20-year-old Bryce Parker has an addiction - he can't stop playing Sims 3. "It's a reality away from reality," he explains. "Sometimes I get so involved, I forget what day it is." Sims couple: Pierre then rather than step back and see what happens, he's 'hands on' with his creations. "You can control the amount of free will the characters have, but I generally control all the moves they make," he laughs. "You can influence their emotions by getting them to do things, for example, if you talk to another character about things they both like, they'll eventually become friends, then if you interact with the other character long enough you can become best friends. "If you want them to fall in love, you can go on dates, take them out to dinner, or to a movie, and then you can 'try your luck' and get them to kiss, hug or more. So I guess I know what's going to happen to them, you get an idea of what you want them to do. Get a scenario in your head, and you can make it happen." Bryce says he's really hooked, playing Sims 3 at least once each day. "In the evenings when there's not much on TV I can play from 5pm until 11! It's pretty addictive, when you have skills you want them to learn or there are opportunities at work, there's usually something to do." Meet the Von Blomfields The family. From left: Edward versions. You get a 'Lifetime Wish' which you can work up to achieve a big role like Five Star Chef or Rock Star. These can be achieved with a mixture of good performance at work, and the additional skills you can learn, like cooking or playing the guitar. Once they've reached that goal, you can quit the job and work your way up elsewhere using those skills you've learned, or you can continue, getting pay rises for working hard." Having computer/console games feature gay characters - or the ability to create them - is more important than ever, Bryce concludes. "The world has become more accepting of gay people. Gay families are all over the world, though they were always there, it's now socially acceptable to talk about them and depict them. Seeing these characters in games/movies/TV helps us to live life more comfortably and know being gay is not a bad thing - it make us feel less of a minority. "It's annoying, sad and boring for a gay person to play this type of game and not be able to depict their idea of a family. The Sims is perfect for that, because you are able to depict dysfunctional families, straight or gay." The Von Blomfield family home The video clip below (not created by Bryce) shows an intimate gay Sims 3 scene and a romantic proposal! Matt Akersten - 6th January 2010