The face of authority through Sid Meier's civilization series
The turn-based strategy videogame genre tends to emphasize the military elements in detriment of other aspects. That is not the case in Sid Meier's Civilization series (1991-2016). Players are welcomed to focus on other aspects of society such as science, culture, diplomacy and economy, to the...
| Published in: | Gamevironments |
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| Subtitles: | Special Issue: "Democracy Dies Playfully: (Anti-)Democratic Ideas in and Around Video Games" |
| Authors: | ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
Gamevironments
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Meier, Sid 1954-
/ Civilization (Computer game)
/ Authoritarianism
/ Democracy
/ Power
/ History 1991-2016
|
| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy ZB Sociology ZC Politics in general ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
gamevironments
B social imagination B Enlightenment B Historical Games B Colonialism B cultural evolutionary model B strategy video games B Sid Meier’s Civilization B theory or progress B Authoritarianism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The turn-based strategy videogame genre tends to emphasize the military elements in detriment of other aspects. That is not the case in Sid Meier's Civilization series (1991-2016). Players are welcomed to focus on other aspects of society such as science, culture, diplomacy and economy, to the point of becoming a viable path to endgame victory themselves, though far more difficult. Narratively speaking, Civilization allows the player to explore different human societies across the species' history. In this paper, we want to place our focus on the authoritarian options the game provides and how they operate under a clear 19th Century cultural evolutionary framework. Civilizations are measured in different stages according to their development allowing choices such as type of government, technological advance or religion. The series shows the adoption of a functionalist thought pattern as authoritarian options do not carry a penalty worse than more liberal or progressive ones. While in the first installments of the game there was a clear bias towards liberal democracy and open society, that bias has been consistently blurred in more recent installments (now currently in the sixth game of the series) showing a certain degree of amorality in the exercise of power, thus giving us a window to analyze the changes in the power discourse. |
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| ISSN: | 2364-382X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Gamevironments
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.26092/elib/404 |