Death stranding sam4/4/2023 ![]() ![]() The apocalyptic landscape is rough, few trees remain, and as a player, one cannot but feel relieved when stumbling upon a small forest or idyllic meadows and creeks. In Death Stranding, the world is a hostile but still beautiful place. You could not return to something if you were not able to leave it in the first place. However, somehow, we have been able to leave nature behind and look at it and manipulate it from a distance. ![]() Admittedly, in the return-to-nature stance, it seems like our proper position is to be part of nature at first sight. In the technofix approach, technology is to be used to manipulate nature. It seems that both nature and technology are, for the present-day human being, realms situated external to ourselves. But it seems that both approaches share one common assumption about the position of humans in the wake of catastrophe and their relation with nature and technology. Both approaches seem to be opposed to one another concerning the solutions they propose. In the second view, technology is the enemy, and nature is what we should revere. In the first view, technology is the solution, and nature is what is to be overcome. In this view, we humans are the scourge of the earth, parasites that need to find their proper place again. Adherents of the latter stance believe that technology has led us towards the situation we are in now. Second, there is the idea that we must return to a more pristine and natural way of living. We may even genetically engineer ourselves, our plants, and our animals to be less resource-intensive or better able to withstand climate change’s consequences. This can either be done through geoengineering the climate or devising C02-neutral means of clean energy production. Technology and science, so it is thought, will find a solution to present-day wicked problems if we invest enough time, money, and energy. First, there is the ecomodernist idea that technofixes will save us. Possible answers to the nearly unavoidable and destructive consequences of climate change can be subdivided into two big categories. Specifically, I will focus on our relationship with technology and nature, the importance of play, and the possibility of taking up responsibility in the wake of catastrophe. In what follows, I shall try to explain why I thought this game was brilliant and why I think it offers a playable example of Donna Haraway’s idea of staying with the trouble, as she described it in the eponymous book. It may be a bit too much for some, and one may wonder why an academic philosopher has spent 177 hours of her free time to platinum the game. The back story is filled with ponderings about the origins of life, the universe, and the links between life and death. It raises questions related to ectogenesis and male pregnancy, the nature of sexuality, and experiments on fetuses. Hideo Kojima has created a game that reflects on trauma and healing, on connection, on the nature of biology. ![]() The game is steeped in philosophical reflection and speculation. Writing a philosophical piece on Death Stranding seems like knocking on an open door. Nevertheless, the pandemic has made us reflect on humanity’s ability to deal with catastrophe and has urged us to reconsider our fragility and responsibility in the light of global collapse. Admittedly, the world depicted in the game is vastly more broken than ours is right now. The game was released in autumn 2019, but commentators have noticed the eerie resemblance to the 2020-2021 pandemic, where essential workers had to confront the infectious outside world to deliver goods to those staying inside. By doing this, you create connections between people, rebuild roads, and bring joy to the preppers receiving their packages. Defying danger, Sam’s (and your) task is to deliver cargo to the survivors sheltering in underground buildings throughout the landscape. The main character, which you control, is Sam Porter Bridges. The outside world has become a dangerous place, with toxic rainfall and ghouls and terrorists. Death Stranding Sam Porter Bridges is Staying with the Trouble Kristien Hensĭeath Stranding, a video game by Hideo Kojima, tells the story of a devastated USA and humanity on the brink of falling victim to the sixth extinction. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |