Tacoma is The Fullbright Company’s latest project, and like Gone Home before it, the game’s story of a defenseless crew and rogue AI is drenched in politics. Whether the focus is placed on working class plight or struggles with sexual identity, Steve Gaynor and his team don’t shy away from tackling tough topics.
“We don't think of [political themes] as something that is limiting,” Gaynor told Player.One in a recent interview. “We make games that talk about issues that reach into the real world and also affect our characters within the game. We want to talk about real issues in a way that seems interesting to us, and that is going to manifest in perspectives that come from us.”
Gaynor also suggested that most games can be a reflection of their creator’s beliefs, whether the callback is explicit or not. “Will Wright probably wouldn't have said 'The Sims is a political game about issues of capitalism and consumerism in western society’ But it is… When you buy something more expensive, your Sims get happier. There are statements within that,” he mused.
Games like Tacoma and Gone Home take a stance and stick to it. In Tacoma’s case, a ragtag bunch of crew members is pressured by a moneyed corporation that doesn’t necessarily care about the people onboard its expensive space station. Gone Home, on the other hand, paints an understanding narrative of its lead NPC, Samantha, as she fights to make her loved ones appreciate her for who she is and who she loves.
Fullbright’s leader praised MachineGames for adopting a similar perspective in its latest release, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus:
“I'm playing Wolfenstein II and that is clearly [from] a development team that said 'If we're talking about Nazis in America, we're talking about it… Nothing that anybody makes is going to have an audience of 100 percent of the population, so I think doing what's best for the work itself will make the game click with people who are interested in it.”
Gaynor is also aware some gamers might dismiss his narrative experiences as “SJW games.” He wants to make sure those people are part of the conversation too. “Having media to orient your own views tends to be something that can add to your own understanding of your perspective or your understanding of other people's perspectives,” he explained. “I don't think it makes sense to only invite people who are already 100 percent onboard with what you're saying, because then you're cutting out people who might be able to bring more to it or take more from it.”
Ultimately, Gaynor sees games and other media as a tool to either affirm or inform others to think more carefully about the world around them. If the Nazi imagery of Wolfenstein II turns you off, that’s OK. If you have an opposing thought on the corporate interests showcased in Tacoma, that’s still a valid reaction. The true reward, perhaps, is having a feeling at all and knowing what it means.
Tacoma is available now on Xbox One and PC. Gone Home is playable across PC, Xbox One and PS4.
Check back this weekend for an exclusive tease regarding Fullbright’s next game. Until then, you can also read Gaynor’s thoughts on the decline of narrative games and the rise of microtransactions.
