[extropy-chat] Sims 2 stretches boundaries of digital world

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

Welcome to the world of Sims 2, a game of simulated life in digital
homes with digital people that allows you to play with the mundane,
swirling it around until it becomes something distinctly unique and
often kind of funny.
What makes the game interesting and fuels its popularity is actually
the lack of control players have over their Sims. The characters have
a sort of rudimentary consciousness. So while you can decide their
appearance, personality, dreams and fears, you don't have the ability
to directly make them do anything.
In a way the Sims have artificial intelligence.
"This game is, in some sense, self-aware. But artificial intelligence
is such a slippery term."
The game uses markers, bits of data that tell a Sim what has happened
to them in their digital lives. So when your Sim has his or her first
kiss, gets married or has a child, those are all things they
"remember."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/entertainment_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_84_3288085,00.html