Utopias and Dystopias
(http://tvloon.ca/2013/04/04/who-will-save-humanity-space-conspires-to-thrill-with-six-part-series-utopia-premiering-april-25/)
(http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Pyramid)
There is a
fine line between the definition of a utopia and a dystopia, this is due to the
fact that utopia's are ideals and cannot actually exist. Every ones idea of a
utopia is very different, a place which to one person is considered to be a
haven could be a hell for another. However, in general utopia's are places which
are ordered and harmonious, in that everyone within the society gets along and
there is no discrimination or issues which could have an impact on the sustainability
of the infrastructure. An example of utopia is Enslaved: Odyssey to the West,
although this could be considered predominantly dystopian I feel that in one
respect the game is a utopia, but only one aspect of it. The game follows 2
characters, Monkey and Trip, whom at the start of the game are held captive on
a slave ship, the first mission being to escape the ship and follow Trip in
order to begin their journey. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world which
was due to the result of a global war, 150 years into the future, with only a
few humans and some war machines remaining from the disaster (Wiki). Although
the world which the characters travel through is all that remains from what was
once a beautiful world, giving the impression of a dystopia, underneath there
is a type of utopia. Throughout the game Monkey experiences strange visions
which have been provided to him through a headband. The visions which he sees
are the memories of one man whom lived before the war. SPOILERS: At the end of
the game the player is invited to see where all of the slave ships have been
taking people, both of the characters arrive at a large pyramid. All that is
left of humanity dwells within the pyramid, each person has a headband on and
they’re all viewing this man’s memories. Much like ‘The Matrix’ they have been
given an alternate reality, in that they can live out their lives in a perfect
world and ignore all the grim reality which the war has left them with. For
them this is a utopia however it is still a lie as they aren't in the real
world.
(http://etherealpages.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/dystopia-fictional-society-built-in.html)
(http://www.impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W483)
Whereas dystopia's are the opposite, everything appears to be perfect on the surface but
underneath is it far from it or originally everything was utopian but then fell
apart, therefore creating a dystopia. An example of a dystopia within a game is
Mirrors Edge which is set in a city in the near future. In a society where
crime rates have been high, they decide that this is something which has to
change so they tighten up their surveillance and cover up any reminisces of
crime. People are now ignorant to the new ‘perfect’ world which they live in,
however Faith decides to take action. She becomes a runner in the hopes of
gaining freedom from authority. On the surface the city appears to be very
perfect, it is completely white and pure, however people no longer have their
freedom. All communication is monitored and the media is being controlled, the
people don’t have a say and anyone who does speak out is arrested. This is a
perfect example of a utopian ideal, all they wanted was to rid the world of
crime and death but by doing so they have encountered other problems and taken
away the freedom of the people.
