Syndicate is the story of Miles Kilo, a corporate agent in a dystopian future where nation-states have been replaced by super corporations. Citizens have been replaced with shareholders. Those who can’t afford to buy in to the future that these corporations are providing are left behind. Miles’ work consists of extracurricular activities – espionage, disruption, etc. The background in the game is not too different from the corporate dystopians you and I have read before. There are some spoilers here so if you haven’t played the game yet, you’ve been warned.
Half way through the game, Miles finds out that when he was a baby his parents were killed, liquidated, and he was kidnapped and brought into the company (Eurocorp) to be raised as an operative. His memories and personality have been “scrubbed” clean multiple times. His reaction in the game is to use his training to destroy the corporation that created him. The feelings of Kilo are understandable. People who have been lied to all of their lives usually do respond with anger and resentment. But, the immediate turning of those actions into extreme violence strikes me as juvenile. It is in the nature of young adults to lash out and destroy the things that have cared for them. I don’t know if that is the response of an adult. Were the actions of Eurocorp wrong? Without a doubt. But, giving into the same impulses that spawned their actions is not going to make the world better. This statement is raised by the creators of the game themselves in an earlier cut scene! The dichotomy between the words spoken at the player and the actions they’re encouraged to take is alarming.
I wonder if the creators were aware of this? Do we have writers and designers who are trying to create a more pathos rich narrative, attempting to construct a more mature and fulfilling narrative but find themselves limited and restrained by the structure of commercial video game design and the demands to be profitable? Are they, like me, hoping for something more from the medium? Something a little more nuanced, more mature? Grown-ups, in general, aren’t given the ability to eliminate the problems in their life by destroying it. Destruction is merely the furrowing of a field in which future destruction grows.
I wanted there to be the opportunity when Miles found out who he was and handed a gun to walk away. To be a non-participant in the awful violence that will soon ensue. I wanted him to be the adult that I am. The adult, if recent news about a nigh twenty year-old franchise being resuscitated is any indication, that most gamers are today.
Here’s to hoping.
