Gameplay Journal Entry #1

Playing through Watch Dogs Legion I keep finding myself comparing depictions of real life events and situations to those within the game’s narrative. Particularly surrounding topics such as surveillance states, ways in which media is consumed, and the continued intrusiveness of modern technology in our day to day lives. Although the technology in the Watch Dogs universe is ahead of our own it is very much tangible enough to believe it, and even to imagine it becoming reality in the not so distant future. Part of how Watch Dogs Legion creates a new sensation is its power it gives the player to interact, and manipulate the environment or other characters in the game, this is introduced through the notion of “hacking”. In many ways there is parallels between what is done as a player in the game and the way in which someone acts in real life.

One of the main mechanics in the game is to scout potential playable characters by hacking them and seeing their attributes as well as pros and cons. Within this interface you can even see the personal history of the characters. With this in mind the player is made to search for a profile that fits into what they’re looking for and can exploit regardless of the privacy or consent of the other party. While these are all fictional characters it does bring into question the relationship between technology and the manner in which it is used by governments, corporations, and even your fellow neighbor. It is this balance that brings in the perspective of ‘technicity’ and how technology creates “new kinds of social and cultural relationships”(Dovey & Kennedy, pg 16).

Watch Dogs Legion Xbox Series X Gameplay 4K — YouTube

Dovey, Jon. Kennedy, Helen W. “Game Cultures : Computer Games as New Media”. Open University Press, 2006. Print