Always
the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake,
working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed
— no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic
centimeters inside your skull. — George Orwell, 1984
Ever since George Orwell
published his dystopian masterpiece in 1949,
people have compared it to the current state of national or
international affairs. But in the always-connected, always-public world
of 2013, perhaps the novel’s themes hit closer to home than ever. We’re
living in a time of fierce debate over privacy concerns, an era where
government and law enforcement argue for the right to GPS-track
citizens without their knowledge. And like any form of art, video games
are influenced by life.
During
the PlayStation 4 event, Ubisoft and Sucker Punch gave the world a
glimpse of their upcoming titles. And while there are clear differences
between Watch
Dogs and inFamous:
Second Son, it’s hard to ignore
the
overriding sense of paranoia and fear over a totalitarian state.
Superheroes don’t always wear a cape, and in the case of Aiden Pearce
and Delsin Rowe, the rise of the anti-hero is a consequence of an
oppressive regime.
