What would you do if you could play God for the day? Make yourself more attractive? Save the planet? Get revenge on an ex? This is the question ‘The Sims 3’ poses with its UK launch campaign; to make the point, the team behind the game has rewritten the Ten Commandments based on British public opinion about which commandments are still relevant today and which are just a little outdated.
As six of the original commandments remain (albeit using slightly modernized language), the remaining four were viewed as too old fashioned and irrelevant to the world we live it today. These four were replaced with common themes suggested by the British public, who focused on tackling greed, saving the planet, respecting one another and stamping out terrorism.
With the new Ten Commandments in place, the team behind ‘The Sims 3’ has recreated the stone tablets that Moses brought down from the mountain and delivered them to the Houses of Parliament as a symbol of public opinion about the moral code Brits want to live by today. Play on…
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Rewriting Moral Codes
- There is a growing trend of rewriting traditional moral codes to better reflect contemporary values and attitudes.
- Public Opinion Influence
- Public opinion is increasingly influencing the development and marketing of products and campaigns.
- Gaming as a Platform for Social Commentary
- Video games are being used as a platform to address and discuss social issues and moral dilemmas.
Where This Applies
- Video Game Industry
- The video game industry has the opportunity to explore and incorporate social commentary into their games, attracting a wider and more engaged audience.
- Marketing and Advertising Industry
- The marketing and advertising industry can leverage public opinion to create more resonant and relevant campaigns that reflect the values of the target audience.
- Societal Change and Values
- The trend of rewriting moral codes reflects a larger societal shift towards reevaluating and updating traditional values and norms.
