ImaJAN Media Network
MeltedJoystick Home
   Games  Members
Search +
Searching... Close  
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
 
  Login Using Facebook
Twitter
 
     

Veterans Day

View Nelson Schneider's Profile

By Nelson Schneider - 11/13/11 at 04:32 PM CT

This Veterans Day weekend, millions of gamers will celebrate the sacrifices made by the United States military by shooting each other in the head, teabagging the corpses of their fallen adversaries, and screaming obscenities into wireless headsets, thanks to the recent release of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.” To these millions of gamers, many of whom are too young to understand its horrors, war is a form of entertainment.

While it may no longer be cool to hate on “Call of Duty,” lack of coolness has never stopped me from doing things in the past. Why do people (and in this instance, ‘people’ refers to ‘mainstream gamers’) find war entertaining? While conflict is necessary to drive the plot of any good story (and it’s debatable whether or not “CoD’s” 8-hour single-player mode qualifies as ‘good’), what is the infatuation with bringing home the horrors of modern warfare to our living rooms under the guise of ‘entertainment?’ These games aren’t nearly so popular outside of the United States, but Americans eat them up, year after year, like the rarest delicacy.

I don’t find war entertaining. War movies have never appealed to me either, but I can understand at least some of the value provided by them. A veteran can sit down with a civilian and watch a film like “Full Metal Jacket” or “Black Hawk Down,” then say, “That is what I went through, bastard! It was Hell and you should be grateful that I did it so you don’t have to.” History, no matter how brutal and unappealing, is still important.

War videogames? Not so much. These games have come to focus almost entirely on the online multiplayer aspect. These matches aren’t scripted. There is no respectful fidelity to what actually went on during the military conflict represented on-screen. It’s just a bunch of kids and immature adults living out a fantasy of being badasses. And why do these gamers need a fantasy of being an army badass? Because, to quote Solid Snake, “War has changed.”

While Snake is referring to tactical espionage with borderline sci-fi elements, real modern warfare is just as different from historical conflicts like the World Wars and Vietnam. America and its allies no longer fight wars against enemy nations with clear victory conditions. We can no longer unite to rail against a distinct enemy like “The Hun,” “kraut-eating Nazis”, “slant-eyed Japs,” or “Charlie the Communist Gook.” Instead we face the abstract concept of Terror. We can’t even rail against “Towel-Headed Camel-Fudger Fundamentalist Terror,” as that would be profiling and insensitive. I think Americans feel neutered and handcuffed by political correctness, and thus embrace the opportunity to be complete dicks that is offered by online war FPSes like “CoD” and “Battlefield.” I think this feeling of helplessness has permeated our collective sense of self, affecting even the youth: Generation X and Generation Y have never actually ‘won’ a war. Our national fantasy is to, once again, be a military superpower that defeats every enemy, no matter the odds. Our national reality is one of decades-long, non-resolving foreign ‘conflicts’ fought increasingly by National Guard units, a branch of the military that was initially implemented as a form of non-deploying homeland security.

Yet with the way modern warfare is actually evolving, FPSes no longer seem to be an accurate medium. Aside from a few special operations like the epic takedown of Osama bin Laden, modern warfare doesn’t find a lot of success with men-on-the-ground. If anything, the future of realistic war games should look like “Pilotwings,” except with a Stinger missile being deployed at the end of each level. Perhaps modern war games should take on a Dating Sim structure where soldiers must negotiate with and kiss the asses of local strongmen and village elders in order to learn the locations of terrorist enclaves. Either way, it wouldn’t be very fun. But war isn’t, nor is it supposed to be, fun. Videogames are.

Share:    
MeltedJoystick Gaming Blog RSS Feed
Comments
0 comments
Name: 

Avoid spam Captcha: Sign Up + or Log In +   



 

Bloggers

Previous Blog Posts

Archive

All Posts

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

December 2023

November 2023

October 2023

September 2023

August 2023

July 2023

June 2023

May 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

December 2022

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020

December 2019

November 2019

October 2019

September 2019

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

December 2018

November 2018

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

July 2018

June 2018

May 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018

January 2018

December 2017

November 2017

October 2017

September 2017

August 2017

July 2017

June 2017

May 2017

April 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

November 2016

October 2016

September 2016

August 2016

July 2016

June 2016

May 2016

April 2016

March 2016

February 2016

January 2016

December 2015

November 2015

October 2015

September 2015

August 2015

July 2015

June 2015

May 2015

April 2015

March 2015

February 2015

January 2015

December 2014

November 2014

October 2014

September 2014

August 2014

July 2014

June 2014

May 2014

April 2014

March 2014

February 2014

January 2014

December 2013

November 2013

October 2013

September 2013

August 2013

July 2013

June 2013

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

 
Log In
 
For members wanting to use FB to login, click here
remember me
 
 

What Members Are Doing

Comments about...

New Game Reviews

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams game review by Megadrive
Sunset Overdrive game review by Chris Kavan
The Vagrant game review by Chris Kavan
Honkai: Star Rail game review by Chris Kavan
Assassin's Creed IV: Black... game review by Nelson Schneider
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands game review by Nelson Schneider
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart game review by Nelson Schneider
Cthulhu Saves Christmas game review by Nick

New Game Lists

Backlog by Nelson Schneider
Top Wii Games by Megadrive
My Backlog by Chris Kavan
Games I Own: Switch Digital by dbarry_22
Top Nintendo (NES) Games by Nick
Backlog by Matt
Top Game List by SIngli6
Top Game List by Jonzor

 

 

 

Contact Us Public Relations MeltedJoystick Friends    

Advertise and Business

Contacts Us

Jobs

About us

SiteMap

 

Support Us

FAQ and Help

News and Press

Terms of Use

Privacy

Hitfix.com

Amazon.com

OVGuide.com

   
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this blog?