Game for Change - Socialism

Make a Free Flash Game

Lately we have been studying the relationship between media and society. So here's a video game. Why a video game? These texts have a very unique aspect that other mediums cannot match. In a video game, unlike any other medium, you are in control of the character. You might not be able to control obstacles or consequences, but you can move him/her around and feel much more connected to his/her goals. In fact, when the character looses, you loose. When the character wins, you win. No other medium has that power. If Ender wins the battle against the buggers, that doesn't mean you win too. If he dies, that doesn't mean you die. But in video games, your loss is your own to bear. In order to share a viewpoint on the currently arising social issue of socialism, i've created this video game.

The first level is simple. You walk to the right. You win $1000. It's easier than eating ice cream. This level represents those in society who reap the temporal benefits from socialism without having to do much at all. These are those who don't work hard to get an education and don't spend time developing marketable skills outside of college. 

The second level is not so simple. There are obstacles. You might fall a couple times, there's a lot at stake here. You might fall and die, but you'll work at it. Learn the things you need to do in order to survive, and in the end make $1000 dollars. It will take you much longer, and require much more work. This level represents those who work to pay for themselves and those who don't work. Of course, the payments are exactly equal and exaggerated in order to prove a point.

As a missionary, having lived for 2 years in a socialist foreign country, I saw this happen with my own eyes. The poor weren't determined to get out of poverty because they had nothing to fight for. Everything was paid for. Food. A brand new home. Health care. It's all there at the doorstep just waiting for you. You can even spend the money the government gives you on more drugs if you want. I noticed that these people were handed loads of things but didn't even take care of it. The brand new houses the government built for these people were barely maintained. You can't give a lazy man a hard working man's increase, and expect the lazy man to turn into a working man.

After a couple years of socialism, high schools began to fail. Only 50% of students completed high school. Probably because they knew that they could either:

1. Work hard. Go to college. Get a solid job. Get a nice house. But then give a bunch of that money to the other half of their classmates who didn't finish school and sustain their living.

2. Drop out. Still have money. Still have health care. Still have a nice house.

Working on this video game helped me realize that both society has influenced my use of media and that the media I create can influence society.