Posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2018, at 21:08:04
In reply to Re: the world bank » sigismund, posted by alexandra_k on June 14, 2018, at 20:53:16
So I quite like computer games for their slant / take on life that gets me thinking.
The Sims. Especially the earlier ones. With their theories on personality traits etc.
Civilisation. For theories on technologies - and pre-requisites for technologies.
Civilisation.
Diplomacy (though I actually haven't played this it's on my list).
Simcity.
I've recently discovered Banished. It's a medieval city-builder. I got a kick out of watching differnet people play it with the different strategies that people have for game play. Then eventually people get the hang of the mechanics and the mathsy people people figure out optimal strategies.
Anyway, I found it interesting how some people would set their settlers out to collect up as much food as possible because they were afraid they would starve through the winter... Other people would set their settlers out to collect up as much wood and stone because they wanted them to not freeze (firewood) and get to building...
But the thing to do, really, (that nobody much seemed to do)... The thing that was obvious once you saw it done... Was to start out with the people building their houses. Then, once the houses were built, building their occupation. That way... The people don't get sick.
Frostpunk. Housing, again. Start with warm housing. Otherwise... The bodies pile up...
So...
I've been thinking a lot about how the world is f*ck*d up because of invisible hands guiding it in f*ck*d up directions vs how the world sort of becomes f*ck*d up as the result of some sort of blind, organic process. And it is interesting to see sort of 'debunking' 'just so' stories, or simple models of how things can sort of organically unfold to being f*ck*d up without any kind of unified malevolent force, satan, if you will, guiding things in f*ck*d up directions.
Though, that wasn't really the example of it. The people know they need places to sleep. The 'invisible hand' who thought they knew better... Well...
In Frostpunk you can make choices that are nicer... And choices that are, uh, not so nice. For example, you can build a child shelter for your children and then later train them to be medical or engineering apprentices. Or, you can allow child labour in safe jobs, and later in all jobs. On one of the letsplays the guy was playing an evil route and at some point someone said 'it would be more fun if you played the good route because it will make the game harder'
And he said...
Will it?
I mean... What reason do we have for thinking that profits before people, hoarding before people, making the people work overtime and so on and so forth makes the game easier. ? We create problems of housing and medical clinics. Then all the disabled people who can't work. We can research prostheses etc to try and get them working -- but that's the opportunity cost of not researching other things. I mean... You wouldn't need to research a bunch of health things if you didn't make the bloody health problems in the first place.
But there is this attitude of... Many many many many unhappy and miserable and sick people simply being the collateral damage or the unfortunate but totally necessary byproduct or consequence of... GDP. or something... that it simply must be that way for some reason...
A bunch of people with power (perhaps only some limited kind of it) but a bunch of people with power seem to genuinely belive this.
Human depravity.
Sigh.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1099084
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20180212/msgs/1099172.html