While attending another one of my classes “Human Rights and World Civilizations” we were discussing the topic of slavery and how even those that didn’t agree with it could still be supporting it unknowingly or ignorant to there complicit actions. The game phone story instantly came to mind and the way it shines a light on the dark process that takes place in the manufacturing of modern-day smartphones. The game employs embedded game design to showcase the negative impact of phones as objects borne out of a capitalist system that exploits workers and consumers. While going through my second playthrough of the short game, I choose to do the obsolescence mode, having completed the story mode, and It was impressive to see how they used the endless game mechanic to further critique the system and its impact on the consumer specifically.
In this case, the core game is repeated over and over endlessly but with each subsequent repeat, you create the subsequent generation of phone models highlighting a common practice done by large tech companies in real life. A ploy that harkens back to 100 years of solitude and its magical ice or the common phrase “there is always something new just around the corner”, we have grown complacent with the yearly cycle of tech upgrades engaging in a process of constant envy and disposal. The game critiques the consumer for this lack of awareness to the repetitiveness and our inability to look past these idealistic facades of owning the most up to date items in order to show off. The endless mode is nothing more than a simulation of what has happened over time in reality with tech and smartphones, in particular, the lack of change is further reinforced with the fact that even with each generation the models in the game never change. The process never changes each subsequent time the game is repeated exactly until the player finally chooses to stop, there is no clear reward it simply becomes a test of how long the player can keep playing.
I did it 6 times before finally giving up, and once I had finished I found myself questioning my original choice to keep playing after the second round, I was adamant on playing with the thought that I would be rewarded with some cutscene but alas there was no irony. Obsolescence mode was, in fact, an obsolete endeavor.
Reading about your experience playing (and finding it hard to quit playing) Obsolescence Mode, I find myself wondering if it gives a better notion of what the game is trying to say than the classic mode of the game. I read some of the other posts where people talk about how although they felt complicit and disgusted by their part in the greater phone market, but were not compelled to change anything about the way they acted based on the game, and quickly put aside the problematic nature of the Phone industry to continue using their devices. Although Obsolescence Mode did not change your mind about being a part of this cycle, and it did not change mine either, I…
I think you raise an interesting point about how we as a society want the "newest" and "best" product available in the market. However, I would argue that we are conscious of the choice we have made to buy the newest product, but, in many cases, our desire to the own the newest items and be part of the newest trend eliminates or overpowers our rational thinking. However, I truly believe more and more consumers are being less susceptible to the newest trends, as epitomized by the declining sales of Apple's IPhone 11
I just tried that mode myself and came here to see if anyone had written about it! I immediately realized when it restarted that it was probably going to endlessly loop in attempts to make a point so I didn't play more rounds. I admit it was hard to fight that curiosity though. I kept wondering if anything would ever change or if there was an end to it. It was only the title "obsolescence mode" that clued me into the nature of it. Reading about your experience I am glad I had the willpower to put it down though! Just like the game made me feel like ensuring I wasn't "missing out" on some minute detail on a new…