Maxis shares progress update and first look at The Sims 4's customisable pronouns feature
Maxis has shared fresh insight on the complexities involved in bringing gender neutral pronouns to The Sims 4 as part of a new livestream update detailing the progress it’s making on implementing the highly requested feature.
The developer initially confirmed it was investigating ways to introduce expanded pronoun options to The Sims 4 last May – following a community petition signed by more than 22,000 people – and its first livestream of 2022 has now offered a substantial progress update, sharing insight on the development process and including a first look at how The Sims 4’s recently announced customisable pronouns feature will work in-game.
As Sims 4 producer John Faciane explained during the livestream, Maxis’ aim with customisable pronouns is threefold: to introduce greater representation for transgender and non-binary players, to allow for greater freedom of expression for all players, and, ultimately, to create an experience that feels more welcoming and kind.
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It is, however, a feature that brings with it a significant number of technical and logistical hurdles – particularly in regards to fact The Sims 4 is currently translated across 18 different languages, each with their own nuances where pronouns are concerned.
As localisation lead Veronica Morales revealed during the livestream, it’s a linguistic challenge EA’s localisation team is already grappling with, but one that’s further complicated by cultural and regulatory considerations across each region.
“Some languages [such as Sweden and Spain] do have officially accepted and ready to use non-binary pronouns,” Morales explained, “but for other territories, the pronouns are not included in their dictionaries”. However, in some of the latter regions – including Germany, Spain, and Brazil – local LGBTQ+ communities have already adopted new non-binary grammar and syntax systems they feel comfortable with, and these, while not yet officially recognised, provide the localisation team with a useful touchpoint.
