Broken Rules discusses the political message of Gibbon: Beyond the Trees
It's a jungle out there
For those who don’t know, Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is a hand-drawn adventure following a lost gibbon as they embark on a dangerous journey into unknown lands. It also packs a serious political message, as you follow the titular gibbon from lush jungles to industrial zones and cleared vegetation. This was very much by design, and the dev team believes players will certainly get the message.
In an interview with The Gamer, Broken Rules CEO Felix Bohatsch spoke about the political aspects of Gibbon: Beyond the Trees. In particular, the interviewer thought that the serious political message might be too much for Gibbon, or that players may not understand the nuance of the topics at hand. Bohatsch was quick to push back.
“It’s an excuse to say ‘it’s just a game.’ You always learn something when you play a game, every developer has a responsibility to think about what they are actually putting in front of their players”
Bohatsch went on to say that “every game is political” in one way or another, and used the example of the New York Times banning the word ‘foetus’ from Wordle. Whether it’s true or not that every game is political, there’s no doubt people will find political messages in every game, intended or not.
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