As the Times described it, the reports “can read like anthropological studies of people from faraway places.” The effort also recommends Democrats buy advertisements in video games, among other things, the Times reported.
…and, indeed, it doesn’t go into details on what kind of ads they are supposed to buy.
As far as I can tell this happens because there is only one type of political ad that can go in a video game. And that is in video format, because unlike a product which can have a logo or a product placement and be done with it, you have to make a political point, in a political ad, by definition. Else, it is not a political ad, is it?
But you seem to think otherwise so, we come to this point:
… pray tell us what OTHER ads could they possibly mean.
I am honestly curious.
Will we have Fall-Out games replace Nuka Cola, with Bernie Cola with the slogan “Feeling the Burn? Drink this!”?
Will we have a Tide detergent placement like the one you quoted, but instead it will have Pete Buttigieg’s face on with a slogan about “cleaning the swamp”?
Will planes fly banners in GTA V, saying “Vote for AOC, for a better tomorrow”?
Will I go to a boss fight in the Elden Ring and suddenly one of those mishappen monsters will look like Mitch McConnel screaming about ObamaCare? (what a horrible thought! )
Will Red Dead Redemption 2 change all horses to donkeys?
Will they pay Marvel Heroes to change “Captain America” to “Captain Democrat”?
What?
I’ve made it very clear what I have understood from that article and thus we can easily discuss that.
Am I supposed to guess and respond to your point somehow? I do not think that is possible, so what kinds of ads is it that you are talking about?
Probably would have to be more subtle than that, but that doesn’t seem crazy to me.
Ads alone won’t help, but once they come up with things that align with what the “american man” cares about, spreading these ideas through videos games might work if done cleverly.
Subtlety is not really easy in video games or in politics and the whole strategy is named “speaking with American men” therefore it is obvious that some direct communication is going to be needed/included in those ads.
No argument there.
Highly unlikely. In a recent discussion about their army, I had posted what they considered as a recruitment ad and it was so bad that I had to double-check that it was not a parody, before posting it. Still not my problem, I am just mentioning it.
This is what I care about.
How? What else is there, in the video game medium that can convey an actual political message to a specific target group that will be non-intrusive, yet also compelling
Protesters loudly requesting maximum wage in a city simulation game? Or something funny?
They’ll have to be creative, but I’m sure there’s some potential.
Something I’ve found doing a quick research:
But I think we both agree, this won’t be good enough.
They will probably aim for “funny” but it will probably come out more like lecturing, in practice.
If they were creative then they’d realise that the only solution is to actually make games that would inspire their players to think, instead of just go along with a message.
To experience a series of events, instead of just be told a narrative.
If you trully want a political message that is " non-intrusive, yet also compelling", then there is only one real working solution. You’d need to integrate it within the game’s scenario. This rare example from 25 years ago comes to mind:
That takes a lot of talent to pull of successfully. The kind of talent that doesn’t seem to be around modern companies (even Hollywood is drowning in remakes and comic hero adaptations) that might be keen to work on such a proposition. Also it needs time and the politicians want results now/soon.
A non-partisan humanitarian message. Simple, yet profound, that even a teenager could understand, be impressed, think about it and remember it for all his life.
Good luck to that lot making any message nearly as good as that.
Because you don’t only need a good message… you also need a game so good that would make you watch the cool credits
Fun fact:
The credits I linked above? Barely three minutes long.
The credits in some modern AAA games can roll for upwards of an hour.
Trump… You know. Sending federal troups in LA to calm contestation (?)
Here (France) we got racist crimes. I hope justice will stay with the definitive condamnation of M. Le Pen besides. ,(next year)
Wars didn’t stop at all.
So nothing .
Edit: the climate.
It’s getting worse and not only the “nature” one but the “social” too. There are less interest in science, more authoritarian governments (a fact) and less space for individual freedom. Rich getting richer and poor poorer (another fact)
Yes, I had just never seen that word used in such a capacity. I thought it was used to describe verbal arguments or legal contests, not physical actions (protests, marches, demonstrations, picketing, riots, etc), so I thought there might be some extra legal dispute that might have triggered the whole thing and I missed that part.
Although “contestation” dates to the 16th century, I have never heard it nor seen it used. It runs contrary to the modern trend of shortening the language.
The National Guard supplemented by some marines were sent to protect federal buildings, which is where they are stationed. The police are the ones confronting the rioters.
What’s funny for anyone who has a memory is that the Left blamed Trump for not deploying the National Guard on January 6 (even though we later learned that Trump had offered the Guard to Pelosi, because the Speaker of the House controls protection of the Capitol, and she turned down the offer).
The amnesiacs also forget that the National Guard was brought into Washington for Biden’s inauguration and remained for weeks.
Protestors do not throw Molotov cocktails, burn up private property, and employ munitions (an M-80 is an eighth of a stick of dynamite, firecrackers frequently cause mutilation, and almost all fireworks are illegal for personal use in most jurisdictions). People who do that are called rioters.
I don’t know what is the situation in the US but in France, each time people want to protest peacefully in the street, a small minority of people join the group and commit violence, resulting in casualties among the police as well as among peaceful protesters. It has been that way for many years. Despite the violence, the government has never sent the army (or whatever equivalent of the National Guard), this would be unimaginable and would be interpreted as an attempt to stifle protests. The police is considered as enough, and even too much violence from the police is considered as an attack on democracy.
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