166

Metaphor: ReFantazio's success is further proof that politics are good in videogames, actually—no matter what reactionaries tell you (www.pcgamer.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by Billy@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/games@lemmy.world

59 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Renacles@lemmy.world 40 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, yeah, good writing is good and bad writing is bad.

I think the article is going against the idea that politics should be kept away from games.

[+] PunchingWood@lemmy.world -16 points 2 weeks ago

Politics in games isn't the issue.

It's the concept of pushing real world politics in games that is the problem.

Sometimes they can overlap, but they needn't to. Some things are just obviously pushing the agendas of developers, instead of making it feel like a legit part of the game universe.

[-] Katana314@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

I don't really get this sentiment.

Elves being racist towards dwarves is acceptable in a game, but white humans being racist towards hispanic humans is "pushing agendas"?

I fault Bioware for a lot of things, but failing to invent a fantasy equivalent of the concept of gender is not one of them. Not everything needs to be moved to an otherworldly analogy just to avoid hurting the feelings of bigots.

[-] wrekone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 weeks ago

Games are not a fundamental right. Artists should make art that reflects their values.

[-] Resand@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Sure, but I'm not required to buy that art

[-] wrekone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

Exactly. Instead of complaining about polictics in gaming, just spend your money elsewhere if you don't like it.

[-] Resand@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

And then it becomes "game is failing due to being boycotted by incels" Won't anyone think about the profit margins

[-] Boiglenoight@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

This isn’t right either. Inserting politics into anything serves that that up for discourse, and getting people discussing and thinking critically about a topic is a fantastic achievement for any medium that delves into the subject.

It’s when partisan messages about politics are inserted into a game that poses problems. Instead, video games should explore as many takes on an issue as capable in service to the story being told. Wow, it’s terrible that the horned people are aholes to the perfectly normal looking people, but how did that come to be? Is there any historical precedent where the shoe was on the other foot? I think of Jews and how 70 years ago they were facing extermination at the hands of Germans find themselves now in the position of the exterminator. How did that happen? That’s great material for exploring politics in games, to me.

[-] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Not required to what by that art?

[-] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Not just in games, but often times the point of the story's fake politics is to be a parable for real politics. But that's also the fun of it, even if you disagree with the story's intended message.