To speak of war conflicts is to inevitably refer to death and destruction. The general public becomes aware of these circumstances through the power of attraction and empathy exerted by the image. Although it is true that, as Professor Susan D. Moeller analyzed, there is a risk of provoking in the viewer a “compassion fatigue”, where the saturation of frames of pain can cause the opposite effect: the normalization of suffering and its limited capacity to move the international audience.
At present, sadly, there are numerous wars that continue to plague the peaceful coexistence of human beings: from Palestine to Yemen, passing through Syria, and reaching the most recent of them, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Solidarity with Ukraine
Parallel to this aggression, which violates all the rules of International Law, a powerful solidarity movement has been generated in favor of the civilian population from the normative point of view (protection framework for refugees), media and citizen. All this, without forgetting the Economic sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union on Russia.
Within the support strategies for the Ukrainian people, from donations to enormous visibility on social networks and different communication platforms, the video game industry has taken on a relevant and innovative role. Beyond the initial propaganda instrumentalization that was made of some titles (especially, weapon 3), important studios close to Ukraine and from all over the world have expressed their resounding rejection of the Russian attack.
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It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that the world of videogames (from its creators to the community of players) is positioned against certain political and cultural actions, transferring its mere playful conception to another more vindictive.
Relevant international organizations, such as the UN and the agencies that derive from it (UNICEF, UNAOC, UNESCO, UNHCR), have been analyzing the characteristics of this format and its possible benefits for promoting dialogue, building peace and activating empathy among the youngest for years.
The world of videogames and conflicts
In 2020, after the death of the African-American George Floyd in the city of Minneapolis, and in the face of the social outrage it caused (movement Black Lives Matter), from digital video game platforms such as itch.io, initiatives such as the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. Through a payment of 5 dollars, the user could access a huge batch of more than 1,000 titles. Through this action they wanted to denounce “racial injustice, inequality and police brutality against the black population.” An impressive nine million dollars was raised, which went to two foundations for human rights.
itch.io
In May of the following year, as a result of the intense bombing of Gaza by Israel, video game creators and developers amateurs they celebrated the Palestine Game Jam in order to shed light on what was happening: “An entire nation is being slowly erased from existence, in the most horrendous way possible, and it is our duty to give them a voice.”
As a result of this meeting, forums on the history and culture of Palestine were organized in disagree and strongly protesting games were designed such as Don’t Die Without Me, about the devastating effects of air strikes on the Palestinian people. In addition, almost a million dollars were raised for UNWRA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East), thanks to the Indie Bundle for Palestinian Aid.
itch.io
the current conflict
These previous experiences have continued in the war in Ukraine. It has been designed, again in itch.io, a bell to obtain financial aid through the sale of hundreds of video games at the symbolic price of 10 dollars (as of March 14, it has already achieved the goal set, raising five million):
“The people of Ukraine are under attack. As game developers, we want to create new worlds, not destroy the one we have. That is why we have come together to present this charity package to help Ukrainians survive this ordeal and thrive after the war is over. This cause has resonated with creators around the world, to the point where our package contains nearly 1,000 games, tabletop RPGs, books…”
Not only that. From the moment that the Russian tanks crossed the border with Ukraine, hundreds of studios, designers and video game companies have shown their total rejection of this fact, spreading their proclamations from all social networks.
One of the most notorious cases has been that of 11 bit studioscreators of the award-winning This War of Mine Inspired by the Siege of Sarajevo. His identification with the Ukrainian cause has provoked a heated debate on platforms such as Steam or Redditwhere the Russian and Chinese gaming communities have attacked the “politicization” of the play.
The “fourth wall”, the virtual spaces – through the identification between the self and our avatars, what Brian Massumi defined as Proprioception–, have been placed at the service of the digital diplomacy and they have allowed the use of video games for political denunciation, for the search for solidarity or awareness. Let us hope not to fall, in this case, into the “fatigue of representation”, because in the plane of reality the game over it is definitive.
Antonio Cesar Moreno CantanoDepartment of International Relations and Global History, Complutense University of Madrid
This article was originally published on The Conversation. read the original.