The Didactic Potential in Science Fiction Video Games
Author
Nielsen, Mathias Rønn
Term
4. semester
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-02-17
Pages
70
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan science fiction-videospil skaber særlige læringsoplevelser gennem interaktiv deltagelse. Med afsæt i Ian Bogosts procedural rhetoric (overbevisning gennem spillets regler og systemer), Espen Aarseths ergodiske litteratur (værker, der kræver aktiv indsats at gennemløbe) og Darko Suvins begreber om kognitiv fremmedgørelse og novum (et nyt element, der får os til at se verden med nye øjne), udvikles en ramme for at vurdere spils didaktiske potentiale. Tre cases analyseres: Papers, Please, Fallout: New Vegas og Cyberpunk 2077, der alle repræsenterer soft science fiction med samfundskritiske temaer. Analysen viser, at videospil rummer betydelig didaktisk kapacitet: Papers, Please formidler skarpe budskaber gennem restriktive mekanikker; Fallout: New Vegas muliggør nuanceret moralsk udforskning gennem sandkassefrihed (åben verden med stor handlefrihed); og Cyberpunk 2077 viser, hvordan ludonarrativ dissonans (når spilmekanik og historie ikke passer sammen) kan svække det didaktiske udbytte. Konklusionen er, at videospil tilbyder en unik læringsform, hvor spillere ikke blot iagttager, men handler—og lærer gennem deres handlinger.
This thesis explores how science fiction video games create distinctive learning experiences through interactive play. It builds on Ian Bogost’s procedural rhetoric (persuasion through rules and systems), Espen Aarseth’s ergodic literature (works that require active effort to navigate), and Darko Suvin’s ideas of cognitive estrangement and the novum (a new element that makes the familiar strange) to propose a framework for assessing the didactic potential of games. Three case studies—Papers, Please; Fallout: New Vegas; and Cyberpunk 2077—feature soft science fiction with social critique. The analysis shows that video games have significant didactic capacity: Papers, Please delivers focused lessons through restrictive mechanics; Fallout: New Vegas enables nuanced moral exploration through sandbox freedom; and Cyberpunk 2077 demonstrates how ludonarrative dissonance (a mismatch between gameplay and story) can dilute didactic impact. The thesis concludes that video games offer a unique mode of learning in which players do not just observe lessons but enact them.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords
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