Transcript Political Speech in Games

Political Speech in Games
Greg Costikyan
www.costik.com
[email protected]
• In April, Judge Stephen Limbaugh ruled that
computer and video games had "no conveyance
of ideas, expression or anything else that could
possibly amount to free speech“
• Overturned in June by the 8th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
• Here are some games that convey ideas—and
explicitly political ideas—the type of speech
granted the strongest and most explicit legal
protection.
The Landlord’s Game
Boardgame. Patented 1904, published
1910.
Design by Lizzie J. Magie.
The original version of “Monopoly,” which
is a clearly derivative product.
Magie was a “Single Taxer,” an adherent
of the political and economic theories of
Henry George.
“The object of this game is not only to
afford amusement to players, but to
illustrate to them how, under the present
or prevailing system to land tenure, the
landlord has an advantage over other
enterprisers, and also how the single tax
would discourage speculation.”
Design was later ripped off by Charles
Darrow and Parker Brothers.
Class Struggle
Boardgame. Published in 1978.
Design by Bertell Ollman, a Marxist
professor of politics at NYU.
The players are “workers” struggling to
survive in the face of oppression by “the
capitalist.” They gain power as the game
progresses, and must ultimately overthrow
capitalism, or “the capitalist” wins. Actually
does teach some sociology, from an
explicitly Marxist viewpoint. Pretty dull,
though.
Capital Punishment
Boardgame. Published 1981.
You control four “prisoners,” and win by
maneuvering them until they are all on
Death Row, the Electric Chair, or Life
Imprisonment. Or the you may use your
two "liberals" to spring the opposing
players' criminals from the "Path of
Justice" back to the Street often enough to
turn all fifteen of each opponent's Innocent
Citizens into Victims of violent crimes.
Victims go to Heaven.
I.e., heavy-handedly pro-death penalty.
Hidden Agenda
Computer game. Published in 1989.
Des. By Jim Gasperini, prod. Ron
Martinez
Puts you in the role of a the leader of a
mythical Latin American country.
Clearly intended as a criticism of Reaganera policy toward Central America.
Out of print, but Gasperini will send you a
copy if you make a donation to one of
several NGOs in Central America (details
at http://www.well.com/user/jimg/)
Balance of the Planet
Computer game. Published in 1990.
Des. by Chris Crawford
Try to maintain economic growth,
minimize death from pollution, the
greenhouse effect, and exploding nuclear
power plants. Designer’s political beliefs
(green and liberal) are made explicit—but
players are permitted to modify core
assumptions to build a simulation that
conforms to their own beliefs (e.g., if you
like nukes, reduce the costs and dangers
of nuclear power and see how the game
plays out).
Published 1999.
By “Designer X,” a thinly veiled
pseudonym for Greg Costikyan.
A tabletop roleplaying game.
A lot like D&D… you kick down doors, kill
what you find on the other side, and steal
their ‘treasure’… only it’s the world of
today, and the things you kill are normal
human beings with normal human
aspirations..
An explicit attack on game designers’ easy
reliance on violence, couched in the form
of a game itself.
Web game, ran in 1999 & 2000.
Des. by Greg Costikyan
Sponsored by the Markle Foundation as a
way to educate the public about the
Federal government.
Over 26 weeks, examined every major
federal program, asked players to vote on
all.
Results created fictional news stories
(e.g., “Congress Legalizes Heroin”).
Results presented at a news conference
in Washington.
Published 2003.
Des. by Gonzalo Frasca.
Shockwave game.
Purports to be a ‘commentary’ on the
war on terrorism; you launch missiles
into a crowded souk, which kills
some terrorists but mostly civilians;
survivors wail in grief, and some
portion become terrorists.
http://www.newsgaming.com/
(Under Ash)
Published 2003. First-person shooter.
You play a Palestinian “freedom fighter” working to
overthrow the evil Zionist regime.
“The main purpose of the game was originally filling
the time of leisure which this section feels and
previously filled with foreign games distorting the
facts and history…”
I.e.: The game is explicit pro-Palestinian
propaganda.
www.underash.net