University of Western Ontario

Gaming the Future: How Games Help Us Play What's to Come

This paper argues that science fiction videogames can serve as critical tools for examining technology's social and ethical implications, rather than merely providing aesthetic backdrops.

• The paper argues science fiction videogames can serve as critical tools for examining technology's social and ethical implications, not merely as aesthetic backdrops, drawing on Cameron Kunzelman's concept of "mechanics of speculation."
• Speculative play works best when player action is necessary and outcomes remain uncertain, turning games into virtual playgrounds where players imagine alternative futures and confront the consequences of technological change.
• The study contrasts escapist SF titles such as the Mass Effect series, Starfield, and Titanfall, which treat advanced technology as set dressing, with newer games that foreground contested technologies like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and brain-computer interfaces.