decolonizing games

Been reading this stunning transcript of a talk about imperialism in game design, and now I'm thinking how we could even start to decolonize certain kinds of videogames, besides talking to people not like us, which is the first step. A few ideas spring to mind right away:

• Games where the world is genuinely dangerous to the player, and going to the wrong places before you're ready results in a TPK, with little warning; in fact we used to have this in games and gave it up in favor of theme park designs.
• Games where you can't progress without sacrificing something, and not just easily-replaced loot. Come to think of it, what's the difference between a dungeon filled with conveniently placed coins, and the gold mines in Warcraft?

Imagine an RPG where every few levels you lose a point of dexterity, or stamina, or strength, and gain a scar or trauma that holds you back. Where the more skills you have, the more restricted you are in how you can use them.

Imagine an RPG where that dungeon right out of town isn't yours for the taking. It belongs to the locals. A dangerous place, sure, which is why they haven't cleaned up themselves. And they can't just exterminate the creatures that live in it now, because they're part of the ecosystem. Say they keep even bigger dangers at bay, if you absolutely need a justification for basic human decency.

Funny how we demand realism in games, yet reject immediate realities of life.