‘A new life in the countryside awaits’: interactive lessons in the rural utopia in ‘farming’ simulation games

Abstract

This paper critically analyses the legitimation of exploitative human-nonhuman animal relations in online 'farming' simulation games, with special reference to the game Hay Day. The analysis therefore contributes to a wider project of critical analyses of popular culture representations of nonhuman animals. The paper argues that legitimation is effected in Hay Day and cognate games through: the construction of idyllic rural utopias in gameplay, imagery and soundscape; the depiction of anthropomorphized nonhumans who are complicit in their own subjection; the suppression of references to suffering, death and sexual reproduction among 'farmed' animals; and the colonialist transmission of Western norms of nonhuman animal use and food practices among the global audience of players. Hay Day and its ilk thereby resonate with the wider cultural 1 This quotation is taken from the introduction video that plays automatically once a player downloads the mobile app game Hay Day. The player is invited to take over the running of their recently retired uncle's 'farm'. legitimation of nonhuman animal exploitation through establishing emotional connections with idealised representations of nonhuman animals at the same time as they inhibit the development of awareness and empathy about the exploitation of real nonhuman animals. By capitalizing on the ubiquitous representation of the rural utopia in Western culture, Hay Day normalizes and thereby perpetuates the oppression of nonhuman animals and facilitates the deferment of a critical consciousness about oppression among game players. This has important implications for educational research, highlighting the role of affectivity in maintaining the exploitative status quo.

How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option

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Learn biology using digital game-based learning: A systematic literature review

“…Through the creation of immersive and interactive environments, simulation games hold the potential to assist students in comprehending biological concepts more efficiently. For example, game genres like UbiqBio Games (Perry & Klopfer, 2014), Hay Day Game (Cole & Stewart, 2017), and Great Falls Park (Howard et al, 2021) facilitate repeated student interactions with foundational systems across multiple sessions and days. DGBL is increasingly used as an alternative learning tool to teach science in higher and further education (Brown et al, 2018).…”

Speciesism Party: A Vegan Critique of Sausage Party

“…These have targeted, for instance, animal product advertising (Cole and Stewart 2018;Cole 2017; Linné and Pedersen 2016;Stănescu 2016;Fitzgerald and Taylor 2014;Cudworth 2011;Adams 2004a), Hollywood representations of both real and animated nonhuman animals (Malamud 2016;Loy 2016;Molloy 2011;Stewart and Cole 2009;Baker 2001), print media (Freeman 2016;Cole and Stewart 2014), online games (Cole and Stewart 2017), television…”