The Ethical Colonizer? Grand Strategy Games, Colonization, and New Ways of Engaging Moral Choices

Abstract

This work explores the relationship of “4x” games rules, the historical narratives they offer, and player choice. Such games offer an ability for players to alter the accepted form and format of history by playing through alternate scenarios based on their choices as key countries, governments, and political groups. However, these choices are limited by the game’s governing mechanics, which prescribe the historical geopolitical status of the countries they portray, shaping in-game propensities for accruing specific resources, production of products, and shipping with specific partners.

Using the game Victoria 3 as an initial case study, we explore a ‘successful’ play, although complicated by socioeconomic concerns, of playing as “Belgium” in an initial campaign, and then a contrasting experience playing as “Cambodia” under the same system. The resulting successes and failures offer useful perspective; we examine not just the failure of rules-systems as they pertain to historically based interpretations and the co-creation of narrative regarding such, but also touch on the role that these systems have in representing the differing capabilities of various positions/nations within the game. Ultimately, the player can draw their own conclusions on the concept of colonialism, but games such as Victoria 3 have much to say on the capabilities of these systems to construct narratives based on player choice, where the interpretation of that narrative is significant to the evaluation of larger economic and governmental concerns.