> Computer games can be very potent tools to get leftist messages across.
> For example, strategy games (like Sid Meier's) appeal to those who want
> empowerment in political/economic systems, rather than just being a cog
> in the system.
>
> Some political messages are explicit. For example, you're the
> decisionmaker for a colony, and in certain ways you have antagonism with
> your citizens. So in "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri," I recall that
> converting to a free market economy requires a stronger police force and
> has severe environmental impacts. It's also sometimes tempting to "nerve
> staple" inhabitants of a colony to keep them from rioting.
I love playing Sid Meier's games, but I fail to see any leftism in any of the games I've played. I was playing Civ III last night and was reminded yet again that these games have a poor understanding of politics. Anarchism is never a viable option. Communism and socialism aren't fun options to play. The funny thing about having "Democracy" as your government type is that it penalizes you for starting wars.
I'm also waiting for the Civilization series to have a more realistic take on imperialism and colonialism. It would also be fun to see the series break out of the Western timeline of tech progress. In many ways, the earlier Civ II was more fun to play, given that it was easy to create interesting scenarios. I had lots of fun playing as the Vietanames resistance in one scenario and I enlisted an anarchist friend with military college experience to help me win as the anarchist side in a Spanish Revolution scenario.
I used to play Sim City, which had lots of appeal for me for many personal reasons, including the fact that my father had been an urban planner. Sim City has a narrow-minded view of how the world works. You have to put in police stations in order to improve your city. Protests are always a bad thing. On the other hand, you learn quickly how annoying churches are, because the game randomly inserts them into your cities. You have no control over them and they don't generate and tax revenue.
Chuck0 -------------------------- Bread and Roses Web Design serving small businesses, non-profits, artists and activists http://www.breadandrosesweb.com/