Mohammad Farraj

DMS 448

Blog Post 7

            As time progresses, ideas are created, technology advances and goals are accomplished. In the creative space such as media, game studies and technology, when scholars surpass an idea or invent a piece of technology, those ideas and inventions become a piece of the past. But as these achievements are accomplished, we look back to these ideas  and recognize that they aren’t in the past and forgotten. They are not only seen as lessons but seen as way we as a society (and its individuals) could grow. In relation to this idea, the word “Nostalgia” becomes the turning point of said conversation. In the article, “Nostalgia and the Dystopia of History in 2K’s Bioshock Infinite” by Martin Buinicki, shows how the gaming community (including it’s developers) grow from the past and learn from it. Overall, nostalgia helps the community grow and learn in order to improve.

In the article, “Nostalgia and the Dystopia of History in 2K’s Bioshock Infinite” by Martin Buinicki shows how the idea of Nostalgia helps guide the gamming community to improve themselves and it’s products. In the text, Buinicki states how in one game called “BioShock Infinite”, looks back into it’s product (the game itself) and analyzes how it has displayed people of color in such a racist manner and whitewashed history to display such gameplay. In the text, it states, “In a similar way, as Bioshock Infinite unfolds, players learn Columbia’s Rockwell-inspired exterior hides multiple racist depictions of African Americans, Native Americans, the Irish, and the Chinese…The horror of the raffle forces players to recognize what has been absent in the hazy, peaceful set pieces of Columbia, and, subsequently, in their own idealized views of the past… The degree to which nostalgia serves to obscure oppression is one facet of the considerable debate regarding the uses and abuses of nostalgia (Buinicki 727). What this shows is that, within the game Bioshock, game developers have depicted people of color are portrayed in a racist manner that gamers are exposed too. In doing so, players are witnessing the whitewashed methods that developers have placed for players to play through. However, as time progresses, developers have looked back at their work and made progress in understanding the lessons from gamers reactions, blogs and gameplays through said game. What this shows is that, by looking back at nostalgic events within their work, game developers are able to improve themselves and their product. Reflecting back from DMS 448 class discussions, nostalgia is originally used as a term to look back into previous times and recognizes this idea of vintage, classical time(s). However, in some cases such as this, that may not be the case. Game developers look towards nostalgic moments in their companies and work,  and use it to progress and build themselves. In doing so, that is how they grow as a company and franchise. Therefore, this article and the concepts with it, help both companies and gaming communities improve for society to witness.

                                                                        Work Cited Page

Buinicki, Martin T. Nostalgia and the Dystopia of History in2K’SBioshock Infinite. learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/5e00ea752296c/6391964?response-content-disposition=inline; filename*=UTF-8”Buinicki%20-%202016%20-%20Nostalgia%20and%20the%20Dystopia%20of%20History%20in%202K%27s%20Bios.pdf&response-content-type=application/pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20200315T193719Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAZH6WM4PLTYPZRQMY/20200315/us-east-1/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=b6fae982c8f16f8011995e3889f5f94d0de23a70994286178134a7e307c58ca7.