#Papers please game soundtrack full#

The music and the art style add to this bleak world, with purposely primitive, bleak graphics and a soundtrack with only a single song, the national anthem of Arstotzka. Morrissette claims that the gameвЂ™s repetitive, even boring nature (every day is similar to the previous one) actually works in its advantage, enhancing the oppressive and dull atmosphere of the gameвЂ™s world. This aspect is further emphasized by the fact that the game shows very little of the protagonistвЂ™s life outside of his work.

#Papers please game soundtrack full#

The tasks of the protagonist also demands his full capacity, as the player tries to process as many people as possible each day. All activities that the player has to do are based on official documents and rules, and the system expects the protagonist to obey these rules. The checkpoint has a clear chain of command, demonstrated by the visits by the protagonistвЂ™s supervisor, Dimitri. The border checkpoint where the protagonist works operates in a clearly defined jurisdictional area: processing people trying to enter Arstotzka. Morrissette states that the bureaucratic system depicted in Papers, Please displays most of these six characteristics. The officers are expected to follow the rules in all cases. The bureaucratic office follows general rules, which are usually stable.

Office management usually requires specialized training for the officers.Д«ureaucratic activities demand the full working capacity of the official. The management of bureaucratic agencies is based on written documents. In Economy and Society, Weber lists six characteristics of modern bureaucracies:Д«ureaucratic agencies operate within a fixed jurisdictional area.Д«ureaucratic duties are carried out based on office hierarchy (there is a clear chain of command). And thirdly, the moral dilemmas that the players face when playing the game reflect the tensions present in depersonalized administrative systems. Secondly, both the mechanics and the aesthetics aim to capture the monotony of the iron cage. Morrissette states that there are three major elements in Papers, Please that create the feel of a bureaucratic state and the iron cage: firstly, the paperwork of the game reflects WeberвЂ™s ideas about modern bureaucracy. The idea of the iron cage represents a disenchanted world were traditional interpersonal ties between people have been replaced with rationalization and cold intellect.

According to Weber, even though these systems are essential to modern societies, they also end up imprisoning them into an вЂњiron cageвЂќ. The bureaucracy of modern states are fundamentally dehumanizing systems, aiming for absolute objectivity in decision-making. The most important concept originating from Weber is the iron cage. The ideas and theories of Weber are central to MorrissetteвЂ™s article. Morrissette chose WeberвЂ™s perspective for his article because of WeberвЂ™s status as a pioneer in the field of sociology and because his works remain highly influential.

Morrissette also states that the game very successfully captures the nature of bureaucracy in a way that reflects the thoughts of the German sociologist, Max Weber. While Papers, Please is not the only game that has done this, it is perhaps the most prominent one. Morrissette states that the theme of bureaucracy is one that has not been explored to great lengths in video games. Morrissette discusses the aspects of bureaucracy and related moral issues in the 2013 puzzle game Papers, Please. In his article, Glory to Arstotzka: Morality, Rationality, and the Iron Cage of Bureaucracy in Papers, Please, Jason J.

The depiction of bureaucracy in Papers, Please reflects the ideas of Max Weber.