Games & Virtual Geography

While Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego) has yet to be released many trailers have conveyed the overall game world.  I believe that Harvey’s view that place meanings are socially constructed apply to this game.

One of Harvey’s aspects of socially constructed place is that there are different interests competing over place meaning.  Being set in the west, part of this game’s world takes place in Mexico.  As seen in trailers there seems to be a great amount of tension between Mexicans and white settlers.  A real-life problem, Americans encroaching on Mexican soil, appears to be portrayed in this game.  Historically Mexicans tried to defend their land and ways of life from settlers who also tried to establish their own societies.  Thus many competing interests fought over places to attempt to define them as ‘Mexican’ or ‘American.’

Another aspect is place under threat from globalization and time/space compression.  This holds true to what I have seen in Red Dead Redemption so far.  The game takes place in the early 20th century, 1908 specifically.  While the game definitely looks to have a western feel once should take notice that the World War I is right around the corner, a time where many innovations came into being.  The game seems to explore the aspect of the dying ‘western way of life’  and the ever-growing modernized America that had its roots in this same time period.

(I feel that the following article further elaborates on this issue of place under threat)

http://kotaku.com/5520035/the-real-history-behind-2010s-big-western