I don’t know what my fascination of human simulation games is. I hate being micro-managed in real life, so why do I enjoy micro-managing others on my computer? Do I secretly have a god-complex? Why do my avatars always hate me for making them be responsible? Go to work, make some money, then you can afford to party. Why don’t they understand that? Actually, I think part of it maybe Simspeak and those oh so cute animations they do. Or maybe I just enjoy playing a god.Kudos, as you may have guessed, is a human simulation game. But, happily, the micro-managing is trimmed back. I don’t have to tell my avatar to eat, sleep or any other mundane, everyday tasks. Ah, sweet relief. (Although, I do miss the bathroom dance.)
OK, so what do you do? Well, you start off with a low paying job. You have the option to take classes at your local college. More experience or knowledge can lead to better jobs. It's not just textbook learning either, you can choose to take culinary classes or perhaps martial arts. I do recommend the martial arts after getting mugged in game twice.
However, the name of the game is Kudos and that is what you want to earn – kudos from your friends. You begin the game with 3 friends. You can hang out with them, and depending on several factors, including your mood and how interested they were in the activity; you can gain or lose kudos with your friends. If you don’t socialize with them, you lose their friendship as well.
Here is where my simulation problem comes in. Even my avatars are spenders. And almost every activity costs money. Your friends get bored if you keep doing free ones with them. My so-called friends also left me after I was mugged twice in one week (do you really think I’d be good company?), had no money and spent 2 -3 nights a week in class so I could get a better paying job (or defend myself against muggers).
If you are a person who can keep their simulated avatars happy, then you should give Kudos a whirl. If you have never played a Sim game, then this might be a good start for you. For myself, I’m packing up my god-complex and resisting these games in the future. I just can’t take the heartache anymore.
I am a 30 something year old female. I am married and have 1 son and 2 dogs. Harmakhet says I am not a "twitch" gamer. I am a casual gamer for both on and offline games. I am not very good at console games, so I tend to play the "kiddie" games there. I prefer games that have a good story that I can get caught up in.
I had an Atari 2600 growing up and begged Dad for a Nintendo which he refused to buy. He recently told me that he bought the Atari thinking video games were a passing phase. I never touched another console until I met Harmakhet. I played a few games on my Commodore 64, nothing worth remembering, and then Crystal Quest on my Mac. I used to watch a friend play Marathon on the Mac and it was then that I discovered my true calling. I am a navigator! I couldn't manage the controls myself, but I could direct players back to the health, ammo, etc. So I started doing that with Harmakhet. I'd also tell him if a game was bad. If I couldn't stand watching him play it, it must be a dud. He'd usually agree within a few weeks.
I've played some of the original Sims games and a few Nancy Drew before I got into MMOs. I can't remember who told me about Disney's Toontown Online, but I played it for several years. I even became a moderator at a fan site for the game. I'm looking forward to the munchkin being old enough to play TT.
