Geoculture

Video games often take influences from real-world cultures, sometimes to reflect particular eras and locations in historically-based games, but in other cases as a ‘shortcut’ for suggesting particular cultural norms. From Nordic influences in Skyrim to Middle-Eastern instrumentation in Assassin’s Creed and The Legend of Zelda, this episode will present a number of examples. The podcasts hosts will discuss how such borrowing can give game designers a quick method to generate a rich game world, but how in the process cultural appropriation becomes a major issue. Musical examples: 1:58: New Donk City, Super Mario Odyssey 2:31: Main Theme, Battlefield 1 3:16: City of Jerusalem, Assassin's Creed 1 4:01: Main Theme, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 4:46: Woman's Battalion of Death, Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar DLC 5:30: Cimbalom sample, Hammered Dulcimer Family, Tim Manning Music Magic (Bohak) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFaXcvHpJwU&list=PLfxFd1oEv69SNsbTPN4qBCbf0HMv26NRL&index=5 (1:50) 6:05: Dean Shostak Plays Cristal Baschet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc 6:57: Tibet: Tibetan Monks - Playing Long Horn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_C3TLXRlI 9:18: Tostarena Ruins, Super Mario Odyssey 10:37: Polonaise, op. 53, Frederic Chopin 11:30: Nocturne in E-Flat Major, op. 9 no. 2, Frederic Chopin 12:15: Volvo Queen of the Night Commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRnXONCj45Q 12:44: Queen of the Night aria (“Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”), from The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 14:45: (Best Service) Voice Spectral Vol. 1 "Track 76" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U34MFcJdGCo (12:03) 16:00: City of Jerusalem, Assassin's Creed 1 17:16: Darkness Falls in Florence, Assassin's Creed 2 17:02: Access the Animus, Assassin's Creed 1 17:50: Phoibe the Orphan, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey 18:20: Gerudo Town (Night), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 24:12: Tostarena: Town, Super Mario Odyssey 25:33: Las Alazanas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klVe7_2UEQ8 27:28: Chaharmezrab Nava, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95amB7kUu-k 29:12: Dawn of a New Time, Battlefield 1 29:39: Zajdi, Zadji, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7FWkXgXkM (1:40) 30:31: The Parting Glass, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag 35:05: Gerudo Valley, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 36:10: Gerudo Town (Day), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild