Civilisation Video game Review: A Cultural Artefact of Eurocentrism?
By Annalise Hardiman
Videogames as a form of multimedia have been shown to prompt substantial critical engagement of a text, despite arguments otherwise (Chapman, 2013). Sid Meier’s sixth instalment of the Civilisation series (2016)is a turn-based strategy game, also known as a ‘4X’ game, representing exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination (Ford, 2016). As the premise of the game is to build and develop a civilisation spanning centuries and outlasting others, these four notions are central to gameplay. The harmful nature of exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination has been seen worldwide through colonisation, leading to suggestions that games such as Civilisation VI carry negative overtones (Vrtacic, 2014). Although efforts are demonstrated to distance Civilisation VI from Eurocentrism, linear narratives of civilisation portrayals, the dominance within the game and reflections of the Great Divergence debate give other impressions.
The representations of various civilisations within Sid Meier’s Civilisation VI (2016) form linear narratives of global development constructed from Eurocentrism. Each civilisation starts the game with a unique ability, military unit and landmark, reflecting stereotypes of that civilisation (Vrtacic, 2014). For instance, Australia gains extra points designed to boost tourism, has World War I ‘digger’ military units and can build an ‘outback station’ (Steam, n.d.). The whitewashed traits given to Australia demonstrate that the characteristics are clearly based on Westernised views of each nation. Credit can almost be given to Civilisation VI for attempting to acknowledge differences between civilisations, though this effort is rendered useless when considering the linear development of each individual city. As the game continues, Civilisation VI progresses along a linear timeline spanning centuries, demonstrated as new technologies appear across the map (Ford, 2016). Whilst it is important to show the progression of time and technological development, all cities within Civilisation VI appear to progress at the same rate, which is problematic at best because each city appears Westernised (see Figure 1 and 2). Homogenising every civilisation’s development rate erases the histories of non-Eurocentric nations in favour of a singular Western narrative, presented as the norm. Portrayals of various nations within Civilisation VI are drawn from a Eurocentric viewpoint, producing linear, single-faceted representations of the world and erasing other histories.
Figure 1. Screenshot of Kyoto and Nagoya in Civilisation VI, in 1725 A.D. (Quill18, n.d.)
Figure 2. Screenshot of Toronto, Brussels, Antium and Mbanza-Nsundi in Civilisation VI, in 1725 A.D. (Quill18, n.d.)
Sid Meier’s Civilisation VI (2016) reflects which civilisations are seen as both superior and valuable, adhering to restricted linear notions within a twenty-first century Western context. The victory conditions of the game make implicit statements about how one civilisation might be considered better than others. There are five possible wins in the game: military, science, religious, cultural or overall scores (McCall, 2020). All options are based around the spread or advancement of a civilisation, except the scoring victory, which is a default if no others have won by a certain time (Fleischer et al., 2021). The military, religious and cultural victories each demonstrate methods of spreading influence through colonisation, religious followers, or tourists, showing that Civilisation VI values supremacy through a linear, Eurocentric lens of dominance (McCall, 2020). The science victory requires a civilisation to reach space by developing appropriate technology. The conditions of the science victory are tied to the ‘technology tree’ feature, which allows the player to track all future innovations and decide when to unlock each one (Fleischer et al., 2021). Achieving the science victory can only occur by working through the linear technology tree to the end, demonstrating the games’ adherence to the Eurocentric idea that not only is technological advancement a desirable goal, it is what makes a civilisation ‘superior’. Civilisation VI implicitly conveys ideas about how Western expansion and advancement form a linear definition of superiority, in contrast to non-Eurocentric views.
Narrow and implied themes throughout Sid Meier’s Civilisation VI (2016) make misleading statements to players about possible causes of the Great Divergence, a period of rapid advancement in Europe around the time of the Industrial Revolution (Parthasarathi & Pomeranz, 2018). Large debates over why Europe burgeoned and other areas of the world did not include arguments for environmental, political and innate reasons (Parthasarathi & Pomeranz, 2018). As a ‘4X’ strategy game, Civilisation VI cannot avoid addressing why one civilisation may advance and flourish beyond others. The structure of Civilisation VI attempts to give every civilisation the chance to dominate by removing fixed disadvantages, such as infertile land, that affect only some nations. Despite the well-intentioned design, having equal starting points for every civilisation erases arguments surrounding environments and political fragmentation relating to the Great Divergence debate. Removing several arguments endorses remaining ones, such as that for innate differences, which states that European people and cultures are fundamentally different and were naturally positioned to surge ahead (Anievas & Nisancioglu, 2017). As a result, the portrayal of Civilisation VI within historical context is distorted and leaves room for overly linear representations of the Great Divergence. The implication of the innate differences argument within the game is further highlighted with the ‘barbarian’ characters. Barbarians appear in the game as native peoples to the land, and their existence within Civilisation VI has been thought to reinforce colonial mindsets and practices (Majewski, 2021). The linear and colonial narrative of the barbarians, who exist to attack player’s cities and are dealt with violently, state that colonialism is central to the Great Divergence, maintaining the cultural superiority argument. Civilisation VI conveys deceptive ideas of the Great Divergence argument through linear depictions of nations and characters within the game.
Sid Meier’s Civilisation VI presents a range of narratives that reflect linear Eurocentric perspectives, alongside efforts in the game’s design to demonstrate the value of non-Western cultures. Representations of various civilisations, notions of superior nations, and implications regarding the Great Divergence schools of debate all carry narrow perspectives with Western undertones, despite some well-intentioned design choices. Civilisation VI incorporates linear versions of historical context that both allows for critical engagement, yet is misleading for perspectives of players.
References:
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Quill18. (2016, October 2). Civilisation VI [six!!] – Let’s play Rome – Part 16 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijOFB2S1zDM&list=PLs3acGYgI1-srHH9i_RycDLUXkjhDc9jy&index=16
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