Dragon Commander - Political Content

Lar has blogged about putting controversial content into Dragon Commander such as "euthanasia, abortion, illegal immigrants, healthcare, same sex marriage, drugs, religious tolerance":

So now we’re making Dragon Commander, and one of the things we’re trying to do with that game is putting recognizable real world situations in a fantasy context. The game contains a RPG part that’s all about choice and consequence, and the idea is that you have to decide as a ruler how you want to organize the societies in the lands you’ve captured. That means you need to make political decisions, so we figured it’d be cool if we filled the game with situations that are very similar to the things we read in our newspapers every day.

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More information.

This game sounds quite interesting. I'm not sure it fits the mold of what I would be looking for in a game, but if the reviews turn out positive, I will have to check it out.

I think Lar's gone bonkers. People who like playing games come up with these crazy ideas, but not professional designers. When it's released, I'll love it like my brother's deformed kid.

I wasn't interested in this game when it was announced but the more I see and hear its getting interesting. I still rather play the next Divine Divinity game there developing also.

Could be fun BUT they need to watch it. If the issues fit naturally, fine, but if they start forcing things in so they can make political statements... not fine.

Screw the american sales, go for it!

Philistine said:

I think Lar's gone bonkers. People who like playing games come up with these crazy ideas, but not professional designers. When it's released, I'll love it like my brother's deformed kid.

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Agreed.

Just what I always wanted, a game where I can confront and decide the big political issues of the day! Not, I don't want hot and current political topics in my games please.

Bring it on. This game just went from an interesting little game with rocket equipped dragons to something I will definitely pick up. I loved Star Trek and other sci-fi settings that dealt with the political issues of that time period. I wish more games would slip these topics in.

I do like the "kill the foozle for no apparent reason" quests as long as the gameplay is good, but I would like something with more meat on it's bones. Something other than save me from *insert monster name*, help me against *insert monster name*, *insert boss name* wants to rule the world and on and on and on and on.

KapitanUnterhosen said:

Screw the american sales, go for it!

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? I'm an American who would buy it because of the political system if anything.

I guess he (Kaptain Unterhosen) is targetting things like "Nipplegate" and so on.

I like the idea; but worry it might hurt their sales (in america). I want them to do well
Then again I might be totally off base and the folks who are intersted in their games prefer this sort of thing

I think Kaptain is talking about Wallmart. No Wallmart for them = lower sales and if they plan on putting in all of those topics then there will be no Wallmart for their game.

I wish that company would just die already, but that's besides the point.

Ha ha, okay. Well, if it's on Steam, I'm sure plenty of Americans will still buy it.

sounds more like "negative" propaganda is better then no attention at all...

so we figured it’d be cool if we filled the game with situations that are very similar to the things we read in our newspapers every day.

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Er…no, not really, Lar.

I only speak for myself, but one of the reasons I play games is to get away from that type of real-life crap that's in our newspapers every day.

Well, Dragon Age tried very much to imply real-world things - and it sold quite well.

I think there is a group of gamers who really like this "realistic stuff". Also "dark & gritty" falls into this category, in my personal opinion.

WWII-shooters and other shooters sell very good at this moment. And they are quite realistic, too. Including masacres of civillians.

I also strive to escape from real world social strife when I play a game. While I can commend the guy for pushing the envelope of what's expected, I can't say it would add much to what makes a game fun - more like detract from it.

I think that political issues can work fine in a fictional universe and can potentially add depth to a game's story - if they fit the themes and setting of the particular world and the time it represents. Themes such as: "euthanasia, abortion, illegal immigrants, healthcare, same sex marriage,(and) drugs" don't exactly fit in a medieval fantasy universe (this is the setting (relatively) for Dragon Commander, right?), and thus seem completely out of place and unnecessary to me. It won't make it a "non-buy," but it will be a turn-off if political issues are improperly thrown into the game world just for the sake of making a statement.

I get the idea that the setting is a sort of medieval/sci-fi mash-up. Probably best to just think of it taking place in another galaxy, Star Wars style, though with a heavier medieval aspect.

Personally, I think putting a spin on some relevant issues we face in the modern world is a good idea that can potentially add a lot of depth to the game. A truly great story should tell us something about the human condition, either on a personal or societal level. By including some choices and consequences based on these "hot button" issues, this game has the potential to do that. If it becomes partisan, I could see it becoming a problem - in terms of critical reception and sales. But if it avoids a partisan stance and provides realistic consequences, I think it will end up being a success.

Then again, I don't go to the movies as an act of escapism either. If it's something I am going to invest time of my life in to, I don't want to have to turn my brain off for it. I'd much rather see a heavy-hitting personal drama than a cheesy Michael Bay blockbuster. The same goes for my video games and the same goes for my RPG's. That's why I like RPG's with rich choices and consequences and complex character building systems over level-scaled, auto-levelling drivel with pretty graphics that we see from time to time.

rossrjensen said:

I get the idea that the setting is a sort of medieval/sci-fi mash-up.

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Dragon Knight Saga is a medieval-ish fantasy with hints of steampunk and it seems Dragon Commander will put more emphasis on steampunk, resulting in a steampunk fantasy setting .

As for the topic, I think pretty much every "issue" of today can be retrofitted to this kind of setting with some creativity, and with a sensible approach it should be possible to implement these in a way that a semblance to "our reality" will make them resonant with players on one hand, but won´t take them out of the game on the other.
Hopefully a good care will be taken in finding an in-game natural fit for issues with more obvious today´s "real" world parallels. Since the game will likely be far from devoid of humour, there´s more leeway in this regard, but still, consistency of the setting should be paramount and shouldn´t be compromised for controversy´s sake.
At any rate, fuck political "correctness", games reward me for killing people all the time, I´ll take my bonus for authorizing drugs, thankyouverymuch.