Gameplay Journal Entry #7

For this weeks journal entry I decided to play Freedom Fighters. This political game focuses on stopping the spread of communism when the Soviet Union invades the US. Throughout the game the main character Chris, with the help of others, sabotages the Soviet Union in efforts to reclaim freedom for the US. From the design of the game you can see a theme is that the US is superior to other countries. An example of this is after Chris saves Angelina from the Soviets, he also changes the flag hanging over the city from the Soviet flag to the US flag.

I believe this game communicated its ideas of communism and conflict with other countries very well through its design. Freedom Fighters is a very traditional shooting game designed around conflict and violence. After reading Belman and Flanagen’s article I recognized that creating a game about stopping the spread of communism would be very hard to do without violence and conflict. Their project of value conscious design examines “how designers can use games to explore, affirm, and question particular cultural, political, or moral values” (Belman). With that being said, the method of this game made it very enjoyable to participate in.

Belman, Jonathan, and Mary Flanagan. “Exploring the Creative Potential of Values Conscious Game Design: Students’ Experiences with the VAP Curriculum.” Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture, www.eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/83/156.