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Area 51 is forbidden territory in real life, but fair game as far as entertainment is concerned. The creators of the next Area 51 game have taken the taboo out of the setting and into the story with an potentially polarizing political angle.

Recently MTV News reporter Stephen Totilo interviewed Harvey Smith of Midway Austin concerning his in-development title Black Site: Area 51. In the interview, Smith reveals an interesting political angle in this quote:

"You could just make a metaphor for terrorists. But the most interesting sort of multidimensional part is, 'Wait, what if they are terrorists we helped create? What if the people supporting us in our fight against the terrorists aren't completely clean either? What if they're sending us after them now, but what if 10 years ago it was safe for them to create them?' ... So what we have in 'BlackSite' is a delta-force assassination squad hunting down and killing members of an Army training program. So on American soil, Americans are fighting Americans, basically."

Political issues are rarely tackled in games. Usually the most we get is a few jokes here or there. There are several probable reasons for this. I'll bet the main one is a policy of "We're not gonna touch that with a 10 ft. pole." Game companies are likely fearful of alienating players with overtly political messages, and rightly so. If a particular side of an issue is pushed, gamers with differing political viewpoints may not only take issue with the game, but then be suspicious of future games by the same company. Another concern might come from the attitude that games are meant to entertain, not preach.

Yet take a look at the film industry. Movies are often a platform for political discussions. It's one of the ways that movies became considered a serious art form, as opposed to their status in the early 20th-century when they were just seen as mindless entertainment. Games are on their way to achieving the same cultural relevance as movies (and they already make more money). Tackling politics could potentially reduce the stigma of games being seen as toys by the non-gaming public. Games may one day replace television and movies as the dominant entertainment medium. And what better way to get people thinking than with an interactive tool?

Area 51: Alien and American attackers?

Brave developers can do this, but it requires a little finesse. In the interview with Smith, he talks about how they have members of the team coming from multiple political viewpoints, and are able to weigh in so that their game doesn't seem too biased. Along with that, a developer fearful of alienating the audience would do well to not make the political message too preachy, or too central to the game. It's possible to put in a political subtext without saturating a game and making the player feel like they're having something pushed on them.

We need more brave souls like Harvey Smith willing to put their neck out there.

Hey, thanks: Water Cooler Games

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