Paradox Interactive made plenty of announcements during this year’s PDXCON, with the long-awaited announcement of Victoria 3 and an expansion to Prison Architect among them. Within some of these announcements was an interesting and welcome trend, one players may not be expecting — these games are getting more socially conscious.
It’s easy to see how the Victoria games or Prison Architect may rub some gamers the wrong way. After all, Victoria is named for and set during an era of expansion and empire-building through colonization, and Prison Architect makes a game of building and managing a private prison in a time where there are serious questions being asked about criminal justice systems all over the world. However, while the issues inherent to these game concepts themselves remain, Paradox is addressing them by making changes to how Victoria 3 approaches various African and Asian nations and focusing on prisoner rehabilitation in Prison Architect‘s Second Chances expansion.
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Victoria 3 Is Fixing Its Predecessor’s Mistakes
The next entry in the grand strategy game series will make necessary changes to the way it discusses and represents the nations that were not major powers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Victoria II labels countries as “civilized” and “uncivilized,” terms that clearly have problematic origins and connotations. While, for gameplay purposes, Victoria 3 will still grant different nations starting labels, these have been changed to “recognized” and “unrecognized,” terms that denote how a nation and its people are perceived by others rather than implying that they are inherently better or worse.
Additionally, players are not limited to playing as larger, recognized countries like the United Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire or France. Just about every nation that existed during the era is playable, including many African and Asian nations that were historically colonized. While some decentralized African nations won’t be available at launch, the developers have said they want to make the experience of playing them distinct and will take the extra time necessary to do them justice.
While playing as unrecognized nations, players will be able to fight back against the European powers, providing a chance to resist colonization rather than forcing them to play as colonizers. This, of course, will not be easy, but such options being present are important. They allow the player to choose how to play the game rather than assuming they will only want the traditional options associated with similar strategy titles.
Prison Architect Will Reevaluate Its Approach to Incarceration
In the years since its 2015 launch, Prison Architect has received several expansions, but the game’s next DLC seems to provide a much-needed refresh to the formula. Second Chances will focus on prisoner rehabilitation and reducing the recidivism rate. According to Double Eleven, this is something it has been interested in exploring for a while now, but the developers realized that it would take time and research to properly implement such mechanics into the game.
Just as Second Chances will encourage positive reinforcement as a way to rehabilitate inmates though things like education, mentorship, animal therapy and job training, the expansion itself is also a positive step for Prison Architect itself. These new mechanics encourage players to take a more humane approach to prison, and even humanizes inmates in a way that wasn’t previously part of the game.
Now, instead of just being names attached to pixels that populate a virtual prison, inmates are people who are capable of learning and changing. Players will be able to implement programs that encourage prisoners to gain work experience or improve their behavior. While those who are released have a chance of reoffending and returning to the prison, that doesn’t mean players can’t try helping them again, perhaps using another method the second time around. Additionally, as a way to encourage players to make positive changes, they will receive a reward for every person reformed and be fined for those who reoffend.
Prison reform is a serious topic, one that the game seems to be addressing in its own way. Double Eleven looked to actual correctional facilities and took inspiration from programs that have resulted in positive behavioral changes and helped inmates prepare for life after prison. Whether intentional or not, Double Eleven and Paradox are drawing attention to the fact that society needs to rethink the way it approaches prison and treats those who are or have been incarcerated. While it’s unclear whether Second Chances will stick the landing or not, Prison Architect‘s DLC is ultimately a step in a the right direction, one that will hopefully encourage players to think about real-world problems and solutions.
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