I really don't CARE if they put religion in or not. I just thought if they are kicking around ideas, it might be another aspect they could build on.

Why is it okay to have 'supernatural stuff' and 'strange and outrageous' to have religious items?

Again, I am not conventionally religious, a bible thumper ot anything. Just someone who thinks it might bring another type of game play to Sims.

I find the idea in Sims 3 people can have relationships with ghosts very stupid. Can they also have 'ghost babies?' It's really not my cup of tea and I would have preferred they left the ghosts scary and menacing. (not so you can befriend them).

So, we agree to disagree. I just don't see why everyone gets 'so worked up' at the idea of putting religion in the game. How would it be offensive? Generic symbols (cross, icons) could be downloadable (like the CC in Sims 2). People could choose to use them or not.

I didn't care for half the horrible items in the eps for Sims 2. Some were downright horrible (badly recolored 'racing car theme' comes to mind for some reason).

Allowing people to build a church or 'hall' or something with a few religious items thrown in would be nice. Also the option to pursue the religious life as a career might be fun.

I think everyone's seeing religion being implemented into the game same as they experience it in their life, with all the unpleasantness they associate with it, but that's not going to happen simply because the game is not about teaching you real life religious concepts and beliefs. That's not what I would like to see in my game either. However, I still think it would be nice if sims could get a skill or something along those lines for spirituality. I know about the crosses and candles from TS2 and while they made nice decorations, they didn't affect the sim in a long term manner. Also, I don't see how a spiritual leader would be any more annoying in game than the witches or the creatures in TS2, and there were hacks made to make them dissapear.

Truth of the universe? Like that it's big and gassy, similar to people who like bean burritos a little too much?
I think atheists are fine with that. :P

Almost everyone in this thread who is against the idea of religion in the Sims for one reason or another recommends that, to put religion in your game, you CC/mod/hack for it and leave the rest of us to play without it. Urging it on me, for example, is not going to make me any happier with the idea, no matter how you pretty it up. By all means, though, I will fight tooth and claw to make sure you can put whatever religious CC you want in your game, because, hey, it's your game.

Also, just to be clear (and this thread bears this conclusion out) - RELIGION IS A HOT BUTTON ISSUE. It makes people angry and uncomfortable and pissy and sometimes downright rude and violent. Why force *everyone* to live with it when it causes that many issues when you could just put it in yourself?

It's kinda like a bomb, folks: sticking a pretty ribbon on it and smiling when you hand it to someone doesn't mean the bomb isn't dangerous.

I don't deal with witches and ghosts on a day-to-day basis in real life, so they're quirky and vaguely interesting. I DO deal with people spouting about god every day, and don't want it in my game.

If it's any consolation, I very rarely play with ghosts or witches or whatnot either. I usually just delete gravestones and urns. /shrug. They're just not annoying yet.

This is going nowhere though. One side says "Why?" The other side says "Why not?" The first side says "But why?"

Does anyone have anything that will actually add to the discussion? (And I'm not implying my input was in any way original, either, before anyone tries to nail me for that.)

[OT] I always delete the gravestones, they get on my nerves with their "scaring" and possessing of my gnomes and whatnot. Plus they're forever raiding the fridge. Just because you're dead, doesn't mean you get a free lunch, you incorporeal bum!

C'mon! It seems clear to me: you are the god!

Who tells you that you're not a character in a videogame and that your own god is just the player of the game such as you're the god of the sims in your save file?

For anyone who's offended by my post, it was intentional irony. I had hoped the last bit would have cleared that up, but I understand that some of it would be uttered seriously by many uninformed people (Poe's law).



If custom meshes become common in The Sims 3, I'm hoping somebody will make a nun's habit and a full burqa. I'll be recreating a neighborhood I had in The Sims 2, but I'm waiting on these and a neighborhood creator (should I not hold my breath?).

Again, because the majority of people don't get into heated disputes and wars over the supernatural. Many people believe witches, vampires, ghosts, ect. are myths to entertain and intrigue, not that I agree with them, but that's the shared opinion with most people.

OHHH... idea.... since we are their closest god...we should be able to upload a picture of ourselves in the game and they will worship you!!!


Please no mean comments

Well, if you have a divine figure in the game, wouldn't you need an evil figure to balance out the good vs. evil spectrum? That would be a little too realistic though.

Since players both help their Sims and trap them in rooms and set them on fire, I'd say the player fills the position of both good god and megalomaniacal evil god.

Imagine the crapstorm that would occur if EA let you import pictures of yourself for your Sims to worship.

I guess that's true, I'd still like a non-serious Religious expansion pack though. Totally unrelated to any realistic religion, more humorous than serious I guess.

Who says that a divine figure has to be inherently good or inherently evil? I just play as a neutral, puppetmaster type of God in my game.

I support the "no way" crowd, I can just imagine choosing to kill off my sim and s/he is religious and having to see some kind of special burial or something, or the spiritual leader coming to my Sims house and crying over them or an "angel" or Lama or a gigantic grilled cheese sandwhich showing up instead of Grimmy.

I personally think if they make it something small and not detailed it would be pointless to add it and if they make it detailed and of Expansion pack quality it would probably be too offensive/contriversial so it’s better that they don’t make it at all.

I propose an EP with murder, drugs, drinking, prostitutes, gambling, etc. to 'counter balance' the pious.

TBH though I think EA would sooner jump on that than religion :/

Interesting, but I feel this is a pointless discussion. It's not going to happen, it's too risky.

Personally, I don't know if I would like it, it depends how it's implemented.

EDIT: EA would love that "non-pious" EP, it wouldn't go well with the T rating though

I just leave it to my imagination. My four Sims are atheist.

I knew religion was controversial, but I could hardly believe I would open Pandora's box like this!

"Religion" cannot be properly defined. Let us instead discuss other, similar concepts.

Many people confuse religion with theism - belief in one or many gods. Christianity, Islam, and Ancient Greek religion are examples. Most of us might agree that inclusion any kind of real-world or fictional theism in a Sims game would be very wrong.

Spirituality could be defined as approaching of the supernatural. The Sims world has had spiritual elements from the very beginning.

Rites are established ceremonies or events. In nearly all societies, rites have been about spirituality. But even people who do not believe in anything supernatural have rites.

In The Sims, rites are mostly represented by birthdays, weddings, holidays etc. However, there are some gaps in The Sims' world. There are no funerals. There is no natural place to perform rites. And there is no character to make the rites complete.

Non-believer organizations around the world try to create suggestions for non-spiritual welcoming of infants, coming-of-age-ceremonies, weddings and funerals. They also try to find buildings and ceremonial leaders for these purposes.

Couldn't the Sims do this too?

You can't win with religion. If you incorperate a lot of religions and manage to miss a few you will always get people saying "Hey! Why aren't buddhists in here?!" Or "Hey! Why aren't Christians in here?!" The fact being there are so many religions in the world that it is impossible to make everyone happy.

Even if the devs implemented every single religion that ever existed, which is near impossible, there would still be fighting. For example, if two religions were included and in real life, the believers of that religion loathed eachother, there would be fighting.

Fact: Two main causes for war is greed and religion.


EA is much better off keeping things out that would cause wide spread fighting. Religion being number one since no one can really be greedy over another person if they own the exact same game. (for that game)

The difference between cryptids and religion is that that most people don't seriously believe in the Loch Ness monster or dragons or bigfoot. It's much easier to stick something no one believes in into a game than it is to stick your various gods (in whose existence people seriously believe) into one.

If you want religion, have it. Go nuts with it. Devote your life to the message of whatever you want. Just don't put it in my Sims 3.

I think religion in TS3 will be funny. Imagine a Sim walking by saying something like "Weba de Toma" meaning"Praise the {insert religious icon here}". I wouldn't go to far as in putting a Bible into the game.

Take a look at:

All Elder Scrolls games.
Tibia. (I play this, he have a book called the holy tible.)
World of Warcraft. (and warcraft 3 for that matter)
Spore
Master of Magic
The Godfather (Published by EA)
Dungeon keeper 1-2,
Black and White 1-2,
Final Fantasy games
Age of Mythology

List goes on.

Not debating, just informing.

These games address religion only within the scope of their own mythos, and are not really based on any currently active religions.

This game only addresses it insofar as it is possessed by its characters.

This game doesn't really address religion, other than that *YOU* are God. The Sims is much the same way: Sims don't need a god, because their god is YOU.

-shrugs- I'd get further into it, but no thanks. I've enough to deal with.