How Video Games Reflect Ideology 244
A recent article at Bitmob sought to tackle the question of whether games could carry political meaning, arguing the negative since "The money, the media representation, and the general shadow of 'triviality' will always trail the word 'game,' because that is what makes it open to all markets." An opposing viewpoint has been posted by Lee Bradley, who says, "Perhaps the most profound shift in the games industry in the last few years has been the explosion of co-op. Not only are developers dedicating more and more time to providing co-op experiences in their games, they are also finding new ways of exploring the dynamic within it. ... Even in games where the co-operative element of co-op is less pronounced, the ideology is the same; you are not on your own anymore, you are part of a team. What's more, that team is more than likely multi-cultural and/or multi-gender. ... Now, this isn't to say that the lone white-guy hero has been eradicated. Far from it; the bald, white space-marine is one of the most over-used characters in modern gaming. But it increasingly rare that they are lone heroes. A shift towards team-based, co-op featured games is undeniable. In this way, mainstream video games, even those seemingly void of political statement, are implicitly political. While for the most part they are not designed to tackle political issues head-on, or carry overt political messages, they do reflect the values and the popular ideology of the culture in which they were created."
Re:If you want to talk about idolology (Score:5, Funny)
It studies statues of gods?
I think you meant idleology, the study of crap stories on slashdot.
Re:Games are entertainment (Score:4, Funny)
A break from reality? Rubbish, Wolfenstein clearly has subliminal messages, just ask the Germans and how they censor the game.
Re:Racism (Score:3, Funny)
Re:If you want to talk about idolology (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Nobody expects reflected ideology (Score:5, Funny)
As Nikita Khrushchev once said, the press is our chief ideological weapon,
...the press, and fear. We have two chief ideological weapons - the press, fear and surprise !
Amongst our chief ideological weapons are such diverse elements as the press, fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the writings of Karl Marx, and nice red flags.
Re:Games are entertainment (Score:5, Funny)
I suppose that's Superliminal.
L. T. Smash: It's a three-pronged attack. Sub-liminal, liminal and super-liminal.
Lisa: Superliminal?
L. T. Smash: I'll show you. (Leans out of window) Hey, you! Join the Navy!
Carl: Uh, yeah, all right.
Lenny: I'm in.
Re:Racism (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Missile Command (Score:3, Funny)
The full list of Microsoft Arcade games:
* The ArcadeFire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and fronted by the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne.
* Fire is the rapid oxidation of a combustible material releasing heat, light, and various reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water.
* "Fire" is a song written and originally recorded by Jimi Hendrix and released on the 1967 Are You Experienced album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
BING!
(God, I hate those commercials....)
Re:Missile Command (Score:2, Funny)
It was pretty scary. During the project and for six months after the project, I'd wake up in a cold sweat because I's have these dreams where I'd see the missile streak coming in and I'd see the impact. I'd be up on top of a mountain and I'd see the missiles coming in, and I'd know it would be about 30 seconds until the blast hit and fried me to a crisp.
I tell you, ASCII character nightmares are the worst.