More data: Two posts this time, both from the Steam forum for Deus Ex. One is a post about people’s opinions of David Sarif, and the other is another post that deals with attitudes toward cybernetic augmentation of humans.
I shall examine the post about Sarif first. Understanding players’ attitudes toward Sarif as a character is important for this project, because his status as a “mentor” archetype offers a great deal of potential for influence over the players. Mentors obviously have a great deal of influence over people in real life, and if players are “embodied” in the games they play (as suggested by James Gee), it is possible that a virtual mentor could exercise significant influence as well. However, this would be highly dependent upon the way that the players perceive the virtual mentor.
This perception can be examined by looking at what people have written about Sarif’s character. On the Steam forum for Deus Ex, someone posted a topic titled "David Sarif was one of the best characters in the game imo." In this topic, several people commented about Sarif’s character, and while reaction to him was mixed, several of the comments were positive. To begin the discussion, the person who started the topic (a poster who goes by the name of rupok2) wrote:
I found that I agreed with everything he said. I felt like he truly wasn't in it for the money. His voice actor was also very good. At the least he was a really great boss and more ceo's should be like him lol.
This denotes a positive perception of Sarif; the poster even goes so far as to state that he believes Sarif would be a good model for real-world corporate CEOs. Another poster immediately agreed with the original poster; however, disagreement followed quickly after that. A poster by the name of asdfzxc920 wrote:
I saw him as a lying, manipulative dirtbag. I never trusted a single word that came out of his mouth.
The comment immediately following this one (from a poster named Yaldabaoth) agreed. It stated:
yeah pretty much, at least he didn't seem like he wanted to take over the world though, just get filthy rich. He regularly orders/suggests to Adam that he break the law, commit illegal espionage, lie, etc. so I don't know how people can say "oh he's a swell guy" ha ha
Both these comments call into question Sarif’s honesty—understandable, given the fact that when the player encounters Sarif in the game for the final time, he asks the player to lie to the world about what really happened with the faulty biochips (see the post about Sarif for more on this). However, other players disagree with the opinion of these two posters. A poster named Hotfury writes:
David Sarif was a great character. He wanted to give society the choice of non-drug-dependant augmentation with Megan's new breakthrough. This would help improve the lives of many who have had accidents or injuries. So what if it makes him rich at the same time. It'd be win win.
He was very much a father figure - always looking after his kin and trying to stop competitors undermining or harming them. Wouldn't you defend your own if you thought people were trying to cause harm?
This poster accepts that Sarif might be at least partially motivated by money, but overall he still has a positive view of Sarif, stating that he believes that Sarif is out to improve people’s lives. He also terms him a “father figure”—indicating that Sarif’s role as mentor carried some significance for him.
Another poster named DarkJeff directly rebuts Yaldabaoth’s post, quoting it and then responding:
Eh? Sarif Industries, as described by Megan, only does work for the letter agencies (ed. note: This means the CIA, FBI, etc.) so they can fund their less profitable but more charitable works. Like weaning the world from neuropozyne dependency.
I also don't see what's wrong with breaking the law in this situation. The authorities are breaking the law and engaged in murder, assault, kidnapping, falsifying evidence, bribery...
This poster acknowledges that Sarif asks Adam to break the law on multiple occasions in the game, but he believes that this is justified, and it does not harm his opinion of Sarif at all. Rather, he believes that Sarif’s intentions are good. This is common in many discussions of Sarif; there are usually people who don’t trust him and believe he is dishonest, but there are just as many who view him positively, see him as a mentor for their character, and believe he is working for the betterment of humanity.
The second post is another discussion about human augmentation. The discussion is primarily focused on real-world cybernetics, but the game figures into the discussion as well. The topic is titled "The Technological Singularity: Would You Get Augmented?", and was started by a poster named SeanHraefn. He writes:
For the purpose of DX, the Technological Singularity is defined as the point where man and machine cease being separate and become one.
The point where human evolution becomes controlled by us, not by nature and random mutation.
...
So with that in mind, are you pro-aug or anti-aug?
Personally, I'd replace my entire body with mechanical bits if the option was available. I embrace the singularity.
Though not every response to this post is serious, other posters agree with this view; a poster named kaiser434 writes “yes I sure as hell would get augmented.” However, the pro-augmentation view is not universal; a poster named Ygolnac writes:
Lol, you are crazy, i would never replace perfectly functioning parts of my body with mechanical ones. Even if they can perform better, our body is the most sacred thing we have and it's the result of hundred million years of evolution. And it's still evolving even if can't notice that. When i look at jensen or at the other augmented people in the game (like the bosses) i feel pity for them. To my eyes they are neither cool or monsters, they are people that for different reason had to give up their humanity, and for that reason they look sad and biologically dead.
The game has clearly influenced Ygolnac’s opinion of augmentation to some degree; he states that he pities the game’s augmented characters, and this feeds into his overall view of augmentation in general. This is also the case with the poster enemyofportal, who writes:
No way I will get. the game is great. but if augmentation tech will come true, the future will be very terrible. how can you deal with someone who has artificial arms, legs, even the whole body? they are more like cybog or something. they think that they are human. but from the point of ordinary people view, they are not real human anymore. that's why I destroyed the whole facility, people who already have that in the end of game. that's not right solution. there are always alternative way to cure.
However, this negative view of augmentation is not the only one the game offers. One of the most significant replies comes from a poster named joker09, who writes:
I believe in a higher set of morals and a higher plane for humanity's future.
I support David Sarif, augmentations, and.. THE WOOOORLD OF TOMORROW!
My eyes suck, I previously fractured my knee, and have nerve damage all up and down my left arm. I'd kill for augmentations, but more like the nano-augs from DX1. It would be nice to feel a hot cup of tea instead of seeing it's effects first. :P
joker09 specifically mentions David Sarif in his reply, and the first line of his reply echoes the sentiment voiced by Sarif at multiple points in the game: That augmentation is humanity’s future. This strongly suggests that the game has influenced his thinking on the issue of augmentation (he also mentions the first Deus Ex game, indicating possible influence from that source as well). The game, and specifically Sarif’s character, has had an impact upon this poster’s ideas and beliefs, in the same way that it influenced some of the people discussed in the previous data post.
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