The Power of Media: Insights from the Game “We Become What We Behold”
A cute game that shows circle people and square people lives in harmony, until…
Nowadays, we live in the middle of a river of information. This river streams information to us non-stop. Even if we do not open any kind of news media such as television or newspapers, we are still exposed to news from the Internet. The conclusion is we cannot escape from the media.
There is a 5-minutes game called “We Become What We Behold” by Nickey Case that depicts what happens when the media only cares about virality. In that game, there are two kinds of people: the circle people and the square people. At the start of the game, they live in harmony, not much happens, and they live their lives peacefully. Then, as players, we take on the role of the media and capture pictures of their lives. The first picture we capture is of a circle person wearing a hat, which is then shown on a big television in the middle of the map. After that, the photo became viral, the hat became a trend, and other people who saw that photo started wearing it.
So far, things are pretty calm and wholesome, right? But then, we take a picture of an intershape (because they are identified by the shape of their heads) couple, and their picture gets a hashtag shaming them. Next, we take a picture of a square person who looks crazy, barking at a circle person, with the hashtag “Crazed square attacks circle.” This creates a growing fear among the circle people towards the square people. From then on, the chain of events leads to massive chaos.
The sad part of the game is that even when the player, acting as the media, tries to shift the focus by taking pictures of wholesome events, it is too late, the crowd doesn’t buy it. They don’t want boring, peaceful news; they want violent news.
In “We Become What We Behold,” the developer of this game successfully describes how dangerous media can be if it only chases virality above everything else. It demonstrates how sensationalism could distort reality and cause unnecessary divisions among people. Especially in today’s world, where not only media companies can share news, but almost everyone with access to the internet can share news, create hoaxes, and spread misinformation. By being mindful of what we read and share, we can contribute to a more peaceful and informed society. This game is available for free on various platforms if you want to try this powerful game.
