The idea of social commentary in games is something I've thought a lot about too. In my experience, the vast majority of games with a plot tend to have traces of revolutionary, anti-authoritarian / anti-capitalist themes in them. Almost every game I can think of that involves a big government or a corporation somehow ends up with the government or corporation being evil/out to destroy the world/secretly controlled by demons/etc., and the player is responsible for bringing them down. A lot of games start out with the player on the side of the govt/corporation and then end up with him discovering their true nature and turning against them.
In my mind, the creative nature of game designers, like artists and musicians, lends itself to a dislike for rigid authority and the mindless nature of capitalism, especially after having to deal with publishers and their cutting down of your epic, from the heart game into "not enough like diablo". Also, a lot of american game players find the idea of revolution exciting, though they may tend to miss the connection that designers are trying to make that their own government/corporations might be worth rebelling against in real life.
It seems to be important for most games to not direct their rebellious views against real life governments, corporations, religions, etc. Generally american games won't use any outright real-life political commentary unless it's something that 99% of the people won't argue with (casting nazis as the bad guys is ok, for example). I'm guessing publishers realize the idea of rebellion sells well to gamers, but that including actual information about what certain governments or corporations have been up to might hurt their sales, especially if providing the player with an option (or forcing the player) to fight against a real-life government or corporation.
Some examples of rebelling against governments and corporations that don't really exist: State of Emergency, Deus Ex, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City...

[edited by - makeshiftwings on September 24, 2003 2:08:56 PM]

www.dopefarmer.com

quote: The idea of social commentary in games is something I've thought a lot about too. In my experience, the vast majority of games with a plot tend to have traces of revolutionary, anti-authoritarian / anti-capitalist themes in them.

Well, I wouldn't call it "vast majority" considering all the anti-terrorist games out there.

It's a common dramatic element that the protagonist must go up against vastly more powerful enemies, so I don't read too much politics into players having to fight globally strong companies and governments, or maneuverying small commando squads against locally strong terrorist/guerilla strongholds and 3rd world regimes.

Games just wouldn't be as fun with 5 mins of gameplay where you play an anti-terrorist force that bombs unsuspecting terrorists from the air, a company that kills off the defenseless natives using biological weapons, or the evil government that sends 20 CIA hitmen after every civilian dissident.

It's when the weaker party turns things around when faced with great adversity that you have the potential for great drama.

[edited by - HenryAPe on September 26, 2003 6:38:50 AM]

I remember a game called "Hooligans". It was an RTS kind of game. You controlled a group of football hooligans and were supposed to cause as much damage as you could. Plus killing the hooligans from the opposing team ofcourse.

I guess that could be some protest or social criticism against hooliganism.

Sander Maréchal
[Lone Wolves Game Development][RoboBlast][Articles][GD Emporium][Webdesign][E-mail]

quote: Original post by Sander
I remember a game called "Hooligans". It was an RTS kind of game. You controlled a group of football hooligans and were supposed to cause as much damage as you could. Plus killing the hooligans from the opposing team ofcourse.

I guess that could be some protest or social criticism against hooliganism.

With all due respect, it didn't seem like much of a protest or social criticism to me, it just seemed like a crap game. Unless of course making a game about any kind of controversial subject makes it a "social criticism"... (Postal 2, anyone?)

[edited by - hinch on September 26, 2003 8:51:17 AM]

quote: Original post by Hinch
With all due respect, it didn''t seem like much of a protest or social criticism to me, it just seemed like a crap game. Unless of course making a game about any kind of controversial subject makes it a "social criticism"... (Postal 2, anyone?)

Could be. I never played the game. I just read a couple of reviews on it. To me it seemd that the developers were more concerned with shocking people than with creating a good game.



Sander Maréchal
[Lone Wolves Game Development][RoboBlast][Articles][GD Emporium][Webdesign][E-mail]