November 25, 2016 Topic Discussion: What Do We Mean By Sim?

Sim is a tough word to define.

When you think you've figured 'sim' out, the definition is presented in a different way by someone else and you are left starting all over again on a quest to understand it.

My journey started in the earlier days of sports gaming with sim meaning something akin to balance and avoiding taking advantages of a game's unfixable flaws which created imbalances. It also meant forcing yourself to do crazy things like have to run the ball in Madden.

Today, with games a lot more balanced (but not perfectly so) it seems to be morphing into another definition entirely. Balance is still key, avoiding some flaws and money plays is still important, but the overall thought of 'simness' seems to be a little different than it was before.

I typically use a self-LOL inducing phrase, 'not sim' when something extraordinary happens in sports these days.

Kevin Love gets 34 points in a quarter? Not sim. Some of the Big XII offenses of the past few years? Definitely not sim. Aroldis Chapman throwing 105 mph? Nah, not sim.

But yes, they're all real events that really happen in sports. The unexpected becomes the expected quite often, which is why many of us keep coming back to sports in the first place.

So what about you? How do you handle the sports uncertainty principle while still desiring a simulation experience? Where do you draw the line at sim vs. not sim?

Sound off in the comments!