Role-playing transhumanism: Not just a game
All it takes is a quick cyber-jaunt through the world of online gamer forums to see that, for many of the millions that play them, video and computer games are much more than simple diversions. Eidos Montreal's smash hit, the "Deus Ex" game trilogy (over 1.2 million copies sold), exemplifies the staggering level of personal and intellectual investment that these games can and do elicit. For me -a third-party gaming ignoramus - it's deeply unsettling to see such intense yet rarely critical engagement with the games' themes: glorified transhumanism, human augmentation, and gratuitous violence.
The series began with Deus Ex (2000), followed by Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003), and soon Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011). Players virtually blast and maim their way through futuristic worlds set in 2050, 2072 and 2027, respectively, as they unravel plots of elite corporations to manipulate and control society. While each game follows a unique storyline, human augmentation, synthetic biology (an engineered super-virus in the original) and techno-utopianism pervade throughout, as both causes of and solutions to social chaos in a world on the verge of apocalypse.
To date, only a graphic trailer (embedded below) and handful of official commentary [1, 2] on the latest game have been released. Its makers claim that Deus Ex 3: Human Revolution confronts head on the social, ethical, and fundamental human issues underlying transhumanism. Lead game designer Jean-François Dugas said in a recent interview that the game is designed so that players can explore both positive and negative aspects of transhumanism, engage multiple human perspectives, and "hash out" their own views.
We are asking the question about our own evolution, and asking whether we should go there. Is it good for humanity or not?...Characters in the game believe in something, so what is the factor behind their reasoning? We wanted to give a human element to it, to explore the reasons behind their actions.
In theory, the game makes an attempt to go beyond the simple 'evil villain' model by developing complex characters that support enhancement alongside others who oppose it -the would-be "enhanced" pitted against the skeptical 'naturals'. But the main character, JC Denton (virtually role-played by each individual gamer), must be drastically augmented in order to survive and, more importantly, become the game's ultra-violent action hero. The values thus built into the game's structure cast doubt on its potential to present much of a downside to the visually magnificent "glories" of transhumanism.
One look at Agent Denton's super sleek and sexy robo-human persona makes it clear that heroes in the world of Deus Ex are and must be, in every sense, superhuman. One online enthusiast makes the disturbing observation that Deus Ex is "a great introduction into the [transhumanism] movement for young, mainstream people."
Dugas' implication that the questions raised by transhumanism engage diverse and divergent sets of human values, anxieties and motivations is a point well taken. However, the idea of promoting such an understanding by sending a vast and attentive youthful audience on virtual killing sprees complete with bionic arms, super strength and mind control abilities is irresponsible, misguided and downright preposterous.
Previously on Biopolitical Times: