We Become What We Behold Understanding Influence in Modern Society
"We Become What We Behold" is a short interactive game created by Nicky Case that explores how media influences public perception and behavior. Players take on the role of a photojournalist capturing moments that shape the reactions of a small population, illustrating the impact of news cycles and social feedback loops.
The game demonstrates how media coverage can create vicious cycles, shaping opinions and behaviors in ways that reinforce itself. Its simple mechanics and brief gameplay offer a powerful commentary on the role of media in society without requiring hours of play or complex controls.
This experience functions more like an interactive art piece than a traditional game, inviting reflection on how what we see affects what we become. Its accessibility and thoughtful design make it a relevant tool for anyone interested in media literacy and social dynamics.
Understanding We Become What We Behold
The game offers a unique blend of concepts centered on perception and transformation. It engages players through simple but meaningful mechanics, supported by distinctive visual elements that enhance the experience.
Game Overview and Concept
"We Become What We Behold" explores the idea that what one focuses on shapes personal and collective identity. The game presents a social commentary on media and attention, showing how repeated focus on specific behaviors can escalate conflicts or shape narratives.
Players take the role of a photojournalist capturing moments that influence a growing society. These snapshots dictate how characters evolve and interact, illustrating the consequences of attention and representation. It’s a reflective piece on cause and effect within communities and media dynamics.
Gameplay Mechanics
The core gameplay revolves around capturing photos of events and characters unfolding in a small town. Players must decide quickly which moments to photograph, as these images directly influence the town’s social mood and population changes.
Each photo posted affects different groups, causing new behaviors to emerge. This creates a cycle: observing events shapes actions, which then create new incidents to be captured, essentially simulating how focus can fuel societal shifts.
The mechanic encourages strategic observation, where choice and consequence link tightly, emphasizing roles within media influence without complex controls.
Art Style and Visual Elements
The game employs a minimalistic, pixel-art style that reinforces its focus on clarity and message over graphical complexity. Small, expressive animations communicate the mood changes and reactions within the town effectively.
Colors are deliberately chosen to signify moods and escalating tensions, with simple but evocative character designs. The limited palette and straightforward visuals help players concentrate on the unfolding narrative and social interactions, rather than visual overload.
This restrained aesthetic supports the game’s theme by reflecting how focus narrows perception while still delivering emotional and social impact.
Cultural Impact and Critical Perspectives
The work explores how cultural contexts shape individual and collective identities. It highlights the role of media and societal narratives in forming perceptions and emphasizes critical approaches that examine power dynamics embedded in cultural communication.
Themes and Social Commentary
The central theme addresses how repeated exposure to specific images and narratives influences public perception and behavior. It reveals the tendency of media to amplify sensationalism, which can distort reality and affect social attitudes. This theme underscores the connection between observation and identity formation, showing that what individuals focus on shapes their worldview.
The work critiques how cultural tropes reinforce stereotypes and maintain existing power structures. It also points to the human capacity to resist and reshape these narratives through awareness and critical reflection. The portrayal of cultural identity as fluid and context-dependent challenges fixed, universal notions of self.
Reception and Reviews
Critics have recognized the piece for its insightful analysis of media’s influence on social consciousness. Its clear depiction of how cultural forces mold thought processes has been praised for encouraging deeper awareness of one's environment. Reviewers highlight that the work serves as a call to critically evaluate the images and messages absorbed daily.
Some scholars appreciate its integration of critical theory, noting its emphasis on the intersections of culture, power, and communication. However, a few critiques mention that the focus on media-driven perception could expand to include more diverse cultural contexts beyond mainstream narratives. Overall, it is valued for sparking dialogue on the ethical implications of cultural consumption.