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How Video Games Reflect Ideology
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."
you are not on your own anymore, you are part of a team
My guess is that people are more likely to stick with team games because of this social element, even when they don't feel like playing. The result is team games are more profitable, so they are more likely to survive.
What about the possibility that previously in games due to technical limitations of the hardware the only character you could have is your "bald white space-marine" and the co-op was simply to hard to implement.
Therefore, the increase in co-op play is simply because it is now possible to implement much more complex game play elements and the whole "ideology" argument is just a try hard interpretation trying to push politic and racism discussion into what is pure entertainment?
I was exposed to this exact usage of racism in both a LGBT studies class and a socialism of race/gender class in college. In both cases, the professors seemed surprised anyone might consider this definition of racism to be very questionable.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
both you and the GP have interesting posts, and i wanted to respond just to give a counter example. i am not so arrogant that i would deny the validity of what you are saying, but my experience with a similar issue was very different. sometimes it is good to see a contrast in anecdotes, no?
i took several women's studies classes in college (yeah, i was that one guy in the class) and we discussed class/race/gender extensively. there would be lots of talk about how being a member of a 'privileged' group could be blind to or unaware of their privilege. there was never a suggestion that this person was "automatically" classist/racist/gender biased. being a member of 'privileged' class/race/gender is something that one generally has little choice in. being biased against a group is active, it is a belief set that one usually acts on or uses to govern their actions.
there are people that hold the beliefs that you and the GP are describing, but i am surprised that they are being taught at face value. that is an example of a time in which the professor should be teaching the debate, not just teaching one side of it. i do recall a discussion in a feminist theory class that was evoked with a questions similar to "are men inherently sexist? can a man be a feminist? does being the member of a privileged group make one unable to understand disadvantage and work for change?"
the consensus was that men are not inherently sexist, but it is easy for a man to be blind to their privilege. this could be extrapolated to different groups and issues. i have found this to be true in me, and in my experiences. interesting stuff, and i am sorry that your professors were blind to the problems with how they were teaching about race.
since an Objectivist society would never work without upwards of 95% rational actors
No offense, but 95% of Objectivists aren't rational people. It's a third rate philosophy set forth in fourth rate books by a fifth rate mind.
I made a point in a term paper a few years back that the very nature of GTA, though transgressive, transmits a clear establishment message. You cannot beat the police in GTA. You may escape them, but you cannot stop them. Any attempt to directly oppose the police always inevitably leads to death as there will always be more of them than you. The police in GTA are individually stupid, collectively difficult to evade, and taken as an entire establishment entirely invincible.
Further, there's a recognition (especially in GTA San Andreas) of the fact that the player you embody is fundamentally broken and leads a life devoid of meaning. All of the most likable characters in the games are either killed, betray you or are the "straight men" - the people who point out to your character the failure of their lifestyle.
So although the GTA games allow you to explore your own dark side it seems to guide you to the message that not only is the world better off without your enemies (the people you kill throughout the game) but also without you (the killer).
The land shall stone them with the bread of his son.
When I look at Balrog in StreetFighter, and the black man in the Final Fantasies games, I see a game just portraying Black men as big dumb idiots who use profanity all the time. Since that is the same shit I have to watch on TV, it would be nice if I could play a video game and get something different, but it's no different.
In real life, I get called a slut, a whore, and a bitch and people assume I am all those things. It would be nice if in a video game I could get away from it, but it's no different. The games just make you a slut/whore/bitch who can fight.
It is my understanding, in Germany, it is illegal to display certain symbols because they are considered anti-Jewish. If a video game were an escape from reality, that symbol could be displayed in video games, but that is not the case.
And these are just the things I've noticed as a Black woman and occasional Slashdot user. I doubt there are only three things.
So yes, video games are full of ideology. And they may be an escape from reality, but they won't help you stop thinking about the same shit you get everywhere else. It just helps you imagine yourself in a different position within that shit.