Will Real World Politics Influence Players of SEED, the Exoplanet Colonization MMO? Majority of Fans Surveyed Say Yes

In my latest essay for SEED, the exoplanet colonization, world-building MMO with a political system designed by Larry Lessig, I surveyed the game's most passionate fanbase on Discord, asking them how SEED might related to their real life political outlook. The results were pretty surprising, at least to me:

Regardless of national origin, most respondents [49.6%] are decidedly unhappy with the current state of their real-world government. Despite (or because of?) this dissatisfaction, a majority of respondents say that their real world politics will guide how they play SEED, with 44% saying it will have “some” influence on their behavior, while 1 in 4 answering that their politics will shape their gameplay on Avesta “quite a bit”.

But what are the real world politics of SEED’s first wave of settlers? We asked respondents to indicate their ideology along the traditional left-right axis. A plurality (36%) put themselves on the center-left, with 1 in 5 indicating that they are either left wing or center-right. Just as notable: Nearly 1 in 10 place themselves on the far left, while just a sliver of respondents (3.4%) place themselves on the far right.

As to the crux question, and a key reason why Larry Lessig is involved in this MMO: Will we learn anything about real politics and organization from this game? A strong majority of 56% say Yes, reflecting this opinion from one survey taker:

“On some level, I hope SEED can act as an incubator/modeling grounds for seeing how politics might play out in real life. I'm thinking of not only American (my native) politics, but also looking at the rise of the far-right around the world. Although, I imagine the circumstances would be very different in-game (e.g. there's no 2008 financial crisis in the game) but the human players behind the controls are nonetheless affected and playing out, even if unconsciously, such political choices.”

Much more here on the SEED site.

Comments

[Klais Last]

Politics affects everything these days. Because it actually regulates all areas of our lives, even if we deny it and don't want to admit it. But again, we need to understand that we are capable of changing power and deciding for ourselves. All it takes is strength of character and will. I read an essay on If I Were President , and there are some very interesting and sensible thoughts on this subject. I highly recommend reading it.