A graphic from the franchise’s most recent title: Modern Warfare (2019)
When looking at the various depictions of war that we’ve seen thus far – in art, literature, music and even sand -, there is a notable exception: the humble videogame. Ever since rising to prominence in the 1980s, videogames have been seen entertaining millions, but can they be a way to remember the past in a positive manner[1]? Of the range of franchises that have risen and fallen over the years, perhaps most prolific in the multiplayer genre has been the Call of Duty series. Beginning in 2003 with its gritty and ‘realistic’ depiction of World War Two, Call of Duty features 17 games, each telling a fictional story through real conflicts. A new title, ‘Black Ops: Cold War’ is set to focus on covert Soviet operations within proxy wars fought between the U.S.S.R and the U.S.A. The cultural impact of the series cannot be understated; eight of the last twelve games were best-selling on release, and creators of media based on the series have amassed millions of views on YouTube and Twitch.tv[2].
Superficially, the way war is depicted and remembered in the Call of Duty franchise is easy to deride, and difficult to defend. The bulk of each game centers around bloodily mowing down never-ending groups of (foreign) enemy soldiers with powerful weapons. A litany of accusations has been made over the series glorifying war, inciting violence in youth, and most notably, depicting the carrying out of a terrorist attack on an airport of civilians[3]. This raises an interesting question: is it possible to depict war through videogames without glorification? After all, games are played to have fun, and it’s difficult to see how a teenager would enjoy the ‘true war’ experience of dying of pneumonia in WW1 or being kept as a POW in the Vietnam war. Call of Duty and many war games like it opt to use violence as an ‘out’, a way for gamers to express their frustrations, whilst leaving historical accuracy at the wayside. This is certainly problematic! As a longtime player myself, it’s easy to be swept up in the hype of a last-minute kill to win the game, forgetting that real people suffered in a similar manner to the one depicted on the screen.
So, is there a positive role that Call of Duty and such games can play in attempting to remember the past? I see opportunity for this in the direction of the games’ story modes, where a linear experience can allow for valuable teaching about the horrific details of war. Aside from increasing interest in learning about the reality of the events that you play as, CoD titles often tell surprisingly deep wartime stories; e.g. in Advanced Warfare (2014), the main antagonist is white, the symbol of the military-industrial complex and the dangers of outsourcing. Oh, and he’s acted by Kevin Spacey – a fact which makes the game’s final mission even more satisfying. But no spoilers; you’ll just have to play through yourself!
- https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=J4BPbdWuyXwC&lpg=PP2&ots=6UzWLxPnd5&dq=video%20games%20history&lr&pg=PP9#v=onepage&q&f=true
- https://fortune.com/2020/01/17/best-selling-video-games-past-25-years/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1108965/call-of-duty-number-viewers/
- https://guff.com/how-does-call-of-duty-really-affect-our-culture
Okay. This got me thinking. Do you think in the aspects of fun, if teenagers during the 20th century could play Call Of Duty as we know it they would still go to war? I think it portrays a PG enough scale to not be taken seriously and even with our power of VR these days we could not equate to the emotions and fitness levels of these power troopers. (Which may encompass a fulfilling experience) How could it have prepared them for war? do you think the bases of the games have been given any support from this commodification being a top seller? With the present contexts of today’s technology, it would be interesting to ask an active combat person if COD can associate with their active missions and duties in any way. And what if we were to turn to a veteran of the time. Would you think they would be accepting of the commodification and remembrance through a lighter look into warfare through the game? In the sense of today, I do not encourage my younger brother to play this game because of its great awareness of death and encouragement towards violence but to mention the point I think the game gives to much hope. As we have all grown to know you cannot die and respawn in real life. We can not comprehend the disaster, trauma, and ‘victory’ others faced in order for us to mimic their overwhelmed efforts for our everyday entertainment. War games are definitely a trend.
This is a really interesting post! As you say, video games are an oft-overlooked art form, particularly when focusing on art as a medium for such heavy themes as the impact of war. However, when you say that “games are played to have fun”, I have to disagree. I think like any kind of art, we engage with video games for how they impact upon us. A lot of the time, this is just how much fun we have while playing them, but not always. Admittedly, I don’t play video games myself, but I have watched many a video essay. When people engage with games in this way, how much fun they had playing them often takes a back seat, and the real focus of such essays is the deeper themes the game deals with and how they impacted the essayist. It’s therefore entirely possible for a game to deal with the impact of war while still achieving its purpose, because I would claim its purpose is to impact upon the player, and war can be an intensely impactful subject when handled right.
However, I’ve been discussing video games as art, and I don’t think that’s always correct. From what I know of Call of Duty, it doesn’t really fit into that description. Maybe this is where the distinction between which games can deal with war without glorifying it lies? If a game isn’t art, then its purpose no longer lies in impacting emotionally upon the player, but in providing them with fun, as you say. This makes it that much harder to deal with such an intense subject as war, where it’s pretty much impossible to treat the subject with dignity if the intent is to have fun all the time. This distinction still doesn’t accurately distinguish between the abilities of different video games to treat war with respect, but I think it could be an interesting starting point