History Eagleland / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/AfterTheEndAPostApocalypticAmerica'', a mod for ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' has the Americanists, a religion which takes Eagleland up to eleven: worship the Founding Fathers as real gods, the Constitution and other documents as holy texts, the antedilluvian instutions of the US government and society as sacred, and Communism and Fascism as Satan-like evil forces. Overall, it's presented too broadly for the whole thing to be labelled either Beautiful or Boorish; where individual characters fall depends, as with many other things, on the whims of the player and the game engine.

Principalists hold to the principle rather than the letter of the law, not taking Americanist holy texts literally and applying the law more situationally. They are generally seen as one of the more liberal sects of Americanism.

* ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'' appears to have in Super Earth a Mixed example: a super-nationalistic space-faring superpower that is gung-ho about eliminating threats with superior firepower, but the citizens ostensibly live in a utopian society. ''Helldivers 2'' reveals this utopian society is [[CrapsaccharineWorld anything but]]: [[ChildSoldier children as young as 7 can be conscripted into the military]], government-owned pharmaceutical companies lie about the harmful effects of their products, and any perceived deviation from an attitude of unerring loyalty and patriotic fervor can be considered treason ([[DisproportionateRetribution and treason is punishable by death]]). This extends to the attitudes of the titular Helldivers, who are a bit ''too'' enthusiastic about bringing "democracy" to their enemies.

* ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'' appears to have Super Earth a Mixed example: a super-nationalistic space-faring superpower that is gung-ho about eliminating threats with superior firepower, but the citizens ostensibly live in a utopian society. ''Helldivers 2'' reveals this utopian society is [[CrapsaccharineWorld anything but]]: [[ChildSoldier children as young as 7 can be conscripted into the military]], government-owned pharmaceutical companies lie about the harmful effects of their products, and any perceived deviation from an attitude of unerring loyalty and patriotic fervor can be considered treason ([[DisproportionateRetribution and treason is punishable by death]]). This extends to the attitudes of the titular Helldivers, who are a bit ''too'' enthusiastic about bringing "democracy" to their enemies.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games have some mixed examples:

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' mostly takes place in the gangster-era States. Frank is a clear parody of The Beautiful and Mao is...well...[[WidgetSeries Mao]]--however, for the most part the shady goings-on, the humanity of those caught in the middle, and the historical context of America generally being a place that people wanted to immigrate to are all presented honestly if [[LighterAndSofter lightheartedly]].

** The setting of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', called Unova (Isshu in the Japanese versions), is based on New York City and its metropolitan area, where the previous games were based on regions of Japan. There are football players, Southern Belles, talk about the greatness of diversity, and so on--it even includes a ''literal'' American Eagle in the Pokémon Braviary. Braviary are described as courageous fighters who will stand their ground if it means protecting those they care for(though they have a slight boorish streak in that they've also been described as having fiery tempers).

* Paul Phoenix from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is more of a mix. While he is goofy, loud, and arrogant he is generally a good guy, and is indeed a dangerous fighter, and one of the few non Mishima characters to beat both a Mishima and a Boss character (though he still lost the tournament somehow).

* In the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, American ''society'' is broken beyond repair due to being ruled covertly by the Philosophers and the Patriots. Therefore, any actions America undergoes as a nation are bad for everyone, or (in the rare case they're good) had the intention of being bad for everyone (like the Navy's actions at the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' -- while they ended up stopping Liquid, their actual intention was to preserve the Government's ability to [[MoreThanMindControl control soldiers]]). However, on an individual level, the majority of the Americans are well-intentioned--even the Patriots. Special note--the final boss of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' is the ex-president of the US. However, the ''current'' President of the US genuinely takes responsibility for his selfish and power-seeking actions, and heroically agrees to die to save his country from his mistake (on the other hand, it is also heavily implied that the "power-seeking actions" were actually spawned and manipulated by the Patriots so they could trick him into participating in the S3 plan).

* The {{trope namer|s}} is ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'', with the main region, Eagleland, being the setting of the game, and the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' franchise as a whole. It is an affectionate homage to America as viewed through the lens of [[Creator/ShigesatoItoi a foreigner]] interpreting the place based on American media, and it falls squarely in the bounds of The Beautiful. The first game (released years later internationally as ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'') actually flat-out called it "rural America". ''VideoGame/Mother3'' is an interesting example. It starts with a [[{{Arcadia}} more rural]] version of The Beautiful. This gets twisted into The Boorish when the villains arrive and is unrecognizable by the final chapter.

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' has been more or less leaning toward this flavor since civs first acquired some personality in ''III''. Most often, the in-game representation of civilizations is based on their most widely known historical traits and features, particularly those of the times of their greatness. That is exactly why America's leaders always belong to the number of its most famous and, in addition, positively assessed real-life presidents[[note]]the only exception in the entire series was Eleanor Roosevelt in ''II''[[/note]], such as Washington or Lincoln, who usually make references to concepts such as freedom, liberty, or justice in their lines. Gameplay-wise, America typically pursues some development-oriented victory type (like Scientific or Cultural), and while it is invariably an expansionist civilization, America is not infamous for being a warmonger. If they do declare war, your best guess is it's against some civ that has a long enough history of spoiling international peace (especially under Teddy Roosevelt in ''VI''). So, as a rule, America's AI is programmed to follow the trend, although, like any other's, it is not immune to behaving somewhat atypically on occasion.

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' has been more or less leaning toward this flavor since civs first acquired some personality in ''III''. Most often, the in-game representation of civilizations is based on their most widely known historical traits and features. That is exactly why America's leaders always belong to the number of its most famous and, in addition, positively assessed real-life presidents[[note]]the only exception in the entire series was Eleanor Roosevelt in ''II''[[/note]], such as Washington or Lincoln, who usually make references to concepts such as freedom, liberty, or justice in their lines. Gameplay-wise, America typically pursues some development-oriented victory type (like Scientific or Cultural), and while it is invariably an expansionist civilization, America is not infamous for being a warmonger. If they do declare war, your best guess is it's against some civ that has a long enough history of spoiling international peace (especially under Teddy Roosevelt in ''VI''). So, as a rule, America's AI is programmed to follow the trend, although, like any other's, it is not immune to behaving somewhat atypically on occasion.

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' leans toward this flavor. Most often, the in-game representation of civilizations is completely based on their history, so given that the leader of America in the series was often Washington or Lincoln, they usually refer to concepts such as liberty and tolerance in some of their aspects. Also, the America's AI is often coded to strongly hate warmongers and has no problem with declaring war on civs that anger them in such a way. ''Civilization VI'' is the primary example of this, where under Teddy Roosevelt, America practices big stick diplomacy and will fight for the freedom of any civilization that shares a continent with them.

* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' makes it clear that the United States is no different from any other foreign power that El Presidente might have to deal with. Although they are nominally considered external defenders of democracy and freedom on the island, [[{{Realpolitik}} in practice they are much more concerned with Tropico's foreign policy sympathies]]. Even if you are a bloodthirsty dictator who exterminates the opposition by the dozens, the United States will support your regime if you take their side against their enemies (e.g., the Soviets). And vice versa: Tropico may be a prosperous nation with a developed economy and a full-fledged democracy with respect for all human rights, but if you have chosen the wrong allies, and have offended in some way the Capitalist faction (who are lobbyists for US interests on the island), rest assured that the United States is already working to undo all your efforts.

* The Democratic Crusaders AI archetype from ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' is very cheerfully based on American neoconservativism, with lines unambiguously referencing things like the "House Un-[National Adjective] Activities Committee". On the one hand, the archetype requires Militarist ethos. They're diabolically eager to spread democracy by OrbitalBombardment and do not differentiate between a [[TheGoodKingdom pacifist Enlightened Monarchy]] and a [[TheEmpire despotic, slaving Star Empire]]. On the other hand, their required Egalitarian ethic means that they are ''very'' kind to their own people, are reliable allies to any other democracies, and when spreading democracy, they [[RegimeChange "liberate"]] their targets rather than outright conquer them, creating new nations with local rulership. Notably, the fixed ethos of [[SlaveLiberation successful slave rebellions]] are ''guaranteed'' to result in new Democratic Crusaders who have every reason to want to liberate the rest of their brothers and sisters in chains.

* Paul Phoenix from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is more of a mix. While he is goofy, loud, and arrogant he is generally a good guy, and is indeed and dangerous fighter, and one of the few non Mishima characters to beat both a Mishima and a Boss character (though he still lost the tournament somehow).

** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' helps mix it even more with deeper insight into pre-war American home life: While the game still contains strong hints of Boorishness (such as xenophobia demonstrated in the rather... harsh treatment of Asian-Americans at highway checkpoints), it also shows that behind the jingoism and '50s cliches, many Americans were just honest people trying to live their everyday lives, even as the threats of civil unrest, dwindling oil reserves, and nuclear war loomed over them. Even some of the Vault-Tech scientists are given some positive shades, in the case of Vault 81 where the scientists ''refused'' to take part in the experiment once it began, allowing the residents to live healthy and happy lives instead of being made guinea pigs by their bosses.

* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' makes it clear that the United States is no different from any other foreign power that El Presidente might have to deal with. Although they are nominally considered external defenders of democracy and freedom on the island, [[{{Realpolitik}} in practice they are much more concerned with Tropico's foreign policy sympathies]]. Even if you are a bloodthirsty dictator who exterminates the opposition by the dozens, the United States will support your regime if you take their side against their enemies (e.g., the Soviets). And vice versa: Tropico may be a prosperous nation with a developed economy and a [[BenevolentDictator full-fledged democracy with respect for all human rights]], but if you have chosen the wrong allies, and have offended in some way the Capitalist faction (who are lobbyists for US interests on the island), be assured that the United States is already working to undo all your efforts.

** Also, the aesthetic design of the game is, according to Valve, inspired by artists such as J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and Creator/NormanRockwell, all designed to recall The Beautiful. However the fact that everything (no seriously, ''[[GovernmentConspiracy everything]]'') is a desert, a [[PaperThinDisguise badly-hidden spy base]], or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs a spy base badly hidden in a desert]] makes things shift just a little towards The Boorish.

* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' makes it clear that the United States is no different from any other foreign power that El Presidente might have to deal with. Although they are nominally considered external defenders of democracy and freedom on the island, [[{{Realpolitik}} in practice they are much more concerned with Tropico's foreign policy sympathies]]. Even if you are a bloodthirsty dictator who exterminates the opposition by the dozens, the United States will support your regime if you take their side against their enemies (e.g., the Soviets). And vice versa: Tropico may be a prosperous nation with a developed economy and a [[BenevolentDictator full-fledged democracy with respect for all human rights]], but if you have chosen the wrong allies, and have offended in some way the Capitalist faction (who are lobbyists for the US interests on the island), be assured that the United States is already working to undo all your efforts.

* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' makes it clear that the United States is no different from any other foreign power that El Presidente might have to deal with. Although they are nominally considered external defenders of democracy and freedom on the island, [[{{Realpolitik}} in practice they are much more concerned with Tropico's foreign policy sympathies]]. Even if you are a bloodthirsty dictator who exterminates the opposition by the dozens, the United States will support your regime if you take their side against their enemies (e.g., the Soviets). And vice versa: Tropico may be a prosperous nation with a developed economy and a [[BenevolentDictator full-fledged democracy with respect for all human rights]], but if you have chosen the wrong allies, and have offended in some way the Capitalist faction (who are lobbyists for US interests on the island), be assured that the United States is already working to undo all your efforts.

* The Democratic Crusaders AI archetype from ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' is very cheerfully based on American neoconservativism, with lines unambiguously referencing things like the "House Un-[National Adjective] Activities Committee". On the one hand, the archetype requires Militarist ethos. They're diabolically eager to spread democracy by OrbitalBombardment, and do not differentiate between a [[TheGoodKingdom pacifist Enlightened Monarchy]] and a [[TheEmpire despotic, slaving Star Empire]]. On the other hand, their required Egalitarian ethic means that they are ''very'' kind to their own people, are reliable allies to any other democracies, and when spreading democracy, they [[RegimeChange "liberate"]] their targets rather than outright conquer them, creating new nations with local rulership. Notably, the fixed ethos of [[SlaveLiberation successful slave rebellions]] are ''guaranteed'' to result in new Democratic Crusaders who have every reason to want to liberate the rest of their brothers and sisters in chains.

* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' makes it clear that the United States is no different from any other Foreign Power that El Presidente might have to deal with. Although they are nominally considered external defenders of democracy and freedom on the island, [[{{Realpolitik}} in practice they are much more concerned with Tropico's foreign policy sympathies]]. Even if you are a bloodthirsty dictator who exterminates the opposition by the dozens, the United States will support your regime if you take their side against their enemies (e.g., the Soviets). And vice versa: Tropico may be a prosperous nation with a developed economy and a [[BenevolentDictator full-fledged democracy with respect for all human rights]], but if you have chosen the wrong allies, and have offended in some way the Capitalist faction (who are lobbyists for US interests on the island), be assured that the United States is already working to undo all your efforts.

* The Democratic Crusaders AI archetype from ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' is very cheerfully based on American neoconservativism, with lines unambiguously referencing things like the "House Un-[National Adjective] Activities Committee". On the one hand, the archetype requires militarist ethos. They're diabolically eager to spread democracy by OrbitalBombardment, and do not differentiate between a [[TheGoodKingdom pacifist Enlightened Monarchy]] and a [[TheEmpire despotic, slaving Star Empire]]. On the other hand, their required Egalitarian ethic means that they are ''very'' kind to their own people, are reliable allies to any other democracies, and when spreading democracy, they "liberate" to create new nations with local rulership rather than outright conquer. Notably, the fixed ethos of [[SlaveLiberation successful slave rebellions]] are ''guaranteed'' to result in new Democratic Crusaders who have every reason to want to liberate the rest of their brothers and sisters in chains.

* ''Videogame/TheDivision'', a Sweden-made game, features a group of secret agents tasked to restore order in the post-pandemic USA. It should be a patriotic example, right? The antagonists embody the worst American stereotypes, either acting of RoaringRampageOfRevenge or having an agenda to replace the ruling class. Not to mention the fact that the virus that destroyed the United States was engineered by an American microbiologist NietzscheWannabe. By ''Videogame/TheDivision2'', [[spoiler:even the acting president was involved in a conspiracy with an extremely mysterious and high-tech American based PrivateMilitaryContractors to basically dismantle The Division from within.]]

* ''Videogame/TheDivision'' and its sequel, a Sweden-made game, features a group of secret agents tasked to restore order from a post-pandemic USA. It should be a patriotic example, right? The antagonists embodies the worse American stereotypes ever, either acting of RoaringRampageOfRevenge or having an agenda to replace the ruling class. Not to mention the virus that wrecked USA was engineered by an American microbiologist NietzscheWannabe. By ''Videogame/TheDivision2'', [[spoiler:Even the acting president was involved with a conspiracy with an extremely mysterious and high-tech American based PrivateMilitaryContractors to basically dismantle The Division from within.]]