What's truly considered apolitical in videogames?

[AF 802]

Considering there's still some retards (8chan boards and the likes) trying to continue this narrative that videogames are getting more and more political, and with no certain definition I've seen on what counts as a political statement, what makes a game apolitical? Like, does it really mean it's a progressive liberal game if it has some social value inserted in? Or does characters having nothing to them mean it's truly apolitical?

 

[CrunkLord420]

"Political" is a poorly used term, and what people mean to say is "propaganda". "Everything is political", but not everything is propaganda. For example Prison Architect is based around prisons, which itself is extremely political, but the game isn't overt propaganda since the game is largely apathetic about how you handle your prison. It doesn't comment on the prison industrial complex or privatized prisons outside of the game mechanics, which are loose enough for it not to feel like you're being forced to behave a certain way. The developers have stated that the game is not based in any specific country.

An example of possible "propaganda through mechanics" is Democracy 3 which is rather unbalanced unless you engage in socialism. This of course is not a real economic simulation and purely balanced around the developers own feelings. The developer has been asked if he tried any of the rebalancing mods available, and he said he hasn't, and he doesn't seem interested in re-balancing the game as to avoid one economic policy system being obviously OP.

Journalists often demand games become "more political", but what they actually mean is they want games to comment and push forward an opinion (propaganda) on current ongoing events. You saw this with journalists and The Division, where Ubisoft came out and said their game has absolutely nothing to do with the Trump administration. The result of this refusal to use their game as anti-Trump propaganda sent the gamejournos into a rage about how Ubisoft was "scared of being political". Despite this you could definitely argue The Division 2's storyline is political (because everything is political), but it's fictional politics.

The same journalists are praising Dying Light 2 because the developers are saying "oh yes our game is very political", but it's unclear what that means. I'm curious to see, it doesn't look like it's really trying to be propaganda beyond having a multi-faction story that roughly equates to "do you join the anarchists or the establishment?". I find it hard to make that into propaganda, since a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested fortress city is very much in the realm of fiction. I suspect journalists will be disappointed.

 

[I Love Beef]

Diseased SJWs and Fauxgressives are such fucking peons, they can't even strike at what is worth tearing at regarding society as a whole. Instead they do it at "easy targets" like entertainment and expression.

Anything in fucking video games and entertainment can be political if you're that much of a sperg faggot loser. Does me liking Lunar and old 1990s JRPGs make me a secular atheist? Does liking Doom and Duke Nukem make me a ultra right wing red meat eating warhawk? Does liking Street Fighter and Tekken make me pro violence? Does me liking Final Fantasy VII make me an anti captialist? Does liking Harvest Moon make me a right wing luddite who scourns "city folk"?

For fuck's sake. You want to change the world? You shock and change with a creative intellectual property, not dye your hair apotomathistic colors like a bunch of poser ass wannabe punks and fuck each other up the butt. SJW fuckers need to fuck off.

 

[c-no]

"Political" is a poorly used term, and what people mean to say is "propaganda". "Everything is political", but not everything is propaganda. For example Prison Architect is based around prisons, which itself is extremely political, but the game isn't overt propaganda since the game is largely apathetic about how you handle your prison. It doesn't comment on the prison industrial complex or privatized prisons outside of the game mechanics, which are loose enough for it not to feel like you're being forced to behave a certain way. The developers have stated that the game is not based in any specific country.

An example of possible "propaganda through mechanics" is Democracy 3 which is rather unbalanced unless you engage in socialism. This of course is not a real economic simulation and purely balanced around the developers own feelings. The developer has been asked if he tried any of the rebalancing mods available, and he said he hasn't, and he doesn't seem interested in re-balancing the game as to avoid one economic policy system being obviously OP.

Journalists often demand games become "more political", but what they actually mean is they want games to comment and push forward an opinion (propaganda) on current ongoing events. You saw this with journalists and The Division, where Ubisoft came out and said their game has absolutely nothing to do with the Trump administration. The result of this refusal to use their game as anti-Trump propaganda sent the gamejournos into a rage about how Ubisoft was "scared of being political". Despite this you could definitely argue The Division 2's storyline is political (because everything is political), but it's fictional politics.

The same journalists are praising Dying Light 2 because the developers are saying "oh yes our game is very political", but it's unclear what that means. I'm curious to see, it doesn't look like it's really trying to be propaganda beyond having a multi-faction story that roughly equates to "do you join the anarchists or the establishment?". I find it hard to make that into propaganda, since a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested fortress city is very much in the realm of fiction. I suspect journalists will be disappointed.

More or less this. Games being propaganda can end up being flawed at best and shit at worst since it ends up becoming a sort of soapbox for whatever beliefs the developer has. Politics is no doubt poorly defined but even then, that may as well end up being autism when gamers just want to play and experience the game they have rather than hear from some 8Chan sperg on how Wolfenstein 2 is supporting communism or hear from some GamerGhazi sperg on why Ubisoft not wanting their games to be political is just some "crypto-fascist" dog whistle.

Having games focus on current events can only make it age poorly. And beyond that, some people just don't want to hear current events through a game if said current events come off as some soap box for opinions. It does make one wonder though: much as you got current events like the Catholic Church scandals, wouldn't shit in a game like "corrupt church" be political or just be more of some trope used by JRPGS as some plot point one could see coming a mile away? Even then, it's as it was said before, "political" here is being vague and for some of us, it may as well just be some tiresome tism.

 

[raspberry peach]

 

[Tism the Return]

XCOM 2 made me join Antifa.

 

[CrunkLord420]

View attachment 824126

Kirby is a literal terrorist trying to overthrow a monarchy.

 

[RG 448]

If a game has any non-white or non-male staff working on it, it’s SJW propaganda. At least that’s what Mass Effect Andromeda detractors tell me.

 

[Rand /pol/]

Diseased SJWs and Fauxgressives are such fucking peons, they can't even strike at what is worth tearing at regarding society as a whole. Instead they do it at "easy targets" like entertainment and expression.

Anything in fucking video games and entertainment can be political if you're that much of a sperg faggot loser. Does me liking Lunar and old 1990s JRPGs make me a secular atheist? Does liking Doom and Duke Nukem make me a ultra right wing red meat eating warhawk? Does liking Street Fighter and Tekken make me pro violence? Does me liking Final Fantasy VII make me an anti captialist? Does liking Harvest Moon make me a right wing luddite who scourns "city folk"?

For fuck's sake. You want to change the world? You shock and change with a creative intellectual property, not dye your hair apotomathistic colors like a bunch of poser ass wannabe punks and fuck each other up the butt. SJW fuckers need to fuck off.

I saw some right wingers throwing a shitfit over trannies being in video games. IDK man it isn't just the libtards having spergouts, in fact I'd argue conservatives are far more sensitive.

 

[A shitty ass clover]

when people say "political" it's more of a matter like "please don't shove it on my face you fucking cunt"

 

[Sexy Senior Citizen]

People who say "games are getting more political" and who REEEEEEEEEEE when companies say "oh our new game isn't political" are the kind of people who live by the mantra "the personal is political." They cannot enjoy something for that thing's sake- there always has to be a hidden message, some overt political undertone, and so on, and as @CrunkLord420 said, the few times they create something, the things they create are unbalanced, one-sided lectures promoting their point of view.
These people- who exist on the Right as much as the Left- live in a cage of misery they have built for themselves. They are incapable of enjoying anything because they're always looking for some political subtext. The best thing to do with them is ignore them when possible, and mock them when not.

 

[Lemmingwise]

when people say "political" it's more of a matter like "please don't shove it on my face you fucking cunt"

It always reminds me of christian rock and "jesus christ is my nigga" rap.

Oh you like X? Can we use X to get you to like Y?

It's always going to end up being a corruption of both.

I don't know anyone who has a problem with the political ruminations in metal gear solid or deus ex. But having characters that are defined by being trans or gay can be a serious drag, because it rarely is done because it makes sense and like rock music into a church, shoved into it as some low self esteem move.

 

[A shitty ass clover]

It always reminds me of christian rock and "jesus christ is my nigga" rap.

Oh you like X? Can we use X to get you to like Y?

It's always going to end up being a corruption of both.

I don't know anyone who has a problem with the political ruminations in metal gear solid or deus ex. But having characters that are defined by being trans or gay can be a serious drag, because it rarely is done because it makes sense and like rock music into a church, shoved into it as some low self esteem move.

i was thinking the same as you, and while Metal Gear Solid or Deus Ex justify talking politics because of how the world is built on, there are cases where it does feel forced or real. Detroit: Become Human or DA:Inquisition comes to mind, the former tries to make an allegory of Racism on which it fails miserably, and in the latter we have charachters like Dorian who is basically a living sob story on how his dad rejected him for being a fag. he has some charm but i never saw some real substance.

 

[ОТСТАЛАЯ ПИЗДА]

Just make the fucking thing fun, I would play a Kim Jun Un produced game centered around PRK propaganda, if it was FUN! That's the only gaddamn thing I care about.

 

[I Love Beef]

More or less this. Games being propaganda can end up being flawed at best and shit at worst since it ends up becoming a sort of soapbox for whatever beliefs the developer has. Politics is no doubt poorly defined but even then, that may as well end up being autism when gamers just want to play and experience the game they have rather than hear from some 8Chan sperg on how Wolfenstein 2 is supporting communism or hear from some GamerGhazi sperg on why Ubisoft not wanting their games to be political is just some "crypto-fascist" dog whistle.

Having games focus on current events can only make it age poorly. And beyond that, some people just don't want to hear current events through a game if said current events come off as some soap box for opinions. It does make one wonder though: much as you got current events like the Catholic Church scandals, wouldn't shit in a game like "corrupt church" be political or just be more of some trope used by JRPGS as some plot point one could see coming a mile away? Even then, it's as it was said before, "political" here is being vague and for some of us, it may as well just be some tiresome tism.

Not going to lie, it's not like video games don't have influence from reality, but they're more like influenced to have aesops and reflect on the era they come from. JRPGs have the whole corrupt church bit because Aum Shinrikyo gassed the Tokyo subway system in 1995 and the United States was gearing on the Nostradamus to Book of Revelation correlation prophecies as much as Japan did, and those games told everyone to calm the fuck down on their zealousness and don't join cultish behavior no matter how holy and righteous they claim to be, not "the church is bad and is always bad". Typical? Sure, but it sent an important message that needed to be said back then, and it's applicable regardless of the times, because religious nutbags will always exist.

I don't mind lessons into a situation that is real or hypothetical, because that ties into something that connects everyone as people, not a mere country or way of government. Baizuos and the myopics however, they can get lost and be fed their propaganda.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

A while back, Doom Eternal caught flak from angry tards when in one of the trailers a hologram claimed that "demon" is too offensive and they should be called "mortally challenged."

The game loaded with over-the-top violence and satanic imagery became controversial over a mild joke about political correctness. Other people tried to say the game was offensive because the demons (somehow) represented immigrants even though nothing in the game suggests it.

I highly doubt the game's gonna contain any sort of political message because it's fucking Doom, but it's a strange sign of the times when people are getting angry at what the game isn't, rather than what's actually in the game. And quite frankly it pisses me off; I just wanna play Doom and kill demons, and I'm tired of people trying to suggest the game is anything other than that. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[Lemmingwise]

Anyone here ever played the leftwing propaganda game called "hidden agenda"? In it you rule a central american country called "chimerica". The games begins with you freshly having succeeded in seizing power through revolution and starts with a couple of questions how you're going to change the country and usually ends when one of your ministers performs a coup, at which point the game checks how well you fulfilled your promises (usually failures).

There is a lot of meddling from US and Soviet Union and more pressures than you could balance.

I like that kind of propaganda game. Why is it propaganda? Because if you side with US there will be nonstop deathsquads killings, whereas siding with Soviets is generally one big party (except for US mercenary raids on schools and hospitals).

It is a rare case of commie creator living by communist ideals. Rather than selling the game, he gave the game away as long as you gave a receipt for a donation to a south american charity.

Why do I like that kind of propaganda? Because the game is a thesis, an argument. It has some depth to it.

Whats the depth to lmao I'm a gay bear twink?

 

[c-no]

Not going to lie, it's not like video games don't have influence from reality, but they're more like influenced to have aesops and reflect on the era they come from. JRPGs have the whole corrupt church bit because Aum Shinrikyo gassed the Tokyo subway system in 1995 and the United States was gearing on the Nostradamus to Book of Revelation correlation prophecies as much as Japan did, and those games told everyone to calm the fuck down on their zealousness and don't join cultish behavior no matter how holy and righteous they claim to be, not "the church is bad and is always bad". Typical? Sure, but it sent an important message that needed to be said back then, and it's applicable regardless of the times, because religious nutbags will always exist.

I don't mind lessons into a situation that is real or hypothetical, because that ties into something that connects everyone as people, not a mere country or way of government. Baizuos and the myopics however, they can get lost and be fed their propaganda.

No doubt real life can influence a game. It would more or less be how they tackle it that could make it come off as aged. One such example outside aesops would be games making use of memes of the time. Those sort of things can age poorly and end up being unfunny, one example of this being Borderlands 2. The spergs on both sides may as well lose whatever aesops and lessons there are if they think such things can apply to just one thing and not what the dev had in mind (or not realizing the dev may of just used something like "corrupt church" because they didn't think of anything more creative).

A while back, Doom Eternal caught flak from angry tards when in one of the trailers a hologram claimed that "demon" is too offensive and they should be called "mortally challenged."

The game loaded with over-the-top violence and satanic imagery became controversial over a mild joke about political correctness. Other people tried to say the game was offensive because the demons (somehow) represented immigrants even though nothing in the game suggests it.

I highly doubt the game's gonna contain any sort of political message because it's fucking Doom, but it's a strange sign of the times when people are getting angry at what the game isn't, rather than what's actually in the game. And quite frankly it pisses me off; I just wanna play Doom and kill demons, and I'm tired of people trying to suggest the game is anything other than that. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

The "mortally challenged" joke was funny since it not only pissed off the spergs, they fail to realize it was more of a joke towards corporations trying to use newspeak than making fun of disabilities or immigrants. The most DOOM might get for "politics" is the use of corporations and even then, UAC is more or less just a story device that varied in motives between each game to justify why Hell literally broke loose and you're there to kill demons.

 

[Red Hood]

Diseased SJWs and Fauxgressives are such fucking peons, they can't even strike at what is worth tearing at regarding society as a whole. Instead they do it at "easy targets" like entertainment and expression.

Anything in fucking video games and entertainment can be political if you're that much of a sperg faggot loser. Does me liking Lunar and old 1990s JRPGs make me a secular atheist? Does liking Doom and Duke Nukem make me a ultra right wing red meat eating warhawk? Does liking Street Fighter and Tekken make me pro violence? Does me liking Final Fantasy VII make me an anti captialist? Does liking Harvest Moon make me a right wing luddite who scourns "city folk"?

For fuck's sake. You want to change the world? You shock and change with a creative intellectual property, not dye your hair apotomathistic colors like a bunch of poser ass wannabe punks and fuck each other up the butt. SJW fuckers need to fuck off.

Liking Doom makes you a Christian, whether you wanted to be or not.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

Liking Doom makes you a Christian, whether you wanted to be or not.

Well considering Doom Eternal is going to factor in heaven, who wants the Doom Slayer to stop, it's gonna get a lot more complicated.