Here’s What You Have to Know

The rising of new video games and online games is somehow related to the political situation these days. There are numerous game developers that have stepped up their gameplays by adding political elements. Famous games such as Tropico 6 are one of the games that highlight the political element as the main theme. Minecraft too is another game that can be made political-themed server. Here you can find the Best Minecraft Servers including political-themed servers. If you observe the games you often play thoroughly, you might encounter a glimpse of political references. 

Political-Themed Games

Game developers nowadays are a lot braver than they used to be. With many issues and human rights matters that are arising in many different parts of the world, they decided to come up with an idea. The idea is to convey the message and to inform players that these matters should not be taken lightly. Let’s take an example from one of the most popular simulation games which are The Sims. 

Do you still remember George Floyd, an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minnesota? The incident happened in May 2020, when he was arrested by the officers and died during the custody. Due to that incident, a movement called Black Lives Matter began to start its protests and campaigns. The Sims is one of the games that portrayed the characters, mainly known as Sims, joining a demonstration while holding placards that are written with the Black Live Matters slogan. The fact is, this is such a good take and initiative to inform people about what is going on even if you are in the other part of the world. The Sims is a game that has been played by millions of players and due to its popularity, people can both share and receive information and news regarding current matters and issues.

Stereotypes About Games With Political Elements

Most people would avoid talking about politics at all costs. Probably because of the stereotypes that have been lingering around us for so many years. Politic can be a controversial topic for some of us. When being added to video games or online games, stereotypes and perspectives might arise. Certain groups of people would not recommend games that have political elements to their children and society. All they have to say is being involved in politics is not something you should avoid. They usually consist of people who are not getting enough exposure to current matters and trends. Other than that, they might are still bound to the traditional ways of thinking. The thought of politics is usually portrayed as something that is bad or should be demolished. Despite all the stereotypes and thoughts about politics, we can see that there are plenty of games that are not afraid to show their solidarity and awareness through their gameplay. In such a way, not only they are informational, but they are educating the players at the same time. Most of the time, we obtain news and trends from social media, but now we are able to get them from other platforms such as video games and online games. 

Political Games All Around the World

As per our topic today, of course, we are going to see some of the games that we have been talking about. The main theme of these games is obviously politics. The first game that has been mentioned before is Tropico 6. Tropico 6 is a game where a political game where players would be playing the role of a dictator on a Caribbean island that they own. The players are called El Presidente, which would require them to build their own nation and community. Although some people think of this game as a city builder game, it is actually more of a political-themed game. You can choose the type of rule you desire such as liberal or to rule with an iron fist. 

Next up, we have SuperPower 2. This game is a global geopolitical game, to be exact, the only geopolitical game which allows the players to take over the countries in the world. You can choose from the 140 countries you want to rule and you can control their politics, military and economy. 

If you are interested in the classic gameplay which involves the legendary Cold War, you should play Twilight Struggle. You can choose a side to play for, either America or Soviet Russia. Some people might find this type of game triggering, but it all depends on the player itself. These games have age-restriction and some of them might require parental guidance for certain ages. 

Politicians Who Play Video Games

Politicians are normal human beings, just like us. They play video games too, in fact, someone claimed that she has met one of them on a Twitch server before. Sarah Nove, a journalist, said that when she was browsing the Twitch server, she encountered something that she never expected. Alexandria Occasio Cortez, the U.S Representative for New York had a live stream of the popular game, Among Us, to hundreds of thousand strong audiences. A congresswoman was seen to play an apolitical game, not to mention, even made a live stream of it. So, the first thing that might pop into your mind is why would someone with her status play such a game? Apparently, the election was near and it was just one of the many ways to attract more people to vote. 

Alexandria isn’t the only politician who plays video games. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, is also a gamer. He is actually an avid fan of video games and the French eSports organisation Team Vitality. He stated that he intends to make France a video game hub of the Europe continent. He wishes for the country to host the League of Legends World Championship in France, which is expected to be held in 2024. 

A congressman named Scott Peters explained that he has been playing games during law school, back in the 1980s. He said that he was quite good at Pac-Man where he would play it whenever he had the chance. 

Conclusion

In a conclusion, it has been proven that these two are closely related. There is no harm in combining games and politics as there are quite a number of benefits that we can gain from it. Maybe it’s just the stereotypes and people’s perspectives that have been blocking our views from seeing the good in them. All that matter is we should know our limit in everything and be able to manage ourselves from being too obsessed with them.