Video Game Propaganda :: Entertainment Advertising Papers

Video Game Propaganda Propaganda is hidden in our literature, spews from our radios, and is even inside our televisions. Propaganda, information or material spread to advance a cause or to damage an opponent's cause in such a way as to hide negative aspects, surrounds us all in every aspect of our lives. It is unavoidable and now it is gaining ground in yet another technology. Throughout the years technology has always been used to wield propaganda. Even canvas paintings have had their hand in such a form of information with depictions of current events that resemble the style of some of today's political cartoons. The printing press provided the ability to mass produce pamphlets supporting or putting down a cause. Thomas Paine's Common Sense comes to mind when one thinks of propaganda pamphlets because of its large impact it had on informing the thirteen colonies of the importance of the American Revolution. The radio not only allowed a message to be able to reach a wider audience in a shorter amount of time, but messages could even reach those who were illiterate. The television and movies reach a wider audience still and a visual style becomes very important to propaganda and helps immerse the viewer into the information. More recently propaganda has been wielded through computer technology. Web sites for the respective governments and factions of the U.S. military are all over the World Wide Web. Banner ads (essentially mini posters that are sometimes animated) appear on various web sites that are chosen in much the same way that companies choose which television shows to buy advertisement time during. In all occasions of propaganda infiltrating the newest technologies the purpose is always to reach the audience the propaganda is directed towards and that is certainly no exception with propaganda's recent involvement with video game technology. Video game propaganda is just as effective as past incarnations of propaganda if not more so because of its immersive nature. The US Government's History with Video Game Technology In the late 1970s a video games started their long relationship with the U.S. military. An arcade game entitled "Mech War" was introduced into an Army War College. This was the first of quite a few games introduced into colleges to be used as skill-enhancers. The military recognized the ability of video games to hone reflexes and hand-eye coordination. In the 1980s the U.S. Army modified "Battlezone," a futuristic 3D tank battle game that actually introduced the idea of a first person shooter.