Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or unless you’re blissfully unaware of that particular strain of celebrity in which the person is only famous for being “famous,” you are aware of who Kim Kardashian is. Though possessing little to no actual talent, Kim has a net worth of $65 million.
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve contributed to that inordinate amount of cash by playing the Kim Kardashian Hollywood App.
In my defense, this game is weirdly, illogically addicting. I downloaded it on the advice of a friend, and I was sure I would play it for a day or two before deleting it. That was two weeks ago.
The storyline is fairly basic: you start out working at a boutique, with a manager who looks perpetually angry. You’re about to close up the store when Kardashian stops you and asks if she can go in and buy something. When you say yes, she’s so grateful that she invites you to a photo shoot, because that’s how famous people say thank you.
From there, Kardashian sets you up with a manager, who is comically out of touch with technology but is nonetheless good at his job. The rest of the game is spent trying to elevate your status from the “E List,” where you begin, to the coveted “A List.”
You play by using up energy to complete certain basic actions, like posing for a photo or waiting for the background to change. You can also earn money within the game, which you can use to buy clothes, shoes and other accessories.
If you run out of energy, there’s always the option to use actual, real life money to buy some, but thankfully I haven’t sunk that low yet.
It’s easy to dismiss this game as nothing more than PR for Kardashian, because that’s essentially what it is. Still, over the past couple of weeks playing this game, I’ve surprisingly learned something.
In the game, there’s another celebrity, Willow Pape, whose pleasant personality traits have apparently been surgically removed. From your first conversation with her, she’s — to put it lightly — very rude.
But no one seems to take her very seriously. In the game, your character consistently beats her out for jobs and media attention.
Being nice gets you further than being like Willow Pape, although I will admit to throwing a drink in her face when the game gave me the option and enjoying it. For the most part, though, ignoring her and not dragging her name through the mud means that you get more fans.
Although the circumstances in the game are obviously melodramatic, it’s still a good lesson to take into the real world.
People are going to treat you badly, for reasons only they understand and sometimes for no reason at all. And while it might be satisfying to retaliate — i.e., with a drink in their face — it’s even better, especially in the long run, to act like they don’t phase you. It makes you look more mature, and eventually, they’ll get bored.
It’s entirely possible that I’m just trying to make myself feel better about wasting time playing this game, but maybe wisdom can be gleaned from even the most unexpected sources.