Hossein Mohammadzade

Hossein Mohammadzade began his academic research in game studies with his thesis for his master’s degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Guilan. His main area of interest is the relationship between ideology, narrative, and videogames.

Resource Wars: From Gameworlds to Physical Reality

FROG 2020 – Short Talk

Whether raiding a settlement in an online strategy game such as Clash of Clans or Lords Mobile, or exploring the retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic landscapes of Fallout 4, or even reading a magazine in the AI-driven 2038 of Detroit: Become Human, players come across the concept of resource wars. While such wars have happened in the physical world, its anticipation both in the retro-futuristic universe of Fallout 4 and in the futuristic one of Detroit: Become Human could have significant implications. Despite their drastically different timelines and forms of technology, they both anticipate a lack of resources that leads to war. Moreover, with the introduction of new devices, technological developments, and a massive population growth, there is also a concern for the resources needed for such a superfluity. Therefore, if different types of technology which are advertised as convenient and efficient in various ways cannot prevent a critical shortage of those resources, does a comparison of the two games reveal a more fundamental, omnipresent problem? This study tries to demonstrate that an analysis of these games shows how excessive production and consumption in pursuit of more profit lead to death and destruction instead of improving the quality of people’s lives. It also tries to answer this question: Do these games implicitly suggest an urgent need to substitute dominant modes of production, or do they hint at a gradual adaptation or reform of current economic systems or modes of production?


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