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Video Games and Individual Power
I really enjoyed this article. I think the most important point he makes is that video game narratives are almost always driven by the player character, who often has supernatural strength. Especially in games where the player is up against a vast and powerful organization, like an evil government or criminal gang, it is usually a one versus all situation. This sort of gameplay fulfils our fantasies of power, and to tell the truth, is a whole lot of fun. But in reality, change is rarely driven by one person, but by large groups of people standing together.
To be fair, many games over the years have been able to reflect the power of collective action. Real time strategy games pit huge armies against each other, civilization games deal with the affairs of world countries. At the end of the day, nonetheless, the player as an individual is in control; even if they are commanding an entire army, it is one person calling all of the shots. This is a fundamental aspect of video games, and one of the qualities that makes it a truly unique medium. The downside of this, as the article points out, is that it can brush collective struggle under the rug.

Almost all narratives are guilty of this in some way or other, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Could you imagine a movie or a novel with dozens or hundreds of main characters working together That gets very complicated very fast. At the end of the day, stories are told from personal points of view, and that shouldn’t change. But in the midst of a global pandemic, there is a greater urge for community than for individuality. Perhaps in the future, narratives inside and outside the world of video games will be able to reflect this better.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/g5x9dq/why-games-have-always-obsessed-over-pandemic-authoritarianism

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