House House studio has made the famous Untitled Goose Game goose an emblem for the left. We tell you all the keys to the goose revolution.
In December 2019, just days before the most relevant elections in recent UK history were held, the creators of the Untitled Goose Game made a name for themselves politically. From his Twitter account, House House urged his followers to vote for Labor, the British left, to the detriment of current Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The studio asked him "please, please, please" and accompanied his message with a photograph of the already famous goose next to a red rose, a socialist symbol. An especially remarkable and surprising fact in an industry, that of the video game, reluctant to make explicit ideological positions.
It is enough to attend to the statements issued from EA ensuring that there were no "political statements about the Second World War" in Battlefield V, a game about killing Nazis. Being ashamed of what is perhaps still the best possible premise in a fictional story shows that the video game medium has not yet assumed its ideological impact and that makes the case of Untitled Goose Game an anomaly that should be detailed, analyzed and reasoned.
The video game as an ideological product
Video games have an ideology. Although more than half of the readers will have already fled in terror at such blasphemy, it is convenient for those of us who continue to stroll along these lines to delve into the idea. There is no better example than war video games, as much as you do like Call of Duty and the aforementioned Battlefield insist on denying the greatest. It is logical; They are works that appeal to the general public and that try to distance themselves from the explicit political discourse so as not to lose buyers. EA's statements are irrefutable proof of this.
Concealing the ideological trace of this type of franchise is like trying to hide flatulence in the playground with completely red hands: impossible. Call of Duty and Battlefield tell heroic stories that are true to American mythology and regulations. Other video games like Specs Ops: The Line show the most terrible side of the war. The one that, due to its harshness, not everyone wants to look at. The mere choice of one or the other approach generates a very different ideological account and serves to reaffirm the idea that video games have ideology.
It is understandable that companies avoid political statements – not so much that they treat their public as stupid – so as not to lose audience. But that is precisely why House House's stance clashes so much. What is the political position of the goose and its creators? The answer is simple: they are people before a company. The authors' way of thinking influences their work in one way or another and Untitled Goose Game, interpretable as a kind of socialist utopia according to the study itself, is no exception.
Goose's political commitment
At House House they have no claim to appear professional, much less impartiality. They are simply, according to study member Jacob Strasser, "three years more professional than three years ago." That amateurish attitude – in the best of senses – and little predisposed to give up his personal opinions makes House House a rare bird. So much so that the entire team stopped its activity on the day of the launch of the Untitled Goose Game to participate in the 2019 Climate March.
A brave gesture since it was an independent study on which a great hype weighed, but also very significant. "Business, as always, is destroying our future and things have to change right now," said another member of the team, Nico Disseldorp, speaking to Kotaku. What is relevant there is not so much their protest against the climate emergency —many companies have committed themselves in that sense—, but the explicit indication of large corporations and governments complicit to date as the culprits of the planet's crisis. Without fear, in House House they have naturalized political reflections. And this is just one of the many examples provided by the authors of the feathered Metal Gear Solid.
Despite the fact that House House is made up of Australians, they all maintain a strong link to rural Britain and keep up to date with UK policies. This explains not only his electoral recommendation for the British elections, but the setting of the game. This is an inside joke, but Jacob Strasser commented off the record to Vulture that "in the canon of the game, the goose kicked Margaret Thatcher out and allowed Tony Benn to rule a Social Democratic UK." In that virtual countryside, "everyone is a good Marxist and a good person," the developer continued. The statements, published despite Strasser's plea – ains, deontology – give a unique perspective on the weight of ideology at House House.
And for those who are wondering; no, the goose does not attack Marxists. Others asked House House on Twitter, to which Strasser replied that "the goose is just a goose, a chaotic and neutral character." Likewise, from the studio, fans were invited to guess what each character in their work voted in Brexit, involving the public in their interest in British politics. That is, it is their own authors who promoted the readings about Untitled Goose Game in the key of international geopolitics. It is thus admitted that video games, some more others, allow these interpretations and that they are not mere over-analyzes of their messages. Something obvious for those who write these lines, but not so much for what demographic gamer.
Vote for the goose: the goose as the emblem of the left
The result of all these actions could not be other: the goose has become a symbol of the left. The massive protests against Brexit in October last year, when the UK's exit agreement from the European Union was still being debated, are the best example of this. One of the protesters, Sarah Hiraki, shared on Twitter a gallery full of anti-Brexit banners with the cute goose as the protagonist. Highlights include messages such as "Honk if you want to remain" – something like "squawk if you want to stay" -, with the character of Untitled Goose Games surrounded by the characteristic stars of the European Union. The streets of London were also filled with laughter thanks to the banner in which the mischievous goose appeared chasing Boris Johnson with the motto "It’s a beautiful day in the UK and you are a horrible prime minister”.
Days after the protests, House House continued to receive messages about how their character had risen as a banner of resistance. His reaction, could not be otherwise, was very positive. “I am glad that the goose is a symbol of the left. I much prefer to be an icon on the left than on the right, ”said Michael McMaster, another member of the studio, in an interview for Vulture. “We love everything that brings joy, pride and fun to the left. And if that angers the far-right, the better, ”he congratulated himself. Without a doubt, a whole lesson on how to build customer loyalty through engagement and social involvement.
With messages like these, it is easy to understand why the black goose has become a true star for the British left. A condition that was consolidated when, a week before the UK general election, House House asked for a vote for Labor. That is the anecdote with which this article begins, but it has already become clear that it is not the only political pronunciation by this independent study. And it is not unreasonable to think that it will not be the last.
The Untitled Goose Game case is most refreshing for video games. We are talking about an industry that is restrained ideologically and that does not always treat its public with the corresponding maturity. The rise of indie dev, precisely because of the freedom that its independent status gives it, is transforming the panorama. The idea that a studio imitates House House and speaks openly of the ideological position that has shaped its work is an exercise in transparency, honesty and critical capacity of the most positive. We are clear: we will always vote for brave games and studies. We will always vote for the goose.
