“I want to let them in”: Exploring Critical Consciousness Development through Roleplay and Reflection in “Papers, Please”

Critical consciousness as described by Paolo Freire involves the awareness of systemic inequalities.Critical consciousness is important in dismantling oppressive systems, but can be difficult and uncomfortable to develop.This study investigates how Papers, Please works as a transformational game about border crossing to facilitate the development of players' critical consciousness as well as how players' lived experiences are reflected through their ingame decision-making.We conducted a mixed-methods two-week diary study and phenomenological interviews with 41 participants, many of whom being first-time players.We assess players' experiences through the six qualitative stages of critical consciousness development, which we adopt as a method of assessing learning within critical pedagogies.Using this framework, we suggest that in-game conflicting and reactionary immigration policy changes spark value and moral disequilibrium, which, in turn, may trigger players' reflection on the game's unjust immigration system and lead to critical introspection, motivation, and praxis around border crossing and immigration in the United States.