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Old 18-04-16, 01:25   #1
domino92
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Default Propaganda games

I think we should talk about a type of game that reached it's peak a few years back, that we've likely been interacting with for years and not knowing about it.

Let's talk about propaganda.

Webster's defines propaganda as:

Quote:
noun pro·pa·gan·da \ˌprä-pə-ˈgan-də, ˌprō-\
: ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.
The idea of using propaganda materials to further ones agenda is not an uncommon one. Propaganda is frequently used during wartime to get people to enlist, or to at least generate sympathy and support for their side.



So what does all this have to do with games? Well, games can certainly have a propagandistic element to it, if not be outright propaganda. In can be in subtle ways, as seen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:

Quote:
We are the most powerful military force in the history of man. *Every* fight is our fight. Because what happens over here matters over there. We don't get to "sit one out". Learning to use the tools of modern warfare is the difference between the prospering of your people, and utter destruction. We can't give you freedom, but we *can* give you the know-how on how to acquire it. And *that*, my friends, is worth more than a whole army base of steel. Sure, it matters who's got the biggest stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it. This is a time for heroes. A time for legends. History is written by the victors. Let's get to work.
Riiiiight.

Or games can be a lot more explicit. Take a look at America's Army, a game developed to simulate being in the American military, hosted on their website, to promote enlistment with young people.



Or at this :



Disclaimer: I'm not saying games can't be politically loaded, or have a political agenda. I'm especially saying that these games can't be pro-military. What sets these games apart is that they're deliberately trying to get players to see things from their point of view via manipulating their viewpoint, and install fear, kinship, and other elements to get the player to align with their agenda.

Here's an excellent video on the topic:



So what do you guys think? Are propaganda games a real thing, or is this just being overblown? Do you guys have a problem with games being used as recruitment tools?

Last edited by domino92; 18-04-16 at 01:28.
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Old 18-04-16, 05:24   #2
tiann
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lol aren't ACIII, ACIV, AC:Rogue basically Abstergo Entertainment "propaganda" video games (based on in universe logic)?
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Old 18-04-16, 09:27   #3
Shark_Blade
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Can TR Aod be considered as "propaganda"?

Lara Croft killed Werner Von Croy! Such scandal! How the student took the teacher's life!
All cops and dogs and museum guards come kill her!!!11
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