I am writing an essay for a game criticism course I am taking relating how de Blob conveys the idea of communism. Specifically, how does the game represent it, where does it succeed at representing this idea, and where does it fail. Lastly, we need to describe one of these failures or missed opportunities and describe how it could have been accomplished differently or better. I'd like to briefly describe my general direction and points and then would love comments mentioning some ideas I may have missed.
The comparison of de Blob to a communist society seems like a fairly obvious one to make. A single leader uses military might to enact a "War on Colour" by removing all elements of color from a once colorful world. I mention how this "War on Colour" can be seen as similar to the "Great Purge" enacted by Stalin, by which each leader is enacting their personal mission.
A major theme in communism is egalitarianism. This can be seen by the Raydians being turned into Graydians, where the INKT Corporation encases each citizen in a prison-like gray suit, hiding everyone from their uniqueness. They are seen doing monotonous tasks during cutscenes, unlike that which they did before INKT.
A key idea in de Blob is that of revolution, or resistance. Here we have the Colour Underground embarking on a Colour Revolution. I akin this to Tiananmen Square, arguing how the idea of revolution can be seen throughout history in such societies. I think it might be a good point to mention how many such revolutions have been publicized, or pushed I guess, by a key person or a few key people. Such is the case with Che Guerva, which can be linked to de Blob.
This is just the general direction that I am headed. What other connections can be made between the two ideas? Where does the game really fail the most in representing the idea of communism?
Lastly, we need to implement a game prototype that addresses one of these failures. One of the failures that I have noticed is how during gameplay, the army is only focused on you. They only care to try to attack you, ignoring that you have painted much of their town. They never send out Paintbots to suck up the color that you have painted on the town. From a gameplay perspective, this makes sense. I doubt it would be nearly as much fun if some AI character continuously undid the work you put time into. But as I am not critiquing this game for its 'fun-factor', but instead am looking at it by how it conveys a worldly idea, I feel this could potentially be a prototype idea. Basically the same type of game as de Blob, but with more of a military presence, attempting to stop you while at the same time continuously removing the color from the city. Any other ideas of shortcomings in representing communism that could be conveyed with a prototype?
Thanks
The comparison of de Blob to a communist society seems like a fairly obvious one to make. A single leader uses military might to enact a "War on Colour" by removing all elements of color from a once colorful world. I mention how this "War on Colour" can be seen as similar to the "Great Purge" enacted by Stalin, by which each leader is enacting their personal mission.
A major theme in communism is egalitarianism. This can be seen by the Raydians being turned into Graydians, where the INKT Corporation encases each citizen in a prison-like gray suit, hiding everyone from their uniqueness. They are seen doing monotonous tasks during cutscenes, unlike that which they did before INKT.
A key idea in de Blob is that of revolution, or resistance. Here we have the Colour Underground embarking on a Colour Revolution. I akin this to Tiananmen Square, arguing how the idea of revolution can be seen throughout history in such societies. I think it might be a good point to mention how many such revolutions have been publicized, or pushed I guess, by a key person or a few key people. Such is the case with Che Guerva, which can be linked to de Blob.
This is just the general direction that I am headed. What other connections can be made between the two ideas? Where does the game really fail the most in representing the idea of communism?
Lastly, we need to implement a game prototype that addresses one of these failures. One of the failures that I have noticed is how during gameplay, the army is only focused on you. They only care to try to attack you, ignoring that you have painted much of their town. They never send out Paintbots to suck up the color that you have painted on the town. From a gameplay perspective, this makes sense. I doubt it would be nearly as much fun if some AI character continuously undid the work you put time into. But as I am not critiquing this game for its 'fun-factor', but instead am looking at it by how it conveys a worldly idea, I feel this could potentially be a prototype idea. Basically the same type of game as de Blob, but with more of a military presence, attempting to stop you while at the same time continuously removing the color from the city. Any other ideas of shortcomings in representing communism that could be conveyed with a prototype?
Thanks
