A Comparative Political Analysis Model for Government Simulation Videogames. Case Study of 'Frostpunk', 'Tropico Iv' and 'Civilization V'

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/11/02Unmode

Keywords:

Videogames, Government Simulator, Analytical Models, Civilization, Tropico, Frostpunk

Abstract

In this paper we present a large-scale comparative analysis model for videogames in which the player manages the development of a political community, which we will call «government simulators». The model, built upon political-science literature and other analytical models for videogames, uses a set of operationalized variables to synthesize the components of the political system represented in games, as well as the structure of objectives and other elements that guide the player’s action, to finally compare them with a set of independent variables. The model will be tested by applying it to three famous government simulators that have received notable academic attention (Civilization V, Tropico IV and Frostpunk), to finally discuss its advantages and limitations.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Carlos Moreno Azqueta, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha

Doctorando y becario FPU en la universidad de Castilla la Mancha

References

ATKINS, B. (2003). More than a game: The computer game as fictional form. Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.7228/manchester/9780719063640.001.0001

BOGOST, I. (2007). Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/5334.001.0001

BURKE, K. (1945). A Grammar of Motives. Prentice-Hall.

CHAURIYE, G. (2019). Frostpunk: decisiones con sentido para juegos con sentido. Ludology: revista de investigación sobre juegos y videojuegos, 1(1), 16-22.

DAHL, R. (2000). On Democracy. Yale University Press.

DOLKEMEYER, L. (2020). Autocracy for the People. Modes of response-able Action and the Management of Demise in Frostpunk. Gamevironments, 13. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/8a7fe8nf

DOR, S. (2018). Strategy in Games or Strategy Games: Dictionary and Encyclopaedic Definitions for Game Studies. Game Studies, 18(1). Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/cvjcndm9

DOUGLAS, C. (2002). «You Have Unleashed a Horde of Barbarians!»: Fighting Indians, Playing Games, Forming Disciplines. Postmodern culture, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1353/pmc.2002.0029

EXMEYER, P. & BODEN, D. (2020). The 8-Bit Bureaucrat: Can Video Games Teach Us About Administrative Ethics? Public Integrity, 22(5), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2020.1731056

FORD, D. (2016). «eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate»: Affective Writing of Postcolonial History and Education in Civilization V. Game Studies, 16(2).

GHYS, T. (2002). Technology Trees: Freedom and Determinism in Historical Strategy Games. Game Studies, (12).

GOLDSTEIN, J. (2005). Violent Video Games. En Raessens, J. & Goldstein, J. (Eds.), Handbook of Computer Games Studies (pp. 341-359). MIT Press.

HOBBES, T. (1989). Leviatán: la materia, forma y poder de un Estado eclesiástico y civil. Alianza.

HONEYBUN-ARNOLDA, E. & OBERMEISTER, N. (2019). A climate for change: Millennials, science and the humanities. Environmental Communication, 13(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2018.1500927

HUNICKE, R., LEBLANC, M. & ZUBEK, R. (2004, Julio). MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. In Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI. 4(1), 17-22.

MCNEIL, E. (2016). Ludic Spolia in Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth. Journal of games criticism, (3).

NAVARRO REMESAL, V. (2016). Libertad dirigida: una gramática del análisis y diseño de videojuegos. Shangrila.

OLIVA, M., BESALÚ, R. y CIAURRIZ, F. (2009). Más grande, más rápido, mejor: la representación de la Historia universal en Civilization IV. Comunicación, 7 (1), 62-79.

PÉREZ LATORRE, O. (2010). Análisis de la significación del videojuego. Fundamentos teóricos del juego, el mundo narrativo y la enunciación interactiva como perspectivas de estudio del discurso [Tesis Doctoral]. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.

PÉREZ LATORRE, O., OLIVA, M. y BESALÚ, R. (2016). Videogame analysis: a social-semiotic approach. Social Semiotics, 27(5), 586-603. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2016.1191146

PÉREZ LATORRE, O., OLIVA, M., CIAURRIZ, F. y GUERRERO-SOLÈ, F. (2008). Jugar a científics: videojocs i divulgació científica. Quaderns del CAC, 30, 27-36.

PLANELLS, A. (2015a). Mundos posibles, grupos de presión y opinión pública en el videojuego Tropico 4. Trípodos, 37, 167-181.

PLANELLS, A. (2015b). Videojuegos y mundos de ficción: de “Super Mario” a “Portal”. Cátedra.

POBŁOCKI, K. (2002). Becoming-state. Bio-cultural Imperialism of Sid Meier’s Civilization. European Journal of Anthropology, 39, 163-177

SCHMIDT, C. (1998). Teología Política: cuatro ensayos sobre la soberanía. Struhart & CIA.

SHIELDS, M. (2009). A Pentadic Analysis of Tropico: Dramatism and Digital Games [Tesis para el Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, Oregon State University]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/exvvjd6n

TUSELL COLLADO, A. (2015). La calidad de la democracia y sus factores determinantes. Un análisis comparado de 60 países. Política y Sociedad, 52(1), 179-204.

ZAMARÓCZY, N. (2017). Are We What We Play? Global Politics in Historical Strategy Computer Games. International Studies Perspectives, 18(2), 155-174. https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekv010

Ludografía

Democracy 3, 2013. [Videojuego] (PC) Positech Games, Positech Games.

Frostpunk, 2018. [Videojuego] (PC) 11 bit studios, 11 bit studios.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, 2014. [Videojuego] (PC) Firaxis Games, 2K Games.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V, 2010. [Videojuego] (PC) Firaxis Games, 2K Games.

Sim City, 1989. [Videojuego] (PC). Maxis, Maxis.

Tropico IV, 2011. [Videojuego] (PC) Haemimont Games, Kalypso Media.

Published

2021-07-15

How to Cite

Moreno Azqueta, C. (2021). A Comparative Political Analysis Model for Government Simulation Videogames. Case Study of ’Frostpunk’, ’Tropico Iv’ and ’Civilization V’. index.Comunicación, 11(2), 257–281. https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/11/02Unmode