Whether it be through tag in the yard, checkers, Monopoly, Pac-Man at the local arcade, Call of Duty on the PlayStation, or Super Mario Bros on the Wii, everyone plays games in some capacity during their childhood. Video games teach valuable skills of cooperation, problem solving, hand-eye coordination, and overcoming the frustrations of losing. There are games of many genres, including sports, warfare, and racing simulations. However, some games reflect values that offend or misrepresent groups of people. For example, harmful video games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Oregon Trail reinforce settler memory narratives that disavow Indigenous people (Bruyneel). Never Alone is an important video game as it more accurately depicts Indigenous people and culture in a respectful manner and clashes against settler memory.
Games are texts that have cultural significance that can be derived from the context of the game (Fernandez-Vara, 6). Through this lens, Never Alone explores a traditional Iñupiaq tale through a little girl named Nuna and an arctic fox. After her Alaska Native village is destroyed by a blizzard, she must battle the elements and overcome many obstacles to find the source of the blizzard. Spirits help guide you, and the fox helps control the movements of the spirits. This, combined with the fact that the fox is faster, jumps farther, and climbs higher than Nuna reflects the value the Iñupiaq place on animals. They respect the animals they share the land with, as well as the land itself. This can also be seen with the interdependence of Nuna and the fox during the gameplay; when one of the characters dies, the other also dies.
A crucial part of Never Alone that sets it apart from games that tarnish Native Americans are the formal aspects of the game. Formal aspects are the diction of both visual and verbal texts, as well as the visual style of the game (Fernandez-Vara 15-16). The narrator speaks traditional Iñupiaq language. This makes the folktale feel more authentic to hear it coming from an Iñupiaq person, rather than in English from a non-Native. Additionally, this reflects on the oral traditions of Native communities, reaffirming the video game honoring Native Americans, rather than disavowing them. Furthermore, Never Alone provides short interview clips that provide insight into the cultural significance of aspects of the game. This helps the player become informed and shows the creators were thorough in accurately depicting Iñupiaq culture and in getting consent from Iñupiaq to develop the game.
Unlike Never Alone, Red Dead Redemption 2 perpetuates a narrative of Westward expansion by American “outlaws” on the frontier. Rockstar, the company that made RDR2, claims that the game is historically authentic (Wright 3). The game is based on the premise that Westward expansion was a safe space for white Americans to escape what was becoming a more modern, industrial America. The main character is a white outlaw with a rough past that seeks a fresh start (Red Dead Redemption playthrough). The problem with this is that it portrays the white man as the victim, when during the later 1800s (when this game takes place), Indigenous people were having land stolen from them and being forced to assimilate into “American culture.” The narrative that innocent white men traveled West was not completely accurate as “only ten percent of land between 1860 and 1900 was settled by individual homesteaders, the rest by rising private companies or the States themselves” (Wright 7). So, while Rockstar tried to portray the West as free land for individuals down on their luck to claim, the government or private companies stole the land from Indigenous tribes.
A significant difference between Never Alone and RDR2 was the research they did before creating the game. For Never Alone, the developers took trips to the Iñupiaq to consult with them and gain insights into their culture. Additionally, they asked Iñupiaq people, like Ishmael Hope, for help and feedback during the game development. Hope served as a write for Never Alone and hopes that the game will inspire Indigenous people and reveal the oppression of Indigenous people (Hope interview). On the other hand, Rockstar cited post-1960 Western films as one of their main influences (Wright 8). Rather than seeking advice from Native people in the Southwestern United States who could provide a good idea of what the so-called frontier was like during that time, Rockstar chose to use movies that actively disavow Native Americans. They reinforced films that perpetuate “Cowboys vs. Indian” stereotypes and settler memory.
It was an enlightening and fun experience to play Never Alone. The educational aspects did not feel overbearing or forced and provided great insight into cultural elements of the game. This game shows how to properly represent and respect Native Americans, unlike Red Dead Redemption 2, which plays on frontier myth stereotypes and disavows Native Americans. These titles serve as an important reminder that video games are more than just a game and have deeper meanings and backgrounds.
Works Cited
Fernández-Vara Clara. Introduction to Game Analysis. New York: Routledge, 2015.
“Never Alone Interview Series: Ishmael Hope.” Never Alone, 11 Nov. 2014, http://neveralonegame.com/interview-never-alone-writer-ishmael-hope/.
“Red Dead Redemption 2 – Native Americans Storyline.” YouTube, uploaded by Cinematic Gaming, 19 January 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbL6BxsdTKI&ab_channel=CINEMATICGAMING
Wright, Esther. “Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption, and Narratives of ‘Progress.’” European Journal of American Studies, 16, no. 3 (2021), https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.17300.