Corp-ries of the World

A Critical Experience Game

‘Corp-ries of the World’ is a critical design interactive game. The game allows participants to speculate on a future in which multi-national corporations have become so powerful that they have outgrown nation-states and taken control over them.

THE OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the game is to stimulate critical thinking and discussion about the constantly growing power of corporations across the world, as well as emphasize the part we play in enabling that power (by giving them data). The approach in the design of the game is to look at this problem from a global perspective. Although this is a speculative scenario that few people might be thinking about on a daily basis, it is a global concern. In the game, players experience this world from several cultural perspectives, according to the cultural background of the corporation in charge. In general, however, corporations — especially tech-oriented ones — are growing in all parts of the world, and collecting data from all citizens. A shift in perception of one corporation can spark a new reality across the world.

By allowing players to experience what such a world might feel like, along with encouraging them throughout the game to take on an activist role in the narrative, the hope is that the game will encourage them to think critically about how the world is evolving, and emphasize the importance of activism outside the game world.

THE SETUP

The project was inspired by repeated headlines in the news about the growing strength of corporation and their interaction with state-based economies:

These articles encouraged thoughts about what the world might be like if corporations would decide to take the company to the next level and acquire countries.

In order to better understand how each corporation might shape a future country of their own, I have done online research to get a better sense of the research efforts that each corporation has invested in. The exploration helped build up knowledge that would later help shape the narrative of the game and the reality each corporation imposes on their citizens.

THE STORY

In the game, the player enters a world in which they are completely controlled by a corporation country and its algorithms. The game opens when the player is fired from their job at Facebook, and now needs to not only find a new job, but also a new citizenship. The player’s main task is to do so while dealing with the complexities of a world that has business as a top priority, and is completely governed by AI algorithms, code, and computation.

For example, the player needs to use an app called HireBox, that relies on algorithms and data collection to determine the player’s qualification for job openings available across the world:

As the game develops, the player is also gradually exposed to an underground activist organization, “The 404s”. The group finds new ways to contact citizens by hacking into popular systems and holding secret meetings in specific locations. The 404s subsequently attempts to recruit the player, who can choose to what extent they get involved in the activism of this future world. This additional layer of an underground organization allows the player to decide between following social norms and going against the regime for a better future, which also determines how the story will unfold for them.

THE MEDIUM

The game is played mostly outside the boundaries of the dedicated smartphone app. It makes use of the player’s data streams, such as email, messaging, and location services to do so. The game is always transitioning from platform to platform, and is designed to make sure the player knows what their next action should be. Some examples are that they need to reply to an email, that they are waiting to get a call from a company representative, or that they need to physically go to a particular location in their hometown to continue the game. This game design is intended to give players a sense that they are constantly being tracked and controlled, with their corporation company contacting them in every media channel, even their home address and location services.

Furthermore, by using media channels that the player uses on a daily basis, the game interleaves with ‘real life’ and invites the player to reflect on the similarities and boundary between their life and the game world.

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