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Flash Games as Political Commentary

Posted by michael on from the subtlety-unnecessary dept.

Clive Thompson writes "All over the net, there are little shockwave games inspired by political events -- from the WTO-style New York Defender to War on Terrorism to even Downing Street Fighter (where British politicians beat each other senseless, Street-Fighter-Style). Sure, like most Shockwave-generated stuff, they may suck as games. But that's missing the point. What's happening here is nothing less than the emergence of the online video game as a form of social comment -- something you dash off in a couple of hours to make a sardonic political point about something. It's a new notepad for communication. Or at least, that's what I argued in this piece in Slate today. In addition to the craven self-promotion of sending it in to Slashdot, I'm interested in hearing what everyone thinks of this issue. After all, courts have recently been arguing that video games cannot be protected speech; these games make it patently obvious that this view is insane." The columnist missed a better example of the genre - the EFF's game of digital restrictions management.

9 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Isn't a sign of the times... by CommieLib · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and of our continuing infantilism that our political views are expressed through games?

    --
    If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
    1. Re:Isn't a sign of the times... by daoine · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It seems to be far more than political views, and I don't think it's infantile at all.

      I think it's very fair to say that these 'games' have grown directly out of political cartoons. In fact, it's quite easy to view them as interactive political cartoons. Just as the political cartoon overstated the nuances of reality, the games are pointing out a piece of the reality -- the only difference is that you get to play it.

      I think the most telling point is the end of the article -- it's not supposed to be a a good game. People are just taking advantage of the medium, as they did with cartoons.

    2. Re:Isn't a sign of the times... by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 4, Funny
      [Isn't a sign of the times...] and of our continuing infantilism that our political views are expressed through games?

      Oh, I don't know. I much prefer political views expressed through games than, say, political views expressed through Dick Cheney.

      On a bit of a tangent, I'm waiting in horror for the day when Cheney comes storming up to the podium, sweating like a pig, chanting and clapping:

      "in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! Say it with me!
      in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq! in-VADE-Iraq!
      Whoooooo!!!
      Yeahhh!!!"

      --

      Obliteracy: Words with explosions

  2. Watch those links by sandbenders · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ummm, I clicked the 'War on Terrorism' link- I might have gotten the game- I don't know because I restarted my machine to expedite the closing of about half a dozen adult site popups. Can we check these out before our friends who might be reading from work stumble into them? I know better than to click on a link in a post, but this was *in the article*.

    --
    Eagles may fly, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
  3. if political cartoons are protected, why not this? by garcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I see most flash programming as a big cartoon. If people can make political statements in cartoons, how does making the "cartoon" interactive remove its rights for free speech?

    I think that law makers just don't like the fact that we can go around killing them w/lightning and nail guns.

  4. Good Lord by El_Smack · · Score: 5, Funny


    Someone, somewhere has cloned Jon Katz.

    --


    There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
  5. Nothing new by IIRCAFAIKIANAL · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Many would argue that a lot of games have always been a form of social commentary - not just cheap flash ones. Most "art" is.

    Fallout, Civilization, Alpha Centauri, GTA, etc...

    (Disclaimer: Haven't read the article yet, this may be completely redundant - if it is, mod me to oblivion :)

    --
    Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
  6. One social commentary game... by Chagatai · · Score: 5, Funny
    that has grabbed my attention is Dance Dance Karnov. This game has changed the way I think about fat, naked, Russian, ex-carnival persons in our society. For example, what is the impetus of having large sweaty men wear tassles on their nipples? How would the size of a mutant Godzilla-fish thing impact the stock market? This requires further analysis.

    --
    --Chag
  7. Analogy by Orne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Printing Press is to Newspaper as Flash SDK is to Flash Program
    In my humble opinion, it's just another method of providing content to a viewer. Not everything printed in on paper is protected speach, just as not everything found on the internet is protected.

    Suppose I make a game where the goal is to go around shooting politicians; its just as poor taste if I decided to print "paper dolls" of the pol's along with text encouraging you to cut them into pieces. What is the point that you are trying to make in either case?

    But, suppose I wrote a game called "Fur Fighters" where the object is to throw cans of paint on people wearing furs? Thats much more aligned with a political message...

    In short, its not the delivery medium that matters, it all comes down to the value of the content.