San Vicente Sims

Let me explain a little about how the Sims works:

You start with a neighborhood with a number of plots. Each neighborhood has a certain theme - my favorite is Veronaville, a town complete with the Capp and Monty families, in addition to the oddly-dressed Summerdreams. You have the opportunity to create your own families and add them to the mix, or play with the pre-existing ones.

Eventually, everyone in the neighborhood becomes connected. As Sims continually swap spouses and children grow up and get married, it's difficult to find a mate who isn't your Sims' first-cousin's sister-in-law, or something like that.

This makes the game so much more fun and so much creepier, as you try to figure out Sims' relationships; the Sims becomes something like that scene from Spaceballs when Darth Vader tells Luke of their very, very distant relationship.

San Vicente feels like that sometimes.

Take Miguel, for instance. Miguel told me that Virginia is his cousin because her boyfriend is Miguel's cousin. Last year, however, Miguel dated Virginia, and I believe that Miguel's current girlfriend has some sort of family relationship with Virginia.

Or take Cristina. She hates Maria because Maria's best friend Claudia went out with Cristina's best friend Gloria's ex-boyfriend after they broke up. Yet Cristina was invited to Maria's quincinera because Maria's boyfriend is Cristina's cousin.

How about the Lerda and Gomez families? Fede's father and Franco's father were best friends growing up. They now have two sons each, each pair in the same grade, best friends as well.

Laila's paternal and maternal grandmothers get together at Laila's house on Sunday afternoons.

Emilio's cousin comes over to play computer games when his parents are out.

Betina's ex-boyfriend from high school still gives her mother flowers on her mother's birthday. He has, after all, known her practically his whole life.

Grandparents live next door and often stop by to say hello. Cousins hang out on the weekends. I sometimes wonder if the government provides everyone with $20,000 when they move out.

San Vicente really is the most excellent of Sim neighborhoods.

Oh, and did I mention it's real?