WHY DO WE GAME? A Socio-Anthropological Analysis of Fallout 3 and the Role of Role-Playing Video Games in Society

Abstract: In this essay, the overt ideological message and the internal system for structuring gameplay in Fallout 3 (2008) have been analyzed from a socio-anthropological perspective developed by sociologist Anthony Giddens. The analysis concludes that the enjoyability of digital RPGs derives in part from the way their gameplay provides escapism from modern society’s socially alienating qualities, and indulgence in its socioeconomic motivational basis. This offers a new approach to both the study of game addiction and the broader question of why we play games. Furthermore, these conclusions contradict the socio-ideological predisposition expressed in Fallout 3’s storyline, giving support to the critical claims of several Marxist and cultural study theorists who view games and the video game industry as having a negative effect on both the critical capacity of the individual and that of society as a whole.