I hesitated to open up this can of worms again, but the final frames of the this update pushed me over the edge. And while I thought it would be funny to do a “fake news” post about angry TSTO players leaving sheep’s heads at the gates of EA headquarters in San Francisco in protest, I thought better of it. After all…if two major countries can get into a recent preemptive twitter showdown over nuclear power over a fake news article, there is no telling what would happen if I fomented the fires of passion over this less-than-holiday update, and the final poke in the heart thrown out by the EA/Gracie programmers.
Instead, I will simply add a P.S. to the previous “venting letters” I wrote, which allowed you to write “I agree” in response, to get your emotions quelled and back to a “happy place” in the update.
Before I start, I want to re-emphasize that I do not have any issue with the basic concept of “trying something different” as it pertains to a “Winter/Holiday” update. And yes, while there are billions of Christians who lay claim to this time of year by nature of annual credit card debt, it doesn’t mean that the “hundreds of thousands of practising Wiccans around the globe” (according to WIKI) should be ignored.
However, as I will point out in the “P.S.” to EA, there are still limitations to how far we are to be pushed outside the realm of good taste and common sense.
See if you agree with me…
Dear EA,
I’ve tried. I really have. I am a tolerant person, and was more than willing to give your “experiment” (an alternative Winter Update) a chance by looking at the Winter/Holiday season with open eyes and heart. I realize that there are far more cultural traditions than Christianity, and that this time of year is claimed by a large number of faiths and beliefs which find their roots in similar rituals. All good.
I even went so far as to watch the entire “The Nightmare After Krustmus” episode, frame by frame, looking for the inside jokes that made their way into TSTO. Of the roughly 22 minutes of actual animated programming, there was less than 2 minutes dedicated to the “Pagan Festival” on which most of this update was based.
Yes. I’ll admit it. I laughed at a bunch of the quick funny bits, once I froze the frame.
The opening scene when the Reverend calls Springfield a “Good Christian Town” was perfectly timed. We see the $5 antler rental in the foreground.
I chuckled when I saw the “Graven Images while you wait” sign. I’ve never really understood a religion that is so afraid of statues and trinkets…unless it is the fear that they will lose market share on the mass merchandise of crosses, rosaries and saint medals being sold in millions of gift shops around the world.
Dunk the Monk is still on my wish list, although I’ll use a softball rather than a human skull to trigger it. After all…what is this…an Ozzie Osborne concert?
Who doesn’t laugh at Ralph and his Dad getting their tongues stuck in Jack Frosts’s Ice Garden? But the surprise “freeze frame moment” was discovering a Stevie Nicks ice sculpture in the background. Oh Stevie…you make Wicca so sexy…
With the plethora of television shows and series out this year based on Near Death Experiences and coming back from the dead (can anyone please explain the Netflix series “The OA” to me?), nothing says “funny” and ambiguous like “temporary eternity.”
And finally…while it is a pretty violent image, watching Satyr Willie devour the heart of the Devil Snowman has a twinge of silly to it, and is in some small way offers retribution for making us watch 50 years of “Frosty the Snowman” every Christmas. Worst. Christmas. TV. Special. Ever.
But then, you went too far. Yes. I get that you do all sorts of “edgy” stuff during the Halloween episodes. Yes, I realize that the only rule regarding “going too far” in the Simpsons is that you can’t go too far…but, you went too far.
Maggie…dear, sweet, beautiful little Maggie, would never, ever, in a million years, take pleasure in repeatedly cutting the head off of a little lamb, pushing the head back to the body, and then sever it again and again. And no. I don’t buy that it is a “stuffed toy.” There are no tags. No cute button eyes. Just a dead sheep.
Sorry. That is pushing the boundaries of credulity too far!
I mean…Maggie wouldn’t even allow Gerald to squish butterflies! Do you REALLY think that she would take pleasure in cutting the head off of a little lamby?
Yes. I know. She shot Burns. But, it was BURNS for Jebus’ sake! EVERYONE wants to shoot Burns!
I admit it. There were some high points (the Singing Stones), and a couple of funny decorations. But for the most part, this entire update feels like you were forced to do it…under fear of getting sued for discrimination by the lone Wiccan dude in the office.
Was it Rowan? He always gave me the shivers… I mean who wears a sock monkey hat in 80 degree California weather??? Didn’t you see it coming when he left the “Pigeon Pie” in the office fridge for a week, with a label, “do not eat until Solstice” on it?
Yes. I get it. Making fun of him to the point where he may have filed a grievance with H.R. wasn’t exactly the wisest move. But did you have to capitulate by allowing him to plan the WHOLE WINTER EVENT??? Sheesh. Rowan. He brings everyone down with his talk about “Mother Earth” and responsible recycling.
I get it, EA. Rowan had an idea, and he had that letter from HR (which he taped to the office fridge), so you felt like you HAD to let him have his day in the spotlight. But, Maggie. You let him twist up little Maggie…first allowing Rowan to tie her to the top of a pagan tree (aka Christmas tree) in the biting, bitter cold, for hours on end…and then forcing her to dismember a cute little lamb in an animal sacrifice ritual. Shameful.
But, the final, final, final straw??? Once again, telling all of us TSTO players to be happy with whatever you give us…and get over it. Pfffffffffttttttt….. YOU GET OVER IT when we don’t spend donuts on Rowan’s version of Winter/Christmas/Holidays.
Yes. We are a greedy lot this time of year. We want lots of fun, interesting, unique stuff…and we want it all!
OK. So you got us there…
But, to once again INSULT US when we aren’t happy with the weird offerings that Rowan came up with is going too far!!
So, in final summation of how I feel about letting Rowan put Maggie through a virtual hell of ambiguity, when she is just supposed to be hiding to give us free bonuts, I will let her do the talking….
That’s right, EA. Suck!
PS.PS. I can’t wait for the next update!!! Whoohooo!!!!
Respectfully yours,
CrankyOldPatric
I loved the event. I found the story a bit scarce and although there were some interesting event items, overall there wasn’t a “wow, buy that” for me. Still, I found the pagan celebration smart and fun. As for Maggie and the sacrifice, meh (I’m pretty sure she’s a serial killer in the making anyway).
When Maggie isn’t chilling on the christmas tree, she is at the “chop-shop” doing her thing. Chop. Scrape. Chop. Scrape. Chop. That’s how it is in my Springfield and i love it. Just writing this makes me want to move the zombie sandwich there and have her being surrounded by zombies.
Thanks EA!
I played waaaay less during this “update” only to earn donuts and money. And I liked the weird elf. I’m hoping I will eventually be able to sell off the creepy stuff in my inventory, but….I’m probably stuck.
I’m just disappointed the Stevie Nicks ice statue wasn’t a prize. 😑
I tried, but I stopped playing completely. Why couldn’t we do Chanukah this year?!? 🙁 I’m glad I’m not playing if this is what Maggie is doing, that is terrible! My apple gift card is going to King games and not TSTO like it always does!
What bums me out the most about this winter update is not that it’s Wiccan (or pseudo-Wiccan) — I really have no issue with that — but more that most of the prizes and items suck and that we still haven’t celebrated a Jewish holiday, any holiday, (come on EA, throw a Jew a bone!) despite there being Jewish characters in the show. While I am excited that Rabbi K will finally come to our games, I am pissed that he will cost so many donuts, though I will buy him. I guess EA knows that a lot of us will bust out sprinkles for him.
Thanks for your input. Perhaps EA is listening.
Hi, I am convinced that the “sacrifical lamb” is no other than Larry the Lamb from episode ” Thursdays with Abie”. The one all children love and which got lost by Lisa and was pretty beaten down in the course of his odyssee.
Valid point for plushy lamb: there ist no blood in the altar and just shoving the head back dös not make a new sacrifice…
Sorry for the wrong words in the last sentence, my german autocorrection is a nuisance sometimes. in= on, dös= does
OK. Another “literalist.” I’m fine…really.
You can’t have a good sheeps stew without removing the head. Everyone in my country know this so I see no problem with Maggie doing this. Don’t you have a McDonald’s in your country? Have to take the cows head off before making a hamburger, correct?
LOL… so true! Imagine how weird KFC would be if they served the chickens whole.
I think popcorn chicken is just a whole chicken ground up, no?
LOL! Ergh… I fear you might be right. The last one I had was a little heavy on the beak.
😂😂😂😂😂😂. Gr8 alternative take on things….💜X….batten down the hatches, here comes the vegan hate mail (<—-A MASSIVE JOKE 😉)…..💜X
Oh my goodness! Is this event over yet or are we all gonna still complain anout EVERY. LITTLE. THING!
It’s a video game about a cartoon.
You’ll all live!
Yes. We. Will. LOL!
I thought this event was great! Very creative, and really cool decorations! No complaints at all over here
Who’s Rowan???? I’m so confused 🤔Is Patric a former EA employee? Haven’t reached the “sacrificing sheep” task yet. Can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about..
I like her task. It’s supposed to be funny and it is. This game is not meant to be serious or religious. I was deeply offened when you tried to tell EA that we all hate the update without giving anyone else an opportunity to say we liked it.
ERGH…………the whole post was tongue in cheek. “Literallism” is apparently a new religion as well. And you ALWAYS have the choice to disagree…which you did.
https://tstoaddicts.com/2016/12/09/help-our-tsto-addicts-community-send-a-holiday-greeting-message-to-ea-part-ii/
You should have mentioned that in the same episode Maggie dismembered dozens of shelf Elves. Isn’t that a bit violent too?
I like the Maggie sheep animation and to me it’s a stuff sheep.
It was/is mentioned in comments. Several times. And I for one am all for wiping out gnomes. They taste TERRIBLE with mint sauce!
Disagree. This was the icing on the cake for me. LOVED IT. Make me laugh SO HARD. mmmmm, sweet, sweet, baby sheep roasting over an open fire. 😉
You have to pull off the fleece first…soooooooooo smelly otherwise. So happy that you are happy…that is all that is really important…right?
My Uncle Fred had a sheep ranch in Del Rio Texas and he never could eat lamb because of the smell.
The event was less than stellar, but we tapped away anyway. I felt it didn’t need that much talking about. The one thing I thought worth mentioning was the Maggie bit. That was much too irreverent for a famously funny irreverent show.
Sacrifice a sheep is my new favorite task in the game. Bully for EA!
Another “Friend of Roland” Bully for Roland!
“Rowan”?????
Reminds me of Barbara Bush’s letter to The Simpsons back in the day.
Except it was President Bush, in a speech…and they were serious. I’m not.
He might have mentioned it in a speech but Barbara spoke out on it and The Simpsons sent a letter from Marge to her in reply. It’s really quite funny. There’s a bonus feature on the season 1 dvd set that goes into it. I knew you weren’t serious but it reminds me of Marge’s reply letter.
It was a hilarious chapter in Simpsons history… right up there with Dan Quayle’s rant about Murphy Brown.
You were right as far as “who fired the first shot.” “The Bush-Simpson feud began began in 1990, when then First Lady Barbara Bush fired the first shot. Mrs. Bush told reporters that ‘The Simpsons is the dumbest thing I have ever seen!’ This unprovoked attack did not go unnoticed by the producers of The Simpsons. A few days later, an angry letter was sent to Mrs. Bush signed by Marge Simpson defending herself and her family. Two weeks later, Mrs. Bush apologized to the Simpsons and to Marge personally for ‘my loose tongue.’
However, that wasn’t the end. The Bush-Simpson feud was just warming up! At the Republican National Convention in 1992, George Bush Sr. told the delegates and the world that ‘We need a nation closer to the Waltons than to the Simpsons!”
Interesting story. I am not aware of it.
I was looking forward to more Christmas stuff but with all those lovely pagan tents I’ve made an awesome campground near Lake Springfield and the wildlife sanctuary to create my own national park in Springfield in honor of the real life 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
Nice!
Personally I’m glad to have prizes to decorate my town with that make sense more than once a year. My Xmas area is quite alright and I still love Maggie’s new task.
I’m hoping this is a tongue in cheek rant. You do realise this us just a game, based on a cartoon? For all the things going on in this world, this and complaining about this being Pagan rather than all christmasy is what people are griping about. Christmas came from a Pagan festival, hijacked by Christianity. Jesus was born in June (or thereabouts)! I thought the event was fun and just a bit different. Lighten up folks.
Finally…someone actually ASKED if it was tongue-in-cheek. Of course it was. Roland is actually a vegan hipster who would never have Maggie cutting up a lamb. And yes…I wrote about the correlation between the Christian version/Pagan version and the dates in my 2nd version of “Dear EA.” Just like the Simpsons…I am an equal opportunity offender. Just ask “Sean” whatshisname.
Excellent 👍 I still enjoyed it. Different area set up was most welcome.
And sorry but am I missing something?? Who is ‘Roland’?? Please elaborate Sir Crankalot…
An amalgam of every EA programmer who worked on this update. Or not. Totally fictitious for those who are more “literal challenged.”
Oh, I get it now. I spent quite a while googling “Roland”, “friend of Roland” and “Roland the Hippie” in hope of finding a movie/TV/book character you were referencing 😃. Oops!
Now that I know, I feel really stupid
Pfffftttttt….at least you got the joke. Mostly. No worries.
Thank you for the post that made me smile and the help with the joke.
Ever thought about programming for EA and show them “how it’s done”, lol
Lisa (vegetarian) will stop Maggie once she exits her goth phase…
Lol!
I agree. I wasn’t offended by this update so much as I was disappointed by it. It wasn’t something that lit a fire in me; my primary motivation for tapping was the chance to get bonuts. The only decoration I actually got because I like it is the ‘fir is murder’ tree… and I got a bunch of those.
The other big disappointment was the two-story outhouse. I had one from a previous event which makes a percentage, so I geared all my efforts towards getting another… Only to find out, it’s a fake. No bonus percentage, just another useless trinket.
Having fake versions of items that once had a bonus percentage is a bad idea. It’s like finding out your ‘solid gold’ statue is merely gold plated. I don’t know what you call it in Springfield, but in the real world, we call that fraud. If you don’t want to offer the real McCoy, just make up a DIFFERENT item. Make a three-story outhouse instead of two. Make a flat tire or ‘up on blocks’ version of that special vehicle. Do something that tells players, “this is something new”, instead of tricking us into buying crap.
HASSENP- When the outhouse was originally introduced to the game it did not carry a % bonus of any kind. It was a craftable decoration (from Clash?). Then EA reintroduced it & added a (very welcome) bonus. However, I agree with you 100% that they should distinguish between bonus/non bonus versions lest we craft a truckload in the belief we are getting another wailing wall type gift….💜X
Considering the episode that spawned this event ended with Maggie running over dozens of Gnomes in the Homes with a lawn mower, her sacrificing a stuffed animal is not too outside her wheel house ( she is sweet and innocent when the writers need her to be, but also a genius and handy with a gun when a gag calls for it). I am glad this event is over so we can move on to the next event we will spend weeks complaining about.
Good point. But you are comparing gnomes to little lambs???? All gnomes should be “ended” and I’m not wild about the one in the game lingering.
Texting the gnome now…”U (ground) Up?
LOL…
You said basically EVERYTHING that EVERYONE is thinking! Well done, Patric.
Well…apparently not everyone. There are more than a few “Friends if Roland” cropping up.
Ugh, nope.
I agree with someone’s above comment. Why wasn’t it a sacrifice gnome task. Or not even a sacrifice task. Just a “kill Gnome” because of the episode that EA made such a big deal in this event
Instead of beheading small animals….I would have loved to see Maggie on the lawnmower, leaving gnome carnage behind her.( We have Homer on the lawnmower, why not Maggie?) It was made quite clear in the show that the gnome was “evil”…what did the little lamb ever do to anybody?
Here here!
#LongLiveTheLambs
Join the protest … Refuse to put Maggie on her task in hope that EA will change it for a gnome task.
Lol 😊 ^ that’s a joke btw but I would love love love a Lawnmower task!
I think the problem I had with this winter event is that it felt like an event that was cobbled together with leftover bits from other events. It’s almost as if they had taken rejected ideas from previous events and threw them altogether to create an event. It felt very uneven and uninspired. The pagan part didn’t bother me. But a fake flying saucer as a prize? It made no sense at all in relation to the event theme. I liked that the event was shorter than usual. Can you imagine how irate players would have been if they had had to play 7-10 more days of this event? EA hasn’t even bothered to give us a proper take down of the event yet. My King Winter is still earning event currency. What’s the deal with that? My spirit tree is still earning event currency every four hours. Dumb. I guess EA is taking an extended holiday vacation. What’s more is that we’re going to be getting a weird little mini event on January 3rd. Don’t get me wrong. I love getting new content. Many of us already know who we’re going to have a chance at getting (for 150 doughnuts) during the next mini event. But the fact that we’re getting another event so quickly after the winter event tells me that EA had even more content that they created that didn’t fit in with the winter event. I’m starting to miss the old days with new levels with a new character and content released with each new level with a logical story line, etc.
Agree with you 100%.
I forgot to add: Go Huskies! 🏈
I’m with you! GOOOOO HUSKIES! (gotta root for the Pac)
Yeah. It feels like the prizes were more for Halloween (UFO, Sacrifice Your Sheep Station). It’s like EA was like “Uh, we still have some good ideas for Halloween left over. When should we release them?” ‘Just put them in the Winter Event. No one cares if the event is good or not. We already have enough money! But add something new to buying donuts so we can get EVEN MORE!’. EA is just greedy. This event was terrible. I was looking forward to unlocking Maggie’s costume…
One of the great things that I love about the Simpsons is that they always seem to know just how far to go in order to be funny/shocking but not so far as to be truly offensive. I think this is what differentiates it from many other similar shows such as South Park / Family Guy which are often far more aggressive in their ridicule and far less clever in their satire. The Simpsons is great in that it poked fun of a lot of different things, but it did so in a way that made you able to laugh at yourself, even if you were the target. It was always done in a light-hearted even self-effacing manner that let you know that it was all in good fun and there was no animosity behind it, just a certain detached, satirical, cerebral, humorous observation. As a Christian I even appreciated their occasional jabs at the contemporary institution of the church as being somewhat accurate and insightful, and Lisa’s dismissal of traditional Judeo-Christian philosophy was always tempered by the fact that she came off as snobbish and elitist in doing so. The fact that Ned Flanders was often portrayed as being one of the most sincerely kind and compassionate characters on the show, despite being a quirky “Holy Roller”, also provided a fair perspective. What I’m trying to say is that there was a balance. It was fun, it was playful, it was satirical and even at times informative and you never felt like anything was being “pushed”, just “poked”.
My criticism with this update was that it was just too aggressively “Anti-Traditional-Christmas/Chanukah”. Lisa’s initial dialogue hit people of genuine Faith a little too hard and the dedication of an entire event to a belief system that is diametrically opposed to the two Holidays most associated with this time of year (Christmas/Chanukah) just came on way too strong. Just for example, goat heads and pentagrams have long been associated with evil/Satan even by non-religious people (as Patric pointed out) and ba’al is routinely mentioned in the Tanakh (Old Testament) as being evil and even associated with human sacrifice (Jeremiah 19:5) and self-mutilation (1 Kings 18:28). Regardless of your personal beliefs, that is not a happy holiday message.
I don’t want to open a whole can of worms, just to provide some perspective since Patric brought this up again. I’m fine with highlighting the non-Christian origins of some Christmas traditions, giving non-traditional faiths recognition during the winter holiday (Holy Day) season, and even stirring some debate, but it has to be done respectfully and that is where I believe that EA failed in this update. They just hit the wrong tone from the get go and then doubled down on it as the event progressed. It’s one thing to be “edgy” on Halloween (which is also a “holiday” that is recognized by Christians, non-Christians, secularists, and even Pagans/Wiccans in some way) when everyone expects scary stuff and shock value, but another to do it during a season that is predicated upon “peace and goodwill towards men”. For perspective, this would be like dedicating a 4th of July event to flag-burning, a Ramadan celebration to criticism of radical Islamism, a Yom Kippur event to eating shrimp covered bacon cheeseburgers, or Veteran’s Day / Memorial Day to scathing anti-military rhetoric. Yes, there is always room for humor and criticism, but without some semblance of “mutual respect” even the most poignant satire will fall flat and end up being more provocative than thought provoking.
Just take a look at Patric’s own response to the Maggie animation. Patric is a tolerant, laid-back, humor lover but even he was rubbed the wrong way when Maggie, a symbol of innocence dressed in her most most festive and endearing attire, was made to slaughter an animal. I didn’t think of this at the time, but I can only imagine how many nature and animal lovers will object to this animation as well. Personally, I was more uncomfortable with the “sacrificing” bit, but decided to look past it. Patric made a good point – she could have poked a stuffed animal or something a little more innocuous to make the same point, and I guess that’s what I’m trying to say about the event as a whole: it could have been done a little better and still hit all the high points of shock and satire. If you think that Christians over-reacted (and maybe some did) just imagine if the thing you most love and cherish was “disrespected” either intentionally or inadvertently on the day you most wanted to celebrate it. For Patric it was the misappropriation of baby Maggie, for Christians it was the misappropriation of baby Jesus, and I’m sure for some people it will be the misappropriation of a baby goat being sacrificed on an altar. All fair criticisms in my opinion. Yes, we should be tolerant of other ideas, messages, and opinions, but the truth is so should the people making those messages. It’s a two-way street. EA (or anyone for that matter) cannot reserve the right criticize others and then use that as a defense against being criticized itself. Yes, everyone has something they’re “sensitive” about and you can’t live in a glass cage of fragile emotions your entire life, but fortunately there is a simple solution and it is nothing more than common mutual respect. I think that’s all that anyone wanted and once you establish that as the basis for any dialogue people are much more willing to share and even accept more “controversial” thoughts and ideas. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “… Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope (or belief) that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15). Hopefully that’s something we can all agree on.
Bottom line: if you’re going to do satire you gotta do it right. Find the balance. I’m not really sure who wrote this event, whether it was the creators of America’s most loved animated family or the employees of America’s worst company (EA 2012, 2013) but someone was either having a bad week when they wrote this or maybe the new guy didn’t get the memo on good humor. I don’t believe there was any malice involved, just a bad call. Either way I will choose to “turn the other cheek” and continue to support the Simpsons and EA for all the other good, tasteful, and high quality work they usually do and hopefully this whole “episode” can be a good learning opportunity for everyone involved.
Merry Christmas
Happy Chanukah
Festive Kwanzaa
Happy Holidays
Happy Winter Celebrations
Happy New Year
Uhm….Wow?
Can I just say that no matter how anyone feels about the update…just like 2016, I’m going to be very glad when it is over…….
Why don’t you try doing a longer post next time Adam !!!
Only kidding mate, you talk a lot of sense.
A-freaking-men.
Agree.
Can someone get Patric some haldol, pudding, and an Afghan. I will call the home and have them pick him up and change the door code again.
Lol…another “friend of Roland!” I’m gonna have hats made.
😂
I am convinced it’s a stuffed toy.
The lack of a fountain of arterial blood is evidence enough of that.