Can Games Address Serious Social Issues?

Thanks to AVault.com for its editorial ruminating on whether games can or should reference the more serious social issues of today. The piece starts by noting: "Only a very few computer offerings have anything resembling any form of probing social critique... In contrast, other entertainment media - including movies, music and books - all address these issues on a regular basis without raising eyebrows." The author concludes by suggesting it's "conceivable that games would reap greater societal acceptance and more legitimacy as a medium for presenting important concerns of our times", although mentioning the worry that "increasing the respectability of gaming might reduce the pleasure of the pastime" if done in the wrong way.

Comments

What about this?

[Naginata]

I don't know if anyone even remebers this game, but here we go..... The game "I have no mouth and I must scream" based on the Harlan Ellison short story of the same name, actually addressed several hardcore social issues. The game was played through the eyes of several people, all who lived in different dimensions, and all of them facing their own inner demons. I vividly remeber playing the game as a german camp doctor, who has to decide wether or not to rescue several jews, and not making it into a bland shooter. And there was the misformed monkey man Benny, who although beautiful in real life, was a misformed man in this reality and his only way out was suicide. The game dealt with religion, alcoholism and several other issues and it did it in a very mature, and levelheaded fashion. No glorifying or blunt statements, the game had several outcomes, based on how "compassionate" you had played the game. Can games address serious social issues? Hell YES! But is there a big market for this sort of game? Do I really want a game that confronts me with "the real world" when all I want to do is escape that real world by playing a game? I think that is the question that needs to be asked and the answer to that is that games are a form of relaxation (for me anyways) and a way to escape real life for a while. Therefor addressing the real life issues in a virtual environment that I enter for my enjoyment is a concept that is interesting, but ultimately flawed. Yes I enjoyed "I have no mouth and I must scream" immensely, but I played it once and never again. I can't even count how many times I've played wing commander.

Deus Ex was all about social issues . . .

[Kaimelar]

Deus Ex had a lot of dialog concerning "serious social issues". In fact, that was the driving force behing the game. And throughout, you encountered characters that would talk to you at length about government, free will, etc. I found the comments they made quite interesting -- in fact, several of them made it into my fortune quotes list.

It was also very interesting playing that game in 2003. My wife, who hates video games with a passion, was actually interested in the game's plot and actually started studying in my office so she could hear the dialog whenever it happened. This usually led to me pausing the game and discussing politics with her, because often some aspect of the game directly related to current political goings-on.

So, yes, I think that games can address social issues. Games can be used to tell stories. Some of them are interesting and thought-provoking, like Deus Ex. Other games tell entertaining stories, or no story at all. Games are an avenue for expression, just like painting, music, writing, or film. What creators (be they painters, composers, or game designers) chose to do with their medium is entirely up to them. Can they "address serious social concerns?" Sure. Can they be purely for entertainment and fun? Absolutely.