In the video game’s latest sequel, Black Ops Cold War, players are tasked with committing “highly illegal” atrocities.

I just started playing COD Black Ops Cold War because I got it through my PlayStation Plus subscription and wanted to try it out. I’ve previously played some others like Modern Warfare (1 and 2) and WWII. While it always felt a bit over the top and propaganda-ish, I really liked it for the blockbuster feeling and just turning your mind off and enjoying the set pieces. However, Cold War has a section in Vietnam and I suddenly started feeling really uncomfortable and just turned the game off.

In WWII you can easily feel like the “defender”, and even Modern Warfare felt like fighting a very specific organisation that wanted to kill millions. Here however it just becomes so hard to explain why I’m happily mowing down hundreds of clearly Vietnamese locals that I was unable to turn my mind off and just enjoy the spectacle.

I turned to the internet and started browsing and found this article and I really agree with what the author is saying.

I don’t know if I will be continuing the campaign or not, but I just feel that I don’t want to support these kinds of minimizations of military interventions.

I just wish there were more high budget / setpiece games that don’t glorify real life wars. Spec Ops The Line was amazing in that sense, but it’s also quite old already.

I would love to hear your opinions on this subject.

  • knokelmaat@beehaw.orgOP
    4·
    1 year ago

    Ok let me spell it out:

    I know this is a videogame.

    I know the difference between games and reality.

    I do however know that people get indirectly influenced by the media they consume. (See my other comment for scientific sources on this).

    Playing violent games does not make you violent.

    It’s the tone that matters. The Last of Us is very violent but never makes it feel cool. Uncharted is very over the top and enemies are just nameless, raceless grunts. The story in GTA often makes it clear how fucked up the crime world is.

    That is my issue with the Vietnam scene I was playing earlier. This was not like Uncharted based in a completely fictional conflict. This was based in a real war that the US participated in, killing real people, and you’re just there being the awesome hero killing locals by the dozens.

    I know this will not change your mind.

    This is my last attempt at being reasonable and trying to understand each other.

    I know you will answer with some short personal remark or minimize all the points I have made instead of having an actual conversation.

    I hope you prove me wrong, otherwise this will be my last response to you.