After I made my character, I chose Aurora Glade as my location in the game, which is a mission outpost in the Maguuma Jungle. At first sight Aurora Glade is a dark and gloomy place filled with chaos, contrary to what one might expect given the name. The sky is a dark angry blue with pounding rain and threatening lightening. The houses in the village are on fire with smoke coming out of them, and there are Seraph soldiers defending Aurora Glade from the invading Centaurs. Although most dystopian worlds are set in the future, this one seems to be set sometime around the Middle ages. This is conveyed through the construction of the houses in Aurora Glade, and the choice of weaponry. The centaurs seem to be using bows and arrow, whereas some of the humans are using magic. As my character is human it is clear where my character’s loyalties lie. I am fighting on the side of the humans against the Charr. Personally, I do not want to be on either sides because they are both using violence and causing destruction.
According to Guild Wars 2 history the once prosperous humans are now declining because of their war with the Charr, who have reclaimed their ancestral homeland of Ascalon from the humans. Upon learning of this, the theme of colonization is very prevalent to me. The producers of the game have painted the humans as the victims. Whereas upon a closer look the humans are the ones who originally invaded and colonized the land, and it is now being taken back from them. I have no doubt the humans will be triumphant at the end of this game as is the case in the real world.
This made me think of two instances from the real world. The first is how humans have industrialized the landscape regardless of the wildlife that was once there. This has led to many species of wildlife becoming extinct and some endangered. The second is how European settlers have colonized most of the world. For instance, in Canada Indigenous people have been relocated to reserves and some are living homeless and in poverty in cities. It is as Longan says “like traditional landscapes, video game landscapes incorporate the moral ideologies of their producers.” Guild Wars 2, like many other video games, is “[reinforcing] the dominant ideologies that govern the production of real world landscapes” (Longan). This game is not bringing anything new to the conversation. It is simply reiterating the dominant narrative of Western colonization and industrialization.
References
Longan, M. W. (2008). Playing with landscape: social process and spatial form in video games. Aether, 2.