Re: [Marxism] marxism, video games and youth education

["Mallard Q. Duck" <mqduck@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ah, finally a topic for /me/ to feel smart on. I'm 19 and have been
addicted to computer games all my life.

Douglas MacDonald wrote:
> Imagine the drama, struggles
> and planning that would be required.... a cross between Sm cCty and
> Halo2!

Or why not just SimCity? There was a popular game, not too long ago,
called "Tropico," in which you are the leader of a Cuban-inspired
tropical island nation. This game combines the city-building (well,
nation-building) fun of SimCity with very fun domestic and international
political engines.

Nationally, there are five factions that your citizens might belong to
(Capitalists, Communists, Environmentalists, Intellectuals and
Religious, if my memory serves me). The Communists want a small income
disparity, universal employment and quality housing (anything other than
shacks, which are free). Capitalists want high wages for the
college-educated, expensive housing and entertainment and high-profit
industry (anything factory-made) instead of agriculture and tourism.
Environmentalists want little pollution, which is caused by just about
everything. Intellectuals want high schools and colleges, mainly.
Religious people want churches and cathedrals.

Internationally, the game simulates relations with two countries, the
United States and the U.S.S.R.. Relations are bettered with the US by
things like approval from the Capitalists and holding free elections.
Relations with the Soviets are bettered with things like approval from
the Communists, while "democracy" and "freedom" ratings have no effect.
Your diplomatic ministry can also have "pro-American," "pro-Russian" or
"neutral" policies, which effect your relations accordingly.

You have the option of holding elections or not and, if you hold them,
fixing them or not.

Now, what would *you* change in all that? I know I've spent alot of time
thinking about that while playing and have even tried to find a way to
modify the game's settings, with no luck. I'm not sure how educational
this game could ever be, but wouldn't it be great to have a slightly
modified and more realistic version of this game, where one can be given
a cartoonish demonstration of the difficulty of economics and politics
in Cuba?

Back to SimCity, I've also spent alot of idle game-playing time thinking
of how some slight modifications could make that game great. In this
game, there are three types of "zones": residential, commercial and
industrial. Buildings pop up automatically in the different zones,
depending on lots of factors like location and tax levels. A very
bourgeois game. So, the question is, what would it be like to be the
planner of a city in a socialist society? This one could actually be
educational.

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (I know, I know...) has a very
interesting review of the game "Capitalism II," a hardcore economics
game. It claims that the game can be used to simulate socialist
economics, if you manage to achieve a monopoly in all industries. They
also have a whole section on their website dedicated to video game
reviews. Check it out.
http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/bookstore/vgames/index.html

As for action games, a game with a "socialist" plot would be nothing
strange or even particularly new. The plot of fighting to overthrow the
evil corporation running the world has been done a million times. The
problem with these, of course, is that the way to save the world is for
one individual, you, to go out and wage a one-man war. Even in "war
simulation" games, where you're just one soldier in an army, you always
turn out to be the *most important* soldier, who has as much influence
as your whole army combined. This is really a problem inherent in the
medium.

Incidentally, here's the official description for the great shooter,
"Red Faction":

"The player assumes the role of Parker, a worker toiling in mines run by
the Ultor Corporation far beneath the surface of Mars. The miners are
suffering from inhuman living conditions and a strange, deadly disease
called the Plague that is suddenly sweeping through their ranks. The
miners' anger and resentment are ready to boil over, and the player
provides the spark that starts a rebellion against Ultor. The player's
goal is to stay alive long enough to bring down Ultor and solve the
mystery of the Plague. This journey takes him from gritty subterranean
mines to Ultor's pristine science and nanotech labs to the surface of
Mars and even onto satellites orbiting high above the planet."

I never actually played the main story, so I can't comment on it. The
game's logo is amusing to see, especially when it represents the
protagonists and especially when you notice it in Fry's Electronics.
It's a very Communist-like image of a fist grasping a mining pick, in
black, on a red background. Here's a link.
http://www.redfaction.com/news.cfm

Another game I've oft imagined being able to alter, is Civilization. In
this game, there are various government types. Sorted by "age":
Ancient Age: Despotism, Monarchy, Republic
Middle Age: -
Industrial Age: Communism, Democracy

"Communism" grants better police effectiveness and nullifies discontent
due to being far from the capital (because, ya know, "Communism" is the
ultimate imperialist government) but has lower efficiency than
"Republic" or "Democracy." Later versions of the game add "Feudalism"
and "Fascism," which only make things worse.

Never the less, all economic and military decisions are always made by
you, never any sort of market. After reordering the government types and
changing their effects, I think it could be a good idea to have the
construction of cities under capitalism to, in some simplistic way, be
decided by the "market" and, under socialism, be decided democratically.
But, on the other hand, that might not be very much fun to play. The
gameplay would quite possibly be weakened if you made one sort of
government the best.

There is another, much more complex game, an early clone of
Civilization, in which the choice of governmental and economic models is
split, allowing for any combination of two. I never invested enough
brain time to learn how to play this game, though.

And lots and lots of others...

-Jeffrey Piercy

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