Ecotretas writes in with another stranger than fiction idea, now coming to PC near you:
I’ve put up a post regarding a game that is being launched: Fate of the World. A SimCity like strategy game, but now with worldwide powers. It has all the ingredients: New World Order, mass murdering, killing people with special vaccines, even “processing dead people into ration wafers“. Unimaginable!
“Fate of the World” is a computer game being launched by Red Redemption. It is a strategy and simulation game, putting the future of the planet in the hands of the player. Playing the game, you get to decide the next 200 years of Earth’s history, experiencing how to work out your own New World Order.
But worse than the game, are the intentions behind. Gobion Rowlands, Chairman and co-founder of Red Redemption, the creators of the game, in an interview to Edge, gives us some interesting previews of what might be going on in the game:
| If you go to the US and the first thing you do is to implement a one-child policy and try banning meat, then they might just tell you to get out. Your agents can be killed, lost, blackmailed and kidnapped – so your agency gets taken away. I’ve just tried to ban meat here and the carnivores have rebelled. They’re not happy. |
But when you’ve thought it couldn’t get worse, it does:
| Under what circumstances, we wonder, would the US populace agree to processing dead people into ration wafers? |
Everything is there. Regarding the New World Order, you just get it out of Rowlands words, in another interview:
| So the year is 2020 and the world has done nothing significant to tackle the multitude of problems facing 21st century society, and then the first impacts strike and the nations create a new global organisation – the World Environment Organisation – and they put you in charge. |
And what can you do with all this power? Producer Klaude Thomas gives you an idea:
| Another example would be the simple expedient of removing a large proportion of the planet’s population from circulation. Let’s say with an engineered super-virus. The first thing to say about this is the obvious, that killing every last person in Africa would have less impact on climate change than getting Westerners to use 10% less energy. But let’s say you spread the virus around evenly, so everyone loses say half their family (the half who always get them crap stuff for Christmas). The trouble is, people don’t just conveniently fall over and die. Their friends and loved ones have to go and try and keep them alive, or always want to bury them decently instead of just tossing them in a skip; and then they spend time moaning and weeping and what have you. And that guy in IT who was fixing your laptop? He’s gone, and so, by the way, is the engineer who was keeping the power station running. So the rest of your society stops working so well, and that potentially puts your civilisation into a downward spiral as critical infrastructure falls apart. |
Get it? I wondered who had sponsored this stuff? Didn’t have to dig much. The biggest investor in the project is the managing director of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm – he’s in charge of all their clean tech and renewable investments globally. It has even made it into Nature, where you get a good idea that there simply is no solution for the game:
| It is the year 2110, and the level of methane in the atmosphere has reached a critical threshold. You have a decision to make: accept the risk of global catastrophe and continue extracting the gas to meet the energy needs of an increasing population; implement a one-child-per-household rule to reduce future energy demand; or fund a decade-long research programme to deliver technological solutions. |
Could the object of the game be simple ‘desensitising’? Finding future new recruits? Re the references to Germany, the method was first denigration by making some the scapegoat for the ills, then graduated attacks on these beginning with small steps. Limiting which streets and areas such as parks some could use began the process of splitting into ‘them and us’ and the demeaning branding, by having to wear a badge, making this obvious at all times and place, desensitised the ‘us people’ at the same time as playing on the emotional relief of not being one of ‘the them’. We are, as humans naturally co-operative, it’s a defining feature, and childhood is where we learn our place in this. It seems rather a lot of our history has been defined by those intent on accumulating power putting the rest into slavery, the slavery to a debt monetary system now is but one version of this, perhaps someone can devise a game based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights before this becomes a forgotten blip of sanity in the passage of time as the American Constitution is becoming?
Some players in the field, the second url is from a link in the first.
http://www.lifeinthemixtalk.com/?p=14219
http://www.prisonplanet.com/bill-gates-and-neo-eugenics-vaccines-to-reduce-population.html
Stu @ur momisugly November 6, 2010 at 12:48 pm
If we were considering this as only an individual element, I would happily agree with you.
However, this is NOT the case; this game (potentially) is only one element in a very carefully planned ‘saturation’ campaign.
And its hardly the first, nor will it be the last.
And no, I’m not belittling you. Directing your eyes towards the ground is a very natural trait; taking in everything around you, constantly, is a learned trait.
And does wonders in minimizing life’s hazards, both large and small.
Embrace the latter, it will change your perspective of the world.
They’re discussing narrative’s at Real Climate Depot.
This would be great for them.
“I’ve just tried to ban meat here and the carnivores have rebelled. They’re not happy.”
Uh, no, since you DIDN’T SUCCEED, I would say the procreating carnivores are the happy ones…
But that’s a watermelon for ya. Always self-projecting unto others!
CPT. Charles-
Hi. I thought about my post a little bit, and about the idea of games as propaganda, and I jogged that there have been atleast a few attempts previously within the industry to promote certain political/religious/etc, messages.
One I know of is a game called ‘Left Behind- Eternal Forces’, which is a Christian themed game.
I’m pretty sure it never really took off. (I’ve never played it)
The other is actually a fairly successful free game called ‘America’s Army’, which is basically used as a promotional tool for the military. The game itself does not seem really to be propaganda, but is more designed to function as an aid in recruitment efforts. Again, I’ve never played this game.
Having a bit of a look online for propaganda in games, I came across this link…
http://www.bruceongames.com/2009/08/24/video-games-as-propaganda/
So I need to correct that there is no such thing as propaganda in games media. There are atleast a handful of explicit examples to date.
My argument is whether or not channeling games as an appropriate medium for propaganda makes a good strategy or actually has an effect, which I would argue no at this stage (America’s Army being a possible exception). Maybe this is to do with a lack of sophistication or experience in presenting political messages in games? All of those other titles on the list in the link above appear to have been huge flops, and I think that has atleast something to do with peoples expectations of games in the first place. The last thing I imagine a kid wants to do is be preached at by a game. That is what school/parents/the whole rest of society is for. Kids play games to escape all that. A preachy game will not make a popular game.
Munich Re is a key player in the agw scare. They are directly profiting from it.
It is difficult to see from the video whether there is any scope for entrepreneurship and innovation in the allowed strategies for solving the world’s climate problems.
Throughout history totalitatian regimes have failed, and individual enterprise has ultimately provided solutions and the collective wealth that centralist control simply doesn’t have the vision to provide.
The northern European/Asian communist states have all succumbed. China appears to be in the process of embracing capitalism. The regimes in North Korea and Cuba are hardly examples to which anybody would want to aspire, they have ensured almost universal poverty for all but the ruling elite.
The opening shots of the promotional video suggests that after the first disasters hit, the world calls for a leader. This has to show just how far the designers of the game are removed from reality. The idea that the world, in 10 years time, would collectively call for one leader is fantasy – given the divergence of ideologies throughout the world.
Human nature shows that when disasters occur, people call for punishment of the perceived guilty parties Leaders are toppled, political parties lose power and are replaced with alternatives that make the most persuasive promises (that is the story or western politics for at least the last century). Nevertheless, in general, the true solutions (as opposed to the rhetoric) come from the private sector.
At best, state intervention is only positive when it creates condition in which private enterprise thrives with in a generally accepted moral framework. I didn’t see any suggestion of this from the games authors.
It claims to be a simulation game, but it appears to me to be like other climate related computer simulations (aka climate models), a fantasy game.
Roy says:
November 6, 2010 at 11:21 am
“Most of the people who call Hitler a lefty seem to be Americans on the extreme right of the political spectrum who are unwilling to admit that right wing dictators can be every bit as brutal as left wing ones. The expression of such views in this blog does nothing to promote a more rational attitude to climate change.”
Roy, I think that what was expressed was rather that Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, all these guys likes a strong State, a strong Government, and a concensus on politics.
The opposite camp, the Libertarians, they like a minimum State, maximum individual freedom.
So, when you talk about “Americans on the extreme right” I think you mean the peaceful Libertarians? Those who want a minimum State with individual freedom?
And you are in the other camp? Those who want a Strong big State? With a strong Leader at the top? And a Consensus to march on? That’s the Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot camp.
I think its Leftist to want a strong State with a strong leader up front.
It is certainly not “Extreme Right.”
how is this worse than re-enacting WWI/II in a strategy game? The cool thing about computer games is that you can do outrageous stuff. Well, you don’t really “do” it, geddit? I play 1st person shooters and killing 500 “people” in a session doesn’t mean anything other than great fun. Of course you will always find someone amongst 6 billion people who is outraged with any number of things and you are simply one of them in this case.
I don’t play strategy, but if I did I would love the game for being repulsive alone.
kids that get suckered into violent games have been known to act out, and seem to disassociate real/nonreal consequences.
this is a none too subtle way to get a pile of Eugenics, and social control propaganda into kids and others minds as Possible alternatives. the(good??) end negating the dubious means,,
Brilliants comments by many above BTW!
I thought “No Pressure” would be the end of this evil stuff. It is sociologically and psychologically interesting though. It shows what these fluffy lovable lovers of the planet and its creatures show themselves to be when things aren’t going there way. There were a few precursors, starting with a nasty verbal threat to sceptics from Greenpeace about a year ago:
-We know who you are. We know where you work. We know where you live. You be few and we be many- This threat on their website received such a negative response, even from the useful fools, that it was rationalized, withdrawn and apologized for.
-Then the “No Pressure” video where children are blown up who don’t believe in CAGW.
-Now this.
I have a feeling that this one won’t get apologized for and, as I (and many others)have said since Climategate, there will be a crescendo of hysterical ugliness, desparate new junk-science-worse-than-we-thought research from the cornered rats and gloves-off-forget-about-the-science products issuing from these folks.
I hope this kind of stuff finally alienates the useful fools among the unthinking public and media and the gravy-train scientists as it asppears to be starting to do. I wouldn’t rule out sabotage and violence in the near future. I think we need a good post on this deconstruction and its personality.
Hitler and Mussolini were both Lefties. Nazi and Fascist thinkin was very little different than Stalinist, Government control
See http://www.politicalcompass.org
Has anyone told Rock Star games about Red Redemption, I know you guys love to sue over copy right infringment in the states.
Oh and what about options like sorting out guberment before wiping out half the population?
If one designs a game than they should consider the mindset of a fanatical gamer who will explore the game, find a weakness or bug and start to exploit this in order to win the game at all costs. An exploit or Sploit as we call it is the use of a bug or design flaw by a player to their advantage in a manner not intended by the game’s designers.
And there will most likely be some kind of rocket jump in this game or that you can bunny hop yourself into winning the game.
Clearly the ‘ads’ stuck in vary with the ‘cookies’ on the machine. I’m in Orlando, on a friends machine, and the “ad” is a “Groupon” coupon for sushi… so amongst all the talk of Soylent Green wafers, I’ve got a picture of a series of “wafers” (a sliced ‘roll’) with various green colors in them, along with raw flesh, and the caption “Orlando’s Best! Up to 90% off!” … but it never SAYS the word Sushi, so one is left to wonder what’s IN those wafers that are “Orlando’s Best”? 😉
Image here: http://tpc.googlesyndication.com/simgad/5060744983540855721
at least for the moment
On the game, they need the Nuclear Option. Where they can just push a button and not only wipe out The Other Side, but also 3/4 of their own population too…
E.M. Smith Says:
“and the caption “Orlando’s Best! Up to 90% off!” … but it never SAYS the word Sushi,”
It might be Orlando himself 😉
Roy, the difference between the international socialism of the Russian model and the national socialism of the German model, was that the Russian way to socialism was to vest ownership of the means of production in the state. The German model was to leave ownership of the means of production nominally in the hands of private owners, and for the state to dictate any and every detail of production, supply, demand, prices, whatever.
This doesn’t mean that the terms socialism and fascism are meaningless. Fascism is just a species of the genus socialist, that is all. Fascism is not the opposite of a spectrum or range with socialism at the other end – in case you haven’t noticed – they both result in totalitarian dictatorships, centrally planned chaos and gross human rights abuses.
Ultimately there are only two possibilities: either you own your life and relations with others should be based on private property and consent; or the state owns your life and relations with others should be based on aggressive violence or threats of it.
E.M.Smith says:
November 7, 2010 at 12:56 pm
On the game, they need the Nuclear Option. Where they can just push a button and not only wipe out The Other Side, but also 3/4 of their own population too…
We already have that game, its called Defcon, it’s Global Thermonuclear War, and nobody wins.
These games can have a lasting impact. I think some of the enthusiasm for `alternative energy’ comes from people who grew up with Sim City 2000. In that game power stations of all kinds caused nasty pollution problems and in addition blew up spectacularly and suddenly after exactly 50 years (usually causing problems for the player) except of course for windmills and hydroelectric power stations, which caused no pollution and lasted forever. The best solution to the power problem was actually to build a pyramid with the bulldozer, cover it with water with the terrain tool (a pyramid shaped pond), and then cover it with hydroelectric power stations. Highly realistic – NOT!
I was thinking I might let this one go, but a game of global tyranny? This sounds like an awesome game and entertainingly dystopian sci-fi. Between the global tyranny, me in charge of anything, and that environmental part, I’ve never seen anything scarier. It should also be excellent practice … but never you mind that detail. MWAHAHAHAHAAA
“It is the year 2110, and the level of methane in the atmosphere has reached a critical threshold”
Just don’t spark a match whatever you do….
It is great that there are so many people in the West who are so comfortable and free from suffering that they can make genocidal fantasies a pleasurable pastime. Writing by Doctor Who TV writers, no less!
This is just entertainment. A lot like GCMs.