Video Games and Real Life: Social and Political Dynamics in Digital Entertainment
Overview
This essay explores the relationship between video games and real-world experiences, arguing that games serve as reflections of social and political dynamics found in daily life. The author examines how games like Animal Crossing and Papers, Please present players with realistic moral dilemmas and economic challenges that mirror actual societal pressures and ethical quandaries.
What this essay covers
- Introduction establishing video games as contemporary entertainment that reflects real-life scenarios
- Analysis of economic dynamics through Animal Crossing and how game mechanics mirror real-world labor and survival
- Examination of political representation in military-themed games and Hollywood productions
- Discussion of moral dilemmas in Papers, Please and how games engage players emotionally with real-life ethical challenges
Preview
Video Games
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Video Games
Video games are the latest technological development in the entertainment industry. This form of entertainment is refreshing and engaging, owing to how they are developed. It is popular with youths who are enthusiastic about technology. These games often depict the typical lives that we go through daily. Wark (2009) in The Gamer equates life with a game that does not give us options because we face it as it is. This essay relates computer games with real-life and gives their relational significance.
Video games explore social and political dynamics in real life. Developers of video games collect ideas from the daily happenings in the world. Players often find a typical video game experience complete with all the social and political reflections ("Play – Mission US," 2020). For example, the game Animal Crossing presents a challenging scenario where a player needs money to survive (Bogost, 2008). In the game, the player needs to upgrade to the next level which needs money continuously. To get the money, the players have to work hard in the game's set up. This is typical of the real society where people have to work hard to earn daily survival. People who work harder get a little bit more money that makes them live a better life. A scenario the game Animal Crossing presents.