The Concept of Utopia in Digital Games
The philosophy of Utopia fundamentally revolves around the principle of hope and the dream of a better world (Levitas and Sargisson 20). Instead of portraying perfectionist worlds, however, where all problems are solved, Utopia nowadays evokes a “cautious desire” and indicates “a direction for man to follow, but never a point to be reached” (Viera, “Concept” 22). The philosophy thus takes on “the shape of a process … for a gradual betterment of the present” (23), which requires the negotiation of differing perspectives. This function of Utopia also lies at the heart of its manifestations in fictional form, where the utopian impulse takes on shape in narratives across the media (Viera, “Introduction” 1; Jameson).
This talk will shed light onto how this pervasive utopian impulse manifests itself in video game fiction—specifically in the genres of utopia and dystopia (and their sub-genres). It will illuminate the diversity of these genres in the negotiation of hope and scrutinise how utopian and dystopian games involve players in it. This typology will thus explore the potentiality of sub-genres like the ‘classical utopia’ (which details the potentiality of a near perfect future to criticise our current present); the ‘critical utopia’ (which explores cautious and more difficult, uncertain ways towards Utopia); the ‘classical dystopia’ (which involves players in nightmarish gameworlds in which hope is negotiated only in the player’s imagination); the ‘critical dystopia’ (where players are confronted with the task to work towards Utopia within a nightmarish gameworld, but where failure to attain it remains a constant companion; and the ‘anti-utopia’ (a genre that can only reluctantly be included in the utopian spectrum, for it works against the utopian impulse and towards a solidification of the status quo).
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