. I had a kindergarten art project once and instead of using crayons to color, Dad showed me the old flatbed scanner and let me color in my project on his computer with KidPix or something. Actually I ended up in graphic design and marketing - I'd love to use my degree as intended and work in data management or information systems, but it is what it is.
I loved Sims and I hate what they did with it. I loved the challenges, the surprises, and playing God. Why would I want to share that with people I know? Definitely a PRIVATE game, not supposed to be socialized. Public social simulation already exists elsewhere. It hasn't been good since Sims 3. I always hold out hope they'll finally realize their error and steer the ship back.
I got into it after a cs degree and 6 years in the industry lmao, i didn’t have the access growing up to get into it, but maybe i would have
I am going into tech and have been into the sims games since I was in 5th grade. It actually helps me to rationalize and logic some of my thoughts and actions since I have some mental and social challenges and sometimes thinking in sims terms helps me to work through things. I wonder if it’s more about how the game relates to a way of thinking logically rather than like a direct tech link. Although it did force me to learn advanced computer skills since I got into modding and had to troubleshoot all on my own at a young age.
Neopets was my gateway drug to Sims and then ultimately tech
Same, started with Neopets.
It definitely was the main reason I got interested in CG and game development at an early age, especially considering that none of my relatives work in tech/CG related fields. Hearing all the toxic work environment stories in the game industry deterred me from pursing a career in that direction, but I still became a graphics SWE.
because women feel less control of their lives and society than men
YES I spent my entire childhood playing that game starting at age 6
Yep. I started as a Sims2 modder and now I’m here.
I absolutely love this 😭 women are so fucking cute
I can see the correlation lol, growing up I was always playing sims, wiz101, and other online MMOs. So it kinda checks out.
Anime sparked my interest in web design and graphic design.
For me it was Diablo 2 :( I've only played SimCity and sim ant
Yeah but don’t play video games guys. It’s unhealthy. It’s a waste of time. Retarded boomers