Papers, Please
This "dystopian document thriller" by Lucas Pope puts players in the shoes of a border control inspector in a fictional 1980s totalitarian nation. The task? Carefully scrutinize the paperwork of the immigrants who come before you, looking for discrepancies, forgeries, and the occasional terrorist. Through the rhythm of its (seemingly) mundane, bureaucratic gameplay and the weighty moral choices it foists on unsuspecting players, Papers, Please raises difficult questions about bureaucratic systems, national borders, and the dehumanization inherent in what James C. Scott has called "seeing like a state." The game pairs perfectly with Ian Bogost's concept of "procedural rhetoric": the complex ways that games can use their systems of rules and procedures to make claims about the world.
DAY 1
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Start playing the game (60 mins)
Though Papers, Please was designed to be played by one person, it can be a hugely entertaining communal experience. While one players 'drives,' other students in the room should volunteer (or be deputized) to be in charge of checking certain pieces of information on each document. Students should aim to play through about 6 in-game days (each of which takes around 10 mins).
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Debrief 1 (10-20 mins)
Ask students: what is the game like so far? What's entertaining about it? What's disturbing (if anything)?
Homework (30–45 mins)
Read the introduction to Ian Bogost's Persuasive Games. Write a discussion post about a game you've played that exemplifies the concept of procedural rhetoric: what kind of argument does it make, and how does it make that argument through game design?
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DAY 2​
Homework discussion (about 10 mins)
Ask students to share and discuss the examples of procedural rhetoric they wrote about for homework. Discuss: what kinds of games are good at making arguments, and what kinds of games aren't?
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Play Session 2 (about 60 mins)
Students should continue playing, aiming to get through Day 12.
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Homework (30-45 mins)
Students should read an excerpt from Scott's "Seeing Like a State." Write a discussion post: to what extent does Papers, Please model the dangers of rational bureaucracy?
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DAY 3​
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Homework debrief (about 10 mins) ​
Share and discuss responses to the reading.
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Play Session 3 (about 40 mins) ​
Students should get through Day 16 and then watch a YouTube compilation of the 3 "good" endings.
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Visual Analysis (20-30 mins)
Using OneNote or another collaborative analysis tool, students should mark up a screenshot of the Papers, Please user interface--and then discuss. Questions to consider:
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Why the tripartite arrangement of the screen?
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What visual elements contribute to the idea of dehumanization?
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Why the 8-bit 'retro' aesthetic, aside from the obvious connection to the time in which the game takes place (80s)?
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What's up with the game's use of color, especially in the way it renders people? Does the game engage with race or ethnicity?​​​​
DAY 4​
Discussion Part 1 (about 30 mins)
Seat students in a circle and have them discuss the following question among themselves (I use the Harkness or Socratic method): If we consider Papers, Please to be a piece of procedural rhetoric, what kind of claim is it making about the world, and how is it making that claim through game design? ​
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Film Viewing (10 mins)​
Watch the Papers, Please short film, which is freely available on YouTube. Ask students to note easter eggs, callbacks to the game, and where the film diverges in plot, aesthetics, or tone.
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Discussion Part 2 (about 30 mins)
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Once again, seat students in a circle and have them discuss the following question among themselves: How do the film and the game tell the same story in different ways? What can the film do that the game can't, and vice versa?
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Homework (about 45 mins)
Read "Ethical Self-Reflection in Papers, Please" by Antranig Sarian. Write a discussion post: To what extent and in what ways does Sarian's argument complicate your understanding of the game?
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