EA Re-Writes Ten Commandments

04 Jun 2009 at 13:42:23 by Bill Vaughan

Using information from research conducted in its game, The Sims 3, EA has rewritten the ten commandments and will present the two newly-carved limestone tablets to the Houses of Parliament this week.

According to EA, over one quarter of British children can not remember even one of the ultimate moral standards, the ten commandments, and only six percent of people in the UK can recite all ten from memory.

Research conducted in EA's The Sims 3, where gamers get to 'play God' with their creations, concludes that many of the commandments are seen as outdated for modern life. To mark the launch of the game tomorrow, EA asked players to suggest new commandments. The 'Ten Commandments Rewritten' have been hand carved into two stone tablets and will be offered to the Houses of Parliament this week, seen below, as a benchmark of public opinion about modern standards we should all live by today.

The tablets contain modern versions of six of the original commandments and four new ones. The six revamped commandments in order of importance to the British public are:

1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not cheat on your partner with another person
4. Do not envy others
5. Respect your parents
6. Do not accuse a person of something they did not do

The new commandments, which reflect many of today's hottest issues, and perhaps the recent MP's expenses scandal, are:

7. Respect all people regardless of race, religion or sexuality
8. Do not commit acts of terrorism
9. Respect and protect the planet
10. Do not be motivated by greed

The four commandments that were replaced are:

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

“The Sims 3 is all about messing with life and making decisions that will affect the lives of each of the characters in the game. Whilst it is ultimately a game, a person’s moral standards will quickly start to show through revealing what sort ‘God’ they will play over their creations.”

During the research for the game, British players were asked what they would do if they could 'play God' for a day. The majority of players, around 65%, said they would help the world, such as end poverty, bring about world peace and stop global warming. 8% of people would make themselves more attractive or more wealthy, 4% would get revenge on someone they know and 17% would improve the lives of family and friends.

The Sims 3 is available for PC and Mac from tomorrow, 5 June. Find out more about the game at the official site.

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