The tiny living movement has been in full swing for some years now. Minimalists and those concerned with the negative impact their carbon footprint has on the planet have been shedding (most of) their belongings and cramming themselves into the tiniest living space they can tolerate, oftentimes converted cargo containers.
For those who find the lifestyle intriguing but aren’t quite ready to commit, they could always give it a whirl with The Sims 4 Tiny Living Pack. They could treat it as an experiment to see how well they might cope in small living quarters and see just how long they could potentially go before they and their significant other rips each other to pieces.
In the Tiny Living pack, the houses only take up a meager 100 tiles on the board. The benefits of such a small living space include cheaper bills and a bigger yard. The yard is especially significant considering there’s probably a decent amount of overlap between those who want to lessen their footprint and those with an insatiable thirst for gardening. A player’s lot could be more plants than house if that’s what they so desire.
Another benefit, according to developer EA, is that small spaces encourage more social interaction. One could definitely see how being in close quarters would force people to interact more. In the world of The Sims, that’s generally a good thing. In the real world, however, it very much depends on the people. Maybe those people should keep their tiny living fantasies contained in the game world.
Like most expansions, the Tiny Living pack comes with plenty of new clothing and furniture, including beds that fold up into the walls, a crucial component of the tiny living movement. It’s all about making the most of the space.
The expansion will be available on PC and Mac on January 21 and on console February 4. EA definitely deserves credit for having their finger on the pulse in regards to culture and current trends. While this won’t seriously serve as a trial run for those looking to make the change, it could possibly offer some insight into how life changes when one downsizes their presence by such a considerable amount.
Maybe some gamers will come to realize that they’re latent green thumbs or that they don’t spend enough time socializing in their real lives. Or maybe their sim will be crushed by a folding bed and it will scare them off tiny living forever.
