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
This paper examines how science fiction video games create unique learning experiences through interactive engagement. Drawing on Ian Bogost's procedural rhetoric and Espen Aarseth's ergodic literature, and applying Darko Suvin's concepts of cognitive estrangement and the novum, this paper establishes a framework for analyzing the didactic potential of video games. Three case studies are examined: Papers, Please, Fallout: New Vegas and Cyberpunk 2077, each featuring soft SF themes of societal critique. The analysis demonstrates that video games possess significant didactic capacity: Papers, Please delivers focused lessons through restrictive gameplay; Fallout: New Vegas enables varied moral exploration through sandbox freedom, and Cyberpunk 2077 illustrates how ludonarrative dissonance can dilute didactic potential. The paper concludes that video games offer a unique form of learning, one in which players do not observe lessons but enact them.
Keywords
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