“War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse” – Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce
War games are being attacked
They are labeled bad, and wrong. And for good reason. They teach players to love war. To look forward to the next chance to rub your superior firepower in your opponents face. They bask in the glow of ever growing digital death tolls, and merrily extend rewards to those that have the most killing potential. They are bad, bad things. This is the main view of these games, anyway. I don’t necessarily see them in that light. Mainly because, like you learned in my last post, my brother and I bonded through these types of games. We do compete with each other, and I feel a sense of pride when I beat him, but I never really see it as pride over killing. It’s more of a mastery over a set of rules, and restrictions set forward by the game itself. I don’t celebrate death, rather, I take joy in sharing a part of my life with my brother
It's all up to you
Yes, they are violent
But war itself is violent as well. Let’s be honest about a few things here. War sucks. It is a despicable, necessary evil that rears its ugly head more times than it should. It is a force for destruction, and leaves nothing untouched. War should never be celebrated, even victories are hollow. No game shows the aftermath. The work it takes to make things “right” afterward. They show small engagements, little firefights that are important to some small part of the overall story. That is the strong suit of the game. The ability to pick and choose what is shown to the player. This ability to shield them from the horrors of war. They show no bystanders, no accidental casualties. Only two sides, one right, one wrong. And you’re always on the side of right. No exception.
The bigger picture
I have spent a lot of time with the Call of Duty franchise, and have played through the single-player campaign for most of the games. They have pretty good stories that let you get a glimpse of little bits and pieces of war, but nothing of any real substance. You always win, that’s what matters. The game is made to make you feel good, like a winner, like you are one man against the world who will always emerge on top. It’s just difficult to get people to buy something that shows them the real world. No one wants that. Hell, even reality TV is scripted to make everything “better.” I know that if Call of Duty showed me the faces of crying digital children that I turned into bastards I probably would sell my Xbox, and join the Peace Corp. But it doesn’t, and I don’t blame it. I play games to escape the real world, not to be faced with digital consequences for my actions.
Modern Warfare
I recently read something on Kotaku about war games, decrying the “fun” nature of war games that I have expressed above, but it got me thinking. Then I played the campaign for Modern Warfare 3, and that made me think even more about it. The Modern Warfare series have been some of my favorite Call of Duty games because of the story. The characters are engaging, the scenarios exciting, and the locales pretty amazing. It is chock full of adjectives and ing’s. This is an interesting thing though, because it is a series. Unlike the other Call of Duty games that jump through history, and through random characters, Modern Warfare has characters that span the entire series. You get to know them, you follow them through the worst time of their lives, and you see how they either rise above, or break. You know them. Then, you put them into harm way. You control these characters you know through increasingly dangerous missions for the sake of the world, and guess what? They win, standing on a pile of bodies, propelled by revenge, and sacrifice.
TF 141
It gets better
Modern Warfare 3 tweaks the formula a bit. It feels like it focuses on what war leaves behind. You travel through a world in the midst of a third Great War. You look at cities you recognize that have been torn apart. Beauty that is forever marred, lost in the exchange of bombs and bullets. You are put into a fight on the losing side. This is not a happy game. You are fighting to stay alive, not even to promote the American Dream, or Manifest Destiny. You are just trying to keep America alive, to take back what has been lost. It is depressing. Don’t get me wrong, you still win some, but you also lose some. That in itself is surprising. It shocked me to see the glowing red “Objective Failed” in the upper right corner, and the game to continue. That doesn’t happen, I control the world, if I hit reset I don’t have to fail, but I do. This campaign is a response to those saying that games glorify war. There is nothing glorious about this game. Every victory is hollow, you feel what it takes to “win.” Nothing happens without sacrifice.
It’s not a solution
But it’s a step forward. This game, if you think about it, shows that war sucks. It does it in a very Hollywood way, but it does its best. It does the best it can to show that war isn’t a game, while still making you want to play it. So, play it, it’s a fun game. Kill your friends over and over in multiplayer, show your skills in slaughter. Just be sure to remember its just a game, and that real war isn’t something that should be used to show your “skill.”
