Zombies = Slaves

Throughout the history of video games, game designers have had to get creative with the storylines of the games. Because, let’s be honest, most people can only play a game where the objective is to defeat the 8 robot masters and the guy who created them so many times. I mean there a few who only like to hack and slash, but for those who don’t like to speed run, jump the bad guys, collect a few coins, and hit the flag, we need a story to keep us involved in how the game is played. Recently I have noticed that for years game designers have been diving into deeper and deeper subjects for the games they make. One such subject is the idea of slavery, and no, I don’t mean they have made a game where you go all Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained. I am more talking about games where the idea of slavery is directly or indirectly addressed in some manner. But why? Why would video game creators make a game that attempts to tackle such a difficult subject? Well, maybe in their own way it is an attempt to make the world see what could happen if we don’t learn about the horrible actions of our predecessors. Furthermore, for all those teens out there who become glass-eyed at the thought of sitting through a history class, they can still acquire a bit of culture and learn something even if all they think they are doing is mowing down zombies. Because zombies are, in fact, slaves in many video games. Think about it they are undead creatures brought back to life to complete tasks and they usually have no will of their own. Moreover, if they defy their master, they are thought of as easily disposed. It really hurts your brain to think about zombies in that way. Sometimes this slave idea is not obvious though. Sometimes the game designers make a bad guy you are trying to defeat and they have “minions” that attempt to stop you. Whether it be mushrooms, a virus, or a psychopath named Sadler, they are all using the zombies to try to kill you and without a plantation or pickable crops in sight. All in all, these games are often some of the better games to play. You get a decent story and amenable action while also slowly starting to question yourself on if unloading on a few zombies actually rips apart your moral compass. The only thing that would help push the idea further of this learning through a video game is to truly make the cutscenes unskippable. Then we wouldn’t have a choice but to learn from the game would we. Also, by the way, if you were one of the ones that used your power to control the Big Brothers in Bioshock, you may have just proved the game makers point. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.