Media Cultures

Fragile /ˈfrædʒ.əl/

adjective (easily damaged, broken, or harmed)

 The game: “Fragile” – A psychological rollercoaster that is a beautifully animated child abduction horror game set in a Mongolian mine, a realistic horror adventure developed by Beer Night Studio in 2020. What sets Fragile apart from the majority of horror games is that most standard horror tropes lie firmly in the realm of fiction, and are just forms of escapism. When we play these games we can’t help but feel comforted on some level because we are playing these games in the safety of our homes. The message of this game forces us to face the darker side of the world we actually live in. 

The game’s aesthetics are primarily a 2D adventure, using a hand-drawn artistic style that balances the macabre with the childlike perspective of its protagonist. Players take control of a small girl attempting to escape her criminal abductors, a misfortunate event that only becomes more nightmarish as the game progresses. As she tries to escape from “monsters” and explores the mine, players solve unique puzzles, and discover horrific truths about the missing children along the way. This game includes brutal killings, blood, children screaming,and mutilation. It is not suitable for everyone and takes a very sensitive subject matter.

 The game play of Fragile has taboo-breaking violence and real-life focus makes it a good case study in the debate about the nature of the horror genre and its role in society. But it’s poorly designed and often tedious gameplay means it’s hard to recommend in any conventional sense. Rather, Fragile works best as a lens through which to examine horror’s relation to its subject matter, and as an object lesson on the pitfalls of failing to recognize that the ‘interactive’ part of interactive storytelling is just as important as a game’s narrative.

ENDING ‘THE GAME’ OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 In relation to the psychology of games, is this what real horror looks like? Seeing how cruel a “human” can be? And why do people enjoy playing horror games? At some point in your life, you get to find out that the real monsters are humans. It’s not clear whether Fragile has an answer to these questions, although it certainly invites them. Sadly, what it does do is provide an unfortunate reminder that the medium of a story’s delivery matters just as much as its content. With games like these raising awareness on human trafficking, a lot of the rhetoric being used by those familiar with what goes on in relation to human trafficking often refer to it as “the game” itself. This game of life has three players – the trafficker, the buyer, and the victim. 

 For the game developers of fragile to be telling such a sensitive story that truly exists in the real world, does it thereby become a more worthy example of a true horror? Or does it risk merely veering into being tastelessly pornographic for taking genuine human suffering and turning it into a piece of commercial entertainment?  Even though we live in the 21’st century, it is horrifying that so many children’s rights are being violated and traumatized for the rest of their lives. Today, we live in a society that does not care about causing mental and emotional harm to children for their minds are fragile and ought to be handled with care. This type of game ultimately raises awareness about child abduction and the horrific layers of trafficking.

In recent years, digital games have emerged as a new tool in human trafficking awareness-raising. These games reflect a trend towards ‘virtual humanitarianism’, utilizing digital technologies to convey narratives of suffering with the aim of raising awareness about humanitarian issues. The creation of these games raises questions about whether new technologies will depict humanitarian problems in new ways, or simply perpetuate problematic stereotypes. The player’s motivation in this game, in my opinion, is to target viewers to empathize with the real life horror of human trafficking and to spread this information to others. By raising awareness of this obvious problem that most people do not want to talk about or are completely oblivious to, this crime is an elephant in the room that  is alive and thriving in today’s society.

 In Mongolia where this game play is set in, the majority of victims are trafficked under the age of 20 not only for sex, but their organs as well. It is impossible to understand the great suffering of these victims and their families unless it has happened to you or those who are close to you. This game could work as a successful way to capture the public’s attention and expose the problem to the masses by exposing the elephant in the room of modern day slavery. The fact that trafficking exists today on such a large scale, both behind closed doors and hidden in plain sight, makes this game a truly horrifying nightmare.

Other online games related to human trafficking awareness: