Jessamine Perez
This issue’s artifact: Plague Inc. Evolved
Description from the official website:
“Can you infect the world? Your pathogen has just infected ‘Patient Zero’. Now you must bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global Plague whilst adapting against everything humanity can do to defend itself. Plague Inc: Evolved is a unique mix of high strategy and terrifyingly realistic simulation which is now available on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam.”
Do you want to be the next successful bio-terrorist? Have you seen the film Contagion and wondered, “how can I make this happen today”? If you’ve asked these questions or you’re just interested in a good old strategy game, then this video game is meant for you! Here are four reasons why you should play this game:
If you are a GUQ student from any of the four majors, you will appreciate the intricacies of this game. As the bio-terrorist who introduces a virus/bacteria into the world and makes sure that the situation escalates into a global plague, you need to take into account modern global geography, including modern state borders and ports of entry. Just make sure to infect Greenland or Madagascar first because once these two island nations close their borders, it will almost be impossible to spread the disease in them.
The game developers and staff update the game’s content every year, making the updates downloadable for people who already have the game. Their updated content keeps up with several major world events, such as the rise of populist movements.
Plague Inc: Evolved has the most savage news alerts from gaming
If you’ve taken philosophy classes, especially those concerning ethics, this game will make you think about the ethics of biological warfare, bioterrorism, or video games. Digital or video game ethics strikes me as important to consider because it makes me ask the question: is this game any more appropriate than a school shooting video game that simulates a school massacre?
This video game has so much dark humor in it if you get creative in naming your virus/bacteria/disease. The name stays throughout the game and is referred to as such by medical researchers, news, and politicians. For example, the image below shows the disease named “Men’sRightsActivism” that has been eradicated by medical researchers in an institution like WHO (World Health Organization).
Jessamine (Jess) is a senior at Georgetown University Qatar. She majors in Culture and Politics.