Matt Weise’s Meaningful Experience
I caught this from Henry Jenkins’s blog this morning, posted yesterday. Matt Weise reflects on a way to reapproach the typical “liberation” theme that many videogames in the United States have used as a start point for the plot logic they use. As great a game as it is, Call of Duty 4 is rather disturbing in the message it sends concerning the West’s role in political power brokering. Go to the CharlieOscarDelta webpage for some screenshots and what you see is stunningly photorealistic, a fantastic and intense gaming experience, and something that looks ripped straight from the streets of Fallujah. The plot reaffirms the American “imperial” approach, too. “Hunt down and kill al-Asad because he’s an Arab with a nuke.” One who ultimately destroys his own country just to kill Americans.
This is not nuanced storytelling that considers deeper political ramifications from the cultural attitudes of both sides, unless you count SAS informant’ Nikolai’s “The Americans are making a mistake. They will never capture al-Asad alive.”
I love games and think they have so much potential, but I often feel like Weise — only I paid $600 for a PS3!
Well, generally a game is designed to get people to play it. As a rule most people want to be able to kick ass, do cool things, and feel good about doing it. This usually results in you fighting for something, against someone you don’t like, for a good reason.
Patriotism is an easy plot device to get this ball rolling. It’s simple, effective, and has wide range appeal. If they are not with they us, they are against us….yada, yada…
I think most people like video games because they give us a place to visit where there are absolutes.
I have to kill these Germans or they will destroy Europe. White and Black.
I have to kill these gangsters because they started shit with me and I don’t take that lying down. Black and White.
You don’t have to think “should I be pistol whipping this guy, morally speaking?” You pistol whip him, take the money, and go round up the ho’s.
I think that is you start trying to make a video game about a social, political, or moral issues it will turn them off. People (or at least most in my opinion) play video games because it’s an escape from gray areas of life. The video game is a world that you are “in” that has a simple rule. Win.