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Plato Republic And Video Games Essay

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Both Plato’s Republic and videogames offer people a unique outlook on Justice. Video Games especially role-playing games allow players to create their own justice (or lack of justice). Through the player’s choices justice either reveals itself in unexpected ways or it simply does not exist, and all is controlled by what the player chooses. The same can be said for The Republic it may not be a videogame in the same sense but it is still a mind game. Socrates and the interlocutors are creating a city with their minds, to find justice on a much smaller scale, being the soul. Plato makes it clear that the city is not real and should be treated as such. The same goes for a videogame, one must take every action and consequence with a grain of…show more content…
In the sick city things become a lot more complex, the city now needs an army. Not only to protect itself from invaders but to also keep the city thriving since the city needs resources. The only way to get those resources and by going out and fighting for them. Video Games like “Mass Effect” offer one aspect of the portrayal of justice in videogames. There is a lot of power in letting the player choose their destiny. If the player doesn’t like a decision that they made then it only intensifies the importance of their actions. Socrates also tries to explain this to the interlocutors when he says, “Then the city must be made bigger again. This healthy one isn’t adequate any more” (Plato 373B). The whole city needed to be revamped because the consequence of Glaucon wanting a city with more stuff has changed the city itself. Each action that is made whether in videogames or in The Republic has its consequence. As a result of that the player or the characters have to plan accordingly to the changes they make, and value what is really important to them. Justice can also be portrayed in videogames through it being integrated into the story. Developers of the game may choose to instead depict acts of justice or injustice the way they view them instead of giving the player a choice. The goal in the end is to connect with the player and show them a different way to view justice. For example, most notably the game franchise “Grand Theft Auto”
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