From The Green Berets to America’s Army: Video Games as a Vehicle for Political Propaganda

Reading Summary:

Video games can be very persuasive. Immersion, intense engagement, identification, and interactivity are traits of video games that function as mechanisms for influencing attitudes. Propaganda is closely related to ideology, but the terms have distinct meanings. Ideology refers to shared values and beliefs that shape individuals’ understandings of institutions and social relationships. In contrast, propaganda is developed by an organized group and systematically disseminated with the intent of prompting certain attitudes and behaviors. Propaganda can be blatant or subtle. It thrives in democratic systems as an alternative to the physical force that underpins totalitarian regimes. One can watch TV distracted, but video games often require audience attention. Video game immersion is often accompanied by intense player engagement. Focused gamers develop many characteristics of a “flow state,” which is characterized by focused concentration, time distortion, a sense of control over one’s actions, and satisfaction derived from the factors intrinsic to the activity being practiced. In many of the most popular video games, we identify ourselves bodily with our character in the game world, and psychologically with the broader narrative arc defined by our character’s choices. Filmmakers have long recognized the psychological power of such identification processes. Video games are also interactive; the user chooses and the computer responds.

Outside Example:

When I was reading this, I thought about how in high school I used to play this game a lot with my friend. It consumed my life and I would even have dreams about the game and that I was conquering other countries. This is when I realized that this was too obsessed with this game and take a break. It was crazy to see how quickly I could become so engaged and obsessed with a game. When I would play this game, I was so focused on it and nothing else, hours can pass and I wouldn’t even realize.

Connection to Reading:

When the reading talked about engagement, I think that closely relates to my example. The reading also talks about losing track of time and just associating feelings with the game to feelings in real life. For example, if I wasn’t doing well in the game, I would let that affect how I felt about my own life as well as how I responded to others. This is the same for when I was doing well in the game. After doing this reading, I realize how video game designers can put propaganda in video games to get people to feel a certain way about certain things without players noticing.