Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

To be honest, it's not dystopian at all. This is EXACTLY how crossing the boarder to Czechoslovakia, Belarus, Ukraine or Russia looked like just 20 years ago, and probably still looks similar today. The only thing missing from the game is people trying to bribe the guards, as that was a bread and butter of their existence. Having crossed these borders hundreds of times I know that border guards would hold you off for days even, if you didn't bring a "gift". Russian guards told me to fuck off and wait in the car since they were playing football and were busy. When I complained the guy took out his pistol and threatened to shoot me if I don't get back to the car. I watched the entire playthrough of this game on Giant Bomb and it did strike some familiar vibes.

> This is EXACTLY how crossing the boarder to Czechoslovakia, Belarus, Ukraine or Russia looked like just 20 years ago, and probably still looks similar today.

I doubt the current borders of the Czech Republic and Slovakia (both in the European Union) are like this. Exactly 20 years ago they split, so it should have been quite messy times, though.

Obviously, yes, I didn't mean Czechoslovakia, I know they are part of EU now. But I am pretty sure that Belarus didn't change too much, and Russia(especially in the Kaliningrad Oblast, while crossing from Poland) is the same as it used to be.

Indeed, these are probably similar. I had a friend travel relatively recently to Russia, Ukraine and the zone and he says that although he didn't suffer anything odd, the general feeling around borders was... tense.

I guess the game could be classified as dystopian for its day-to-day change in the regulations and permits needed... It kind of makes it into a mock of the "real" strong border policy of some of these countries (and many others around the world)

I've never thought that dystopia meant fictional. Does it have that connotation for everyone?

Oxford and Webster include "imaginary place" as part of their definitions of "dystopia".

Utopia has the same connotation, so I guess that makes sense.

The game has people trying to bribe you.

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