I keep running into this debate about whether games can have rich storytelling while staying completely neutral on political topics. It seems like people want games with deep characters and meaningful plots, but they also don’t want any political themes at all.
From what I can see, this creates a real problem. If you remove all political elements, doesn’t that make the story kind of shallow? Most compelling narratives deal with conflict, power, society, and human nature. These topics naturally connect to political ideas.
I’m also thinking about the creators themselves. Game writers and designers are real people living in the real world. Their experiences and viewpoints probably influence their work whether they mean it to or not.
What do you think? Can a game really have a gripping story that makes you care about the characters and world without touching on any political themes? Or are people asking for something that doesn’t really make sense?
I’m curious about why some players seem worried about political content in games. Is it about wanting escapism, or something else?
I think it depends on what you call political. Games like Stardew Valley or Journey tell great stories about friendship and personal growth without feeling preachy. But yeah, even those touch on community stuff which could be seen as political if you squint hard enough.
The whole ‘no politics’ thing is weird to me because like, what counts as political? Is showing different races together political? Is having a female protagonist political? Some people seem to think basic human existence is a political statement. I’ve played tons of games that felt totally neutral to me but apparently other players saw hidden agendas everywhere. Maybe the real issue is that everyone brings their own baggage to every story.
Most games I love have some kind of politics baked in whether they admit it or not. Even something like Animal Crossing has themes about community and economics. I think people just notice it more when they disagree with the message.