Anti-Bitcoin propaganda in upcoming video game

[Mike Christ]

http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/6/5281952/outrise-where-shadows-of-the-colossus-meets-left-4-dead

The concept Wearing and his team are showing to the world today is that of a dystopia where rebel forces are fighting against the police state, which is fighting back with giant boss mechs. The game is set in the year 2094, where two factions are fighting for control of the world's last remaining financial system: CryptoCoin. This digital currency is controlled by a ruthless police state called the United States Federation (USF). No other form of currency is recognized, and those who control CryptoCoin have all the power. Those who oppose the actions of the USF are arrested and never seen again.

The enemy of the USF is the Outrise, a group of hackers and resistance fighters whose goal is to infiltrate and disable CryptoCoin. In order for the USF to maintain its power and the Outrise to take away that power, both factions must go to war. This is where the player comes in.

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[dmfree88]

  Mind officially blown. Arent half of us atleast part of the reason half these games get sold

[Mike Christ]

Mind officially blown. Arent half of us atleast part of the reason half these games get sold

Yeah; I'm curious, once it is released, if it'll receive positive or negative reaction to its premise.  I'm certainly hoping for the latter but, either way, I won't play this one.

[chaoticbrain]

It's a currency controlled by the united states federation though.

[BTC-TK]

It's a currency controlled by the united states federation though.

+1

Airplanes were magical before governments started using them to cluster bomb children.

[franky1]

game fails at level 1.

start of game find out the cops own bitcoin. the rebels make litecoin... game over

[Borbolon]

And where exactly is the anti-bitcoin propaganda? 

[Arksun]

And where exactly is the anti-bitcoin propaganda? 

This. Whats stopping any government from setting up their own crypto currency anyhow?. If the game turns out good I'd happily buy it, don't see any threat at all from this.

[DeathAndTaxes]

And where exactly is the anti-bitcoin propaganda? 

This. Whats stopping any government from setting up their own crypto currency anyhow?. If the game turns out good I'd happily buy it, don't see any threat at all from this.

What is to stop someone from selling condoms with holes in them marketed to people who want to have children?

99% of USD are ALREADY digital and centrally controlled.  What point is there in a decentralized centrally controlled currency?

[lnternet]

I guess just embrace the fact that crypto is making it into collective consciousness. Anti-BTC propaganda.. you should write headlines for the sun.

Airplanes were magical before governments started using them to cluster bomb children.

I lol'ed

[organofcorti]

And where exactly is the anti-bitcoin propaganda? 

This. Whats stopping any government from setting up their own crypto currency anyhow?. If the game turns out good I'd happily buy it, don't see any threat at all from this.

What is to stop someone from selling condoms with holes in them marketed to people who want to have children?

99% of USD are ALREADY digital and centrally controlled.  What point is there in a decentralized centrally controlled currency?

Maybe they're actually bitcoin fans concerned about centralisation of mining.

Yeah, that's me. Professional devils advocate.

[Dafar]

First of all this game looks fucking amazing, I loved Shadow of the Colossus and I completely agree that there was a sci-fi charm in movies like Terminator and Robocop that we just don't see anymore.

And as people pointed out above, the enemy sounds more like the Federal Reserve than bitcoin... CryptoCoin is centralized! I would bet the reason they even chose that name is because they are fans of crypto currency. Their kickstarter campaign will probably accept bitcoin too. Your title is misleading

[bitfreak!]

This makes absolutely no sense... the whole point of cryptocurrency is to be decentralized. How can two groups "fight for control" apart from amassing mining hardware and trying to out-compute the opponent? Not to mention the rebels could create their own crypto-coin at any time. Furthermore, I doubt there is any government on Earth who would adopt cryptocurrency as their official currency, for the simple reason it's too hard to manipulate by printing as much as they want at little cost. It's a completely ridiculous plot.

[Mike Christ]

C'mon guys, I expected better.

The point is as follows:

1. Most people don't understand Bitcoin
2. People fear what they don't know or misunderstand
3. People resort to pack mentality when they don't know or misunderstand

I realize the differences between CryptoCoin and Bitcoin are plainly obvious to someone who understands bitcoin.  In this context, yes, CryptoCoin sounds like the dollar, and on the surface appears nothing like Bitcoin aside from the name: it's centrally issued and centrally maintained.  The reason why it is propaganda is in the implication, that the currency which inspired the idea, being Bitcoin, is being painted as though it is a tool by the fed for nefarious deeds (which is an accusation I have heard on several occasions), as though Bitcoin, just like the dollar, is an enemy.  Anyone who's been paying attention to anti-Bitcoin videos and articles will see there is a growing following of people who completely despise Bitcoin, for the same reasons mentioned above: they fear Bitcoin because they do not understand Bitcoin, and seek confirmation for their bias.

Now, we can easily wave these people away as sheeple or what have you, but remember that the majority of people in this world still believe, and firmly, in God and the state, if not the state alone, and are influenced by irrational methods.  Recall the central role in the game: it pits one common goal in young people these days, i.e. a change in the regime, esp. through violence, and a relatively new and unknown goal, that being to shut down this new (that is, old when the game takes place) and "only" payment system (as impossible as this is anyway.)  This normalizes a negative opinion of crypto-currency and confirms the biases of people who readily have doubt in anything that sounds like Bitcoin.  The implication that this money can lead to extreme, global centralization of wealth and slavery over the masses will leave an impression on anyone who remotely connects CryptoCoin to Bitcoin or whatever other Altcoin (like I said, people hardly care for the, albeit important, differences.)

I'm afraid I can't buy the idea that CryptoCoin was a happy accident mish-mash of words that just happens to coincide with the popularity of the new crypto-currency Bitcoin, and not only that, but in some kind of dystopian apocalyptic Orwellian/"Anarchist" world, which so many threads seem to allude to lately.  Merely because CryptoCoin isn't explicitly called Bitcoin doesn't mean the propaganda isn't there; there is a shaky idea of what Bitcoin is and what it can do to the world, and this is not exactly a positive image for "CryptoCoin"s.