Social Justice in games
ojthesimpson
Member Posts: 121
Why is everyone so surprised the game has themes of social justice in it?
It's a game and a genre based on a fantasy version of a MEDIEVAL world. The orginal game has boat loads of commentary. It had quests and negative portrayals of rich people treating the poor like that were slaves or less deserving of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This game was made in Canada. So ofcourse they are going to have more elements like that. Canada has a higher standard of living than America. It has free health care and almost no poverty stricken slums like America has in every major city.
They likely view us with shock. Being such a wealthy country and having insane amounts of poverty swept under the rug all the time.
it's ok for the "hero" to help the poor. That's what heros do.
It's a game and a genre based on a fantasy version of a MEDIEVAL world. The orginal game has boat loads of commentary. It had quests and negative portrayals of rich people treating the poor like that were slaves or less deserving of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This game was made in Canada. So ofcourse they are going to have more elements like that. Canada has a higher standard of living than America. It has free health care and almost no poverty stricken slums like America has in every major city.
They likely view us with shock. Being such a wealthy country and having insane amounts of poverty swept under the rug all the time.
it's ok for the "hero" to help the poor. That's what heros do.
2
Comments
According to the Human Development Index, the USA actually has a slightly higher standard of living than Canada. Its almost negligible, but you'd be hard pressed to find two countries more similar. Also, in terms of material poverty, they are also roughly the same.
Also, regarding commentary on poverty, its quite important to realize that, judging from what we see, the game world is in a pre-capitalist economic system. Large amounts of wealth are either inherited or earned through killing dragons. Wealth follows title, and the people with disparaging comments toward the poor are "Nobleman" and "Noblewoman", not "CEO", "Doctor" or "Entrepreneur".
There is also still some manner of feudal system in place, which is confirmed by the fighter's stronghold. There do seem to be some businesses that run somewhat like we do today, mostly the inns, but overall there is little in common between our economic systems and that of Amn or Baldur's Gate.
This is why I think it is quite a stretch to call those aspects of the game "social justice themes".