Returning to Video Games and "The Simpsons"

I still watch the animated show on Fox firmly lodged in the 8pm Sunday slot when I can, and while The Simpsons isn't anywhere as important as it once was, it seems to have morphed into an institution. Writing staff has moved on to "The Daily Show" and the "Colbert Report", and comedy staffs from the websites Funny or Die and Cracked may not be direct alums of "The Simpsons", they are certainly influenced by growing up with the Swartzwelderian et al humor.

When we re-upped our phone service contracts, we received free phone upgrades, and one of the things I downloaded was a game from Electronic Arts, "The Simpsons: Tapped Out". Tapped Out is a sims game in which you rebuild Springfield after Homer causes it to get destroyed.

A sims game, for those unfamiliar, is a game where the player simulates a deity, I guess you could say. There are two types: the first is a town building game, where the player puts up buildings and neighborhoods, collects money and taxes, and uses that money for other building deeds; and the second is newer and has a laser like focus on one house and controlling all the lives of the characters with whom you've populated that house.

This game is much close to the first example above.

I have to say that not only is this is the first sims game I've ever played, it's the first video game of any kind I've been involved with this deeply since "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" (sometimes considered the best video game ever), but, this is also the most involved with "The Simpsons" that I've been in many years.

A promotion just ended, and it was a Whacking Day promotion. A two-week-long Whacking Day promotion where your Springfield would get overrun with snakes and you'd have to whack them (with surprisingly satisfying gameplay)! That episode came out in early 1994 near the end of Season 4, when plenty of these players weren't even born yet. Other parts of the game are quests, and, like some other games, there are cut-scenes, only here they're little Simpsons cartoons.

One thing that's neat is a facet of sims games: there are no laws governing where to put buildings beyond space constraints, so each player's Springfield will be different. I made mine as close to Venice as possible--water everywhere and bridges galore. Because I'm a big nerd, here are some poor-quality pictures:

Jeeze, this embarrassing... In any case, above is a place I call Park Island, and since this picture was taken, the water has encroached on its territory, shrinking it. The houses at the bottom have been moved as well. There's a batman-like light on a tiny peninsula to the left: that was a free promotional tie in to the Burns as Fruit-bat Man episode this season.

Here's my Simpson residence. I have since disconnected the road between their place and the Flanders' and replaced it with water, while the large pooling in front of their place is mostly gone (to make way for Hibbert's clinic).

I sat down one night motivated to draw out a map of the area, since you never get to see the whole thing at once. What follows is the first map of my Tapped Out Springfield, and already it is outdated, but I'm planning on another version:

I'm a nerd...

I recommend it to anyone who loves "The Simpsons" and has the time to check their phone every few hours. Also, it's free. You can spend money to get premium items (like Hank Scorpio's Volcano Lair), but that's not necessary.

Trivia Question for Dad

My good friend Ryan sent along some trivia, dad, and I think here is a fine spot to pass along the question:

Who are the seven ball-players who received the MVP, batting title, and World Series championship ring in the same season?

Five make easy sense and it wouldn't be surprising to guess them, one is recent, and one I had to look up.

Also, I enjoyed the your last post about Ghostbusters and T2.

Original "Ghostbusters" and T2 - a connection?

There has been something in the back of my mind about these two time-worn movies and I think I may have finally put my finger on what it is. These two flicks share something, and I'm going to try my damnedest to put a name to it.

I want you to recall the scene where our ghost-wranglin' heroes have convinced the mayor to let them try to tame the spirits-gone-wild. Bill Murray leans out of the erstwhile Caddy ambulance and says, "Come on! Let's run some red lights!" It's a typical Murrayian moment, one of those lines you imagine he insisted he get to deliver. Also, think of the goofy car Dr. Ray Stantz has procured in spite of all the necessary repair work. Think of the conversation early in the movie, where the avaricious Peter Venkman licks his chops about revenue streams: "The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." (Paraphrasing.)

Each of these things make an assumption about the audience: they acknowledge that we are a business-wise group of people. We're not above looking for a good business angle, just as we're not opposed to having fun on the job. These lines make a statement that a whole lot more people are their own bosses, and are sophisticated enough to know about assets, revenue, debt, and making the most of what we're given.

Jump ahead with me now, seven years, to 1991's Terminator 2. This is a helluva flick for a lot of reasons, but I think I admire it for a fairly unusual reason. Starting early on, the re-booted robot, played by the esteemed ex-Governor, steals a guy's clothes and his motorcycle, and injures him grievously in the process. He later joins forces with Sarah, commandeers some SUVs, a spavined camper that he wrecks seemingly without any effort, and briefly rides a crashing big rig.

 He's using what's available. The script takes advantage of its audience's familiarity with objects - motorcycles, guns, police vans, knives, computer chips - of which efficient use is made in the service of the human race. It's the same attitude as in Ghostbusters. The producers acknowledge and make use of us as late-20th century sophisticates, ready to appreciate novel uses of familiar objects. We aren't thought of as fools.

Well, perhaps you'll think of it as a tenuous thread, and maybe justifiably. It has stuck with me for quite a while and I wanted to try to get it out there in formal thought.

Um...What?

Ryan sent me the information on this. All I can say is...uh...Chewbacca jerseys?

Go Toledo Mud-Hens!

Here is a link to the article about Detroit's triple-A affiliate.