Jak rządzić w czasach wiktoriańskiej postapokalipsy? Problem władzy w grze "Frostpunk"

Abstract

The paper entitled How to rule in times of Victorian postapocalypse? Issue of power in the „Frostpunk” video game attempts to characterize power in a fictitious world of Victorian postapocalypse. The text has been divided into four thematic sub-chapters. Part one, a Victorian postapocalypse, explains the use of the term Victorian postapo in modern fantasy, and the short genesis of the post-apocalyptic convention. It was derived from classic horror novels such as Marry Shelley's The Last Man, Herbert's G. Wells's The war of the Worlds. These novels can be called the first works of the Victorian postapocalypse. The next subsection, Frostpunk, is an introduction to the world of the game, its mechanics and the presented story. The next part entitled „The government of souls” contains the characteristics of the Polish video game „Frostpunk”. This game is one of the latest steampunk convention works. It has been discussed in the context of the issue of power. The presented characteristics of the system, the prevailing rules and communication at the level of the overseer-society bear the marks of the „state of emergency” (Agamben). Existing force in the game is one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of the overseer, and that gives him full control. The reference to Foucalt's term of biopolitics is important the context of postapocaliptic society (Nijakowski). The survival of humanity is the priority of the survivors. Deprived of rules, power and self-organization, people strive to create a new system, even if it brings with it the necessity of getting rid of one's own personality. Frostpunk, which is a steampunk game, appeals not only to the stylistics, but also to the ideological assumptions characteristic of its first wave of this convention. It appeals primarily to „punk” rebellion. The old model of power proves unable to function in postsociety and falls, replaced by a new one, still imperfect but flexible and constantly evolving, which is described in the postapocalyptic reflection part. Frostpunk read in this way is a reflection on the possible development of events in times after extermination, as well as on the methods and means that human beings can reach in order to survive.