Are writers of games trying to get the word out ?

I have realised that a lot of games have story lines that incorporate conspiracy theories. The ones that come quickly to mind are:-

Metalgear Solid : MJ 12, Illuminati

Deux Ex : Manipulation by pharmaceutical companies and government organisations

Fallout 3 : Alien abduction in the spaceship Zeta download

Can anyone think of any more ?
Do you think this is a goodway of getting the message out.?
Do you think they are doing it to purely make money by exploiting a growing point of interest or are there people who think they have a responsibility.
Do you think they could put undue worries in young sensitive minds or is this acceptable?


[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

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Resident evil i think its some pharma company that leaks a t-virus and turns alot of folks into zombies

You're forgetting some titles there was even a game called UFO and a game called Area 51.

But all the groundbreaking stuff was done by Half-Life.

reply to post by alchemist2012


Yes, here could be another. I'm sure we are going to see a massive growing trend of outing here. I think its a great way of getting the word out "under the radar" before any Big Brother censorship.

reply to post by Grey Magic


Area 51 is an example of where title " says what it does on the tin".
The actual idea of Area 51 is very much in the public domain now but so many blue pill takers are sure that is just a conspiracy. So this could be an example of the title is just to get game sales because at the end of the day its just a shoot em up. What I'm looking for are games that have a definate underlying story line especially role play that make you think "hang on there is a message here"

Look at GTA where you suddenly come across Area 51 in the desert without any pre-announcement. People are not buying it because there is a conspiracy theory. They have bought because they have heard its excellant.



[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

Mass Effect 2 blatantly references MKULTA at one point, and has a lot of other things that ring bells for conspiracy people

In my opinion yes and no here's why: i believe these people are just like us and they've probably figured "if we put these images in our games people would buy them just to see them" and we'll spread the publicity of the game by speaking about it. But on the other hand maybe they are trying to wake us up. if anybody has seen street fighter 3 and 4 there's blatant promotion of tptb take this for example: sf3 the last boss was called gill and his company was the illuminati! And sf4 the boss was seth and his company was S.I.N! And the logo included the all seeing eye! My conclusion is this: everybody nowaday's knows about conspiracy theories. We help promote their video games by speaking about them, thus helping them sell more copies!

Well on that point, space invaders must be based on some intergalactic space war

I think they incorperate conspiracy theorires to keep games interesting, much like movies do

My brother works as a game creator in the industry.

Trust me... they don't know anything we don't know.
If he is any indication, they may know less...

These have been recurring themes in fiction since the dawn of the written word. Specifics change like labels and devices but the message is the same.

But at least is some kid wont read 1984 he may eventually play it or some reasonable facsimile and get the message.

They are just trying to make money.

Originally posted by IMOVERHERE

Can anyone think of any more ?
Do you think this is a goodway of getting the message out.?
Do you think they could put undue worries in young sensitive minds or is this acceptable?


[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

[edit on 30/4/10 by IMOVERHERE]

MY few favs:

HALO1-2-3-WARS-ODST
GEARS OF WAR1-2
LOSTPLANET1
DEADSPACE1 LOL @ THE ISHIMARU PLANET CRACKING SHIP
MASS EFFECT1
LEFT 4 DEAD1-2
RESIDENT EVIL 5 smh @ uroboros infection
AREA51
DOOM 3

My kids love these crazy games they are mine but I let them play them sometimes my son loves HALO and my daughter loves LEFT 4 DEAD and they arent afraid of them. These games to me could be a form of disclosure as well as mental conditioning other then being fun as HELL, smh.

i have been wanting to make a thread like this since i joined! I played Deus ex when i was a teenager and was blown away by the game. I think it is one of the best games every made, along with Half Life 1.

Unlike half life 1, in Deus ex YOU decide how you want to play the game. It's tough to get into detail because there are so many amazing elements of the game that still hold up today. I infact recently reinstalled Deus Ex a few months ago.

Deus ex has aliens, NWO, vaccines to kill the population, terrorists, men in black, shady government and more.

You decide which team to play for. Do you follow your brother, whom you grew up with and fight with the terrorists? Or do you pledge your allegiance and to the government who created you and fight against your brother?

You make the choices, you decide who lives or dies. You answer questions that will effect the storyline of the game. It is really amazing.

From a first person shooter, it is the ultimate game. Don't like killing people? Use the wide variety of non leathal weapons to get the job done. Use a baton or tazer to knock out enemies or use a tranquilizer gun to take them down from a distance.

I can go on and on about this game but the game deserves it's own post.

Fallout 3 is another amazing game which i played recently. The story goes China nukes the US sometime in America's history. Luckily, in DC, the heart of our government, many underground bases were made to let people survive nuclear winter for the 10's of years after the bombs were dropped.

You are born in the underground base and your father escapes for some reason. Again, like in Deus Ex, the game makes you feel connected with the other characters because they are your family, and hey your family can't do anything wrong now can they! You have to find your father and find out why the hell he escaped.

Turns out the Government is not taking care of the people after the blast and the father wants to create a machine to fix the water around DC to make it non toxic. Amazing game and the Knights Templars make an appearance (atleast that's who i think the knights are).

Great great game Fallout 3 is.

Another great game by the same people that make Fallout 3 is Elder Scroll 4: Oblivion. There are Gates to hell, the "Knights of the Nine" which are the Templars and famous thieves. Really cool game.

And my favorite Conspiracy game of all time has to be Gabriel Knight 3. Oh man, this is the game to play if you enjoyed Da Vinci Code.

When i played this game last year i almost shat my pants. You are a Private Investigator and you start of your adventure in RENNES LE CHATEAU, the most mysterious place in France.

What's so great about this game? They made 3d models of all the major sites of the village, including the church and tower. Why does this matter? If you have looked into Abbey Sauniere and have wondered what he discovered, it is imperative that you examine the Church of Mary Magdalene. But since most of us can not afford the time and money to travel to this place, this game let's you explore an almost exact 3d model of it!

Did you guys know that Sauniere could have been a Freemason? Walk the church floors and notice the black and white checkerboard floors and examine his private quarters. Examine the demon that guards the door and examine all 14 stations of the Cross.

These games are must play games, especially Deus Ex and Gabriel Knight!

destroy all humans 2, even though its more of a comical game does touch on some of the different conspiracies.

reply to post by BeastMaster2012


Totally agree about Deux Ex. I dragged out my PS2 only last month to complete it for the 3rd time. Brilliant. Unfortunately my laptop has rubbish graphics capability so I cant play later versions. Does any one know where I can get a download of a later version for PS3

Pacman: Ghost are real, but you can eat them as long as they're blue.
Mario: There is a secret kingdom of mushroom men and dinosaurs with funky haircuts beneath the streets.

Like thisguyrighthere already said.

These have been recurring themes in fiction since the dawn of the written word. Specifics change like labels and devices but the message is the same.

Recurring themes, popular memes. Conspiracy theories are popular story devices, we game designers know little more than the rest of you.

Then again, the one my studio is working on currently may be on to something: but if I say anything more I'd have to kill you, you know the deal.

[edit on 4/30/2010 by eNumbra]

reply to post by IMOVERHERE


I think these are works of fiction, some of them perhaps taken from real conspiracy theories to make the plot of the games seem more fantastic.

But I dont think they are trying to send a message like a bad M Night Shamlyan movie.

reply to post by OzWeatherman

Brilliant thought, here we are at the onset of mass gaming !

Assassins Creed 2 is one of them. I mean there`s many references like the Illuminati symbol (triangle and eye in the middle or top) being the evil who gave Adam and Eve the apple and many more ...

[edit on 30-4-2010 by paprika]

[edit on 30-4-2010 by paprika]

Assassin's Creed 1 and 2.

In the 1st one a company rounds people living in the present that have bloodlines going back to people in the past. They have a machine that puts you to sleep and allows you to relive the past due to your ancestrial DNA. From the very begining its clear these guys are NWO.

Ever so often in the game you take a break from the action and get to walk around the room your being housed in. There you start to see things you never noticed before due to abilities you pick up from your relatives. Masonic symbols start popping up all over the place. Then you check out files on a computer about how this company was involved in EVERY conspiracyy that has come out. Philadelphia Experiment and so on and so on. The Knight's Templar are after you all throughout the game. So you get to assassinate many of them. You also find.....well I won't spoil it anymore.

The second one is all about the Vatican Conspiracy, going after the Borgia's (The Pope, and the son, who many claim is who pictures of Jesus really are). Leonardo Da Vinci is in this as well and helps you with his inventions.

Between Chapters are mini games. You don't have to do them, but if your a Conspiracy Theorist you'll want to. You find out some interesting stuff. How the Apple shows up in EVERY religion and it's signifigance, Fireston and Ford making a pact, lol. All kinds of theories come out of this series of games. In the end it touches on Isis in the Vatican Basement and 2012. Pretty crazy.

[edit on 30-4-2010 by J.Son79]