Games Offer First-Hand Perspective

 “You will always have partial points of view, and you’ll always have the story behind the story that hasn't come out yet.”

— Margaret Atwood

I’ve written recently about immersing ourselves in films, books, and games to help broaden our perception of a particular literary genre or historical period. It’s a different way to expand our experiences through diverse media; yet games put us in the moment in a deeper way than films and books. Most media begins and ends at fixed points, providing a step-by-step narrative that often helps us identify with the experience of individuals and their perspectives as the plot unfolds. Games start at a fixed point, too, but where they end — and how they get there — often remains uncertain until played out. As we take turns, we assess the “game state” at that moment, plot our moves, and ultimately see how they succeed. Games give us first-hand experience at estimating a situation and forming a plan of action in response to that situation in a way that “fixed” media relying on plots do not. They can immerse us in an event as it evolves; even though we might know how it turns out, the participants at that time and place did not. Games can offer us a taste of that experience as players try to comprehend and react to a developing situation.

We tend to look back at history as the knowable past, something set in time, an even about which we have “perfect information.” Our knowledge often changes as new evidence, stories, and events emerge from research and analysis. Our perspective changes as we change our focus on a historical event, from the broad picture to the experience of individuals. To the people who lived through this history, events unfolded in the context of the here-and-now; their impressions at the moment often reflect a different perspective than the seemingly established notions we have of particular events and issues. We can, to some extent, put ourselves in their shoes watching and reading about their experiences in hindsight; these certainly have merit in expanding our own understanding and helping us learn by empathizing with their experiences. But games put us in their place to a certain degree, facing developing events that, at the moment, seem quite uncertain. Yes, we might know where certain historical events are heading, but how we get there better informs us what people experienced at that time and in those conditions.

We’re not always aware of how present events we experience shape the immediate future or how “history” will remember them. We’re not always cognizant of what we knew and when we knew it as situations evolve over time, as we manage our daily lives in the face of larger events, as we deal with the “imperfect information” based on various sources, or even a lack of believable news. And neither were people in the past.

I recently posted on social media how my grandparents sought to return to Germany in the summer of 1939. In the comments someone noted, “Seems like an odd time to move to Germany if that's what happened.” But my grandparents had their own in-the-moment perspectives. My grandmother, caring for a new baby, wanted to return to her sisters and mother, probably as a support network. From a German point of view, things were looking up: the economy had recovered not only from the Great Depression but the crippling war reparations; innovative Autobahns crossed the nation; ordinary people could afford subsidized “Strength through Joy” cruises; and Germany was fast becoming a major player on the world stage. Why not return to Germany? It’s easy for us in hindsight to look back and ask what were were thinking? And it’s hard to answer, even now.

I’m listening to a podcast covering the day-by-day events of the Warsaw Uprising in August-September 1944, an episode I know little about despite my interest in other theaters of World War II. (Warning: It’s an extremely brutal and difficult subject.) Listening to each day’s podcast puts me in the position of the participants — Polish Home Army, other insurgents, civilians — as they witness individual incidents within the broad uprising and experience the repercussions of larger forces at work. The hosts offer insights into each day’s gains, losses, and horrors further illustrated by readings from survivors’ diary entries. I know what ultimately happens in the uprising, but I’m following along with the brave, determined fighters to see how, at least in the first few days, they feed on the optimism of finally fighting their occupiers, of coming out of hiding, taking and holding territory and key installations, and ultimately working toward determining their own brighter future for Warsaw and Poland. The podcast offers a glimpse at history as it unfolds, focusing primarily on the experience of individuals on the front lines and those caught up in the conflict who had their hopes but really no idea where events might lead.

I’ve discussed the “imperfect information” we all experienced during the initial months of the covid-19 pandemic. We all have our individual impressions and stories of having endured the pandemic: the uncertainty of its opening days; the confusion with information about the disease; the adjustments to everyday life it required; and how we dealt with the horrific toll it took on our population. It’s an immediate example we can reflect upon when we talk about events through which we’ve lived as “history.” As the pandemic progressed, so did our impressions of it, our aggregation of information about it, never quite knowing where things would ultimately lead. Each of us lived our own experience through the pandemic, with our own points of view, opinions, and now memories...all within the broad span of overarching events of that time.

Our experience in the unfolding events of the pandemic have the closest correlation in the eponymous game. Matt Leacock’s groundbreaking cooperative game first released in 2008, 12 years before covid-19 ravaged the world; but it offers us a chance to examine (in abstracted game terms) how the events and experiences might unfold, how we react to them with available resources, and how the situation ultimately improves or deteriorates.

My previous commentary on the subject of evolving situations bears repeating:

“The experience of playing a game, in whatever form, develops before our eyes, from set-up and opening gambits to changes and evolution of the game state to final victory (or defeat). We’re not always sure — thanks to imperfect information, other game mechanics, and opponents — quite where the situation is heading, despite our best efforts to affect outcomes. ‘Current events’ unfold before our eyes in the news, from the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to the more recent Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli invasion of Gaza in response to terrorist attacks. Like our attitude toward developments as we play games, our perception of these events changes as we receive more information: far too often incomplete, biased, contradictory, and otherwise imperfect.”

Playing a game provides us some first-hand experience; reflecting on the game can help us learn how to manage future events, dealing with imperfect information, making accurate assessments, and exploring possible responses. Game exercises can encourage us evaluate our own “future history” as events unfold in our own lives in real time. In a way simulations like the Brennan Center for Justice — about “how an autocratic curious President could use the various levers of power to move their agenda forward” — can help us prepare for future possibilities, an example of simulations not predicting outcomes but exploring them. (You can read about these exercises in in The Guardian and The Washington Post.)

Games can help us build our own point of view and appreciate other people’s perspectives. They require of us time to learn the rules, to play the games, and to reflect back on those experiences. What did we learn? How did we feel? What did we think as various events upended our impression of where the game was going? What strategies were other players trying to implement? What might we have done differently? How might we revise elements of the game to provide a different experience? Too often we stumble through life events without taking the time to reflect on our awareness, emotions, and reactions; without the tools or past experiences to step back and assess our situation and make good judgments on how we should proceed. Games can help us learn, in safe-to-fail environments, so we can experience teachable moments, gain new perspectives, and understand how we might adapt better to a rapidly changing world.

“It is understanding that gives us an ability to have peace. When we understand the other fellow’s viewpoint, and he understands ours, then we can sit down and work out our differences.”

— Harry S. Truman