Oh boy, this will probably ruffle a few feathers. When Game Informer directly asked Infinity Ward devs whether Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a political game, the initial response is: no. "I don't think it's a political game," says campaign gameplay director, Jacob Minkoff.
But that's not nearly the end of the answer. Minkoff argues that the question of whether something is political or not doesn't carry any water. "The question, 'is this a political game', doesn't actually mean anything, because... what does the word 'political' mean to you?"
However, that's not to say he thinks the game doesn't approach sensitive subjects, or topics that have political underpinnings. "Do we touch topics that bear a resemblance to the geopolitics of the world we live in today? Hell yeah, because that is the subject matter of Modern Warfare," he says. "Are we telling a story that has anything to do with the specific governments of any countries that we are portraying? No."
Studio narrative director Taylor Kurosaki also chimes in: "We do talk about concepts like colonialism, occupation, independence, and freedom. We don't maybe say those words specifically, but that's the realm that we're in. But you could have a game that takes place in revolutionary America talk about those exact same concepts."
You can hear more about their thoughts in the above video. To summarise, Infinity Ward's new shooter presents a contemporary look at war through various perspectives, and that inherently delves into serious themes. However, the team isn't calling it a political game because it doesn't specifically pass commentary on modern, real world politics.
What's your take on all this? Do you think Infinity Ward's comments are valid? What do you consider a "political game" to be? Keep things friendly in the comments below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 17
To be totally honest, the whole "politics in video games" discussion bores me to tears. But then I guess I find politics in general pretty exhausting.
Can I shoot and kill the oposition ?
If so, then I don't care about any politics
@GoodGame To be fair that essentially describes the Iraq War.
Remember the Pipe Mania incarnation starring Gorbachev? Breaking news: even that doesn't qualify as a political game. No matter the degree of inspiration, Fiction always works with separate made-up worlds in the end. Only publicistic and documentary media can be political.
Its not unusual that a 'war' type game, whether that's more grounded in realism - CoD, Battlefield etc or more Science Fiction - Killzone, Halo etc, there is some 'political' aspect. Whether that is close to mirroring the real world politics or more fictional, there is usually a 'political' aspect as to why one side is in combat with the other.
Sometimes it can get close to the current political climate but some of that maybe because its influenced the writer and used that to create a fictional story. It may not be exactly alike, the writer has projected a 'what if' and/or combined that with any number of real war or fictional/movie combat stories
"Is this a political game?" is such a rubbish question to be honest. It's absolutely down to perspective. It actually annoys me that they'd ask that. I dunno, I guess they just wanted to see if he'd come right out and say "yes it is!" or something.
I don't mind there being political themes in games, as long as they are not pushing a specific agenda.
I get fed up with the crap certain media (hello, Kotaku, The Verge, and other trash sites) keep banging on with over Ubisoft and their games. Ubi for me have the right attitude to politics in games.
You can put political aspects in your games to pose questions and maybe even spark debate, but try forcing on me that one thing is "wrong" and another is "right" and you can get lost.
I think he just meant to say it's a stupid question but in a nice way.
“We don't maybe say those words specifically”
No they don’t but they do reference them all the time just like all the hidden illuminati references - https://youtu.be/RLg6YSTMha4
Um, it's about war. And it's war that involves real life countries. So that sounds pretty political to me. I don't understand why people are so scared to brand games like that, it's not like this isn't going to sell a million plus copies.
He has the right attitude in basically dismissing the question as dumb. There is hardly such a thing as an apolitical game.
We've seen it with almost every game with a female protagonist, for instance. Whether as a game dev you want it or you don't, your game might end up starting a political debate.
@nhSnork It’s not that fictional worlds can’t be political though, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Man in The High Castle both feature fictionalised versions of the world but use it to hold a mirror against the current political climate. Even looking at 1984 and the like, drama usually reflects our own world in some form or another.
Yes and no? Well that's a politician's answer
Gameinformer: Is YoUr GaMe PoLiTiCaL!?
Jacob Minkoff: Well, yes, but actually no.
I don't care if a game is political I just don't like games that are propaganda... They come off as really trite and pompous while being completely unenjoyable to play. Screw those games.
If games aren't fun, then those games are big muda...
@Constable_What Whats propaganda having a opinion that other people dont like? Its nonsense too say that a game with opinion about lets say war cant be good. A lot of countries call everything that isnt the way they like it propaganda. Real world problems can be interesting it would be fun too see something different that the great USA against the world.
@Flaming_Kaiser
No, that's not it. Propaganda video games are like that trash abortion game or any number of obscure video games that come out, no one plays or hears of, and just are not fun to play.
I'd also consider Watch Dogs 2 to be on the cusp of what I'm talking about with its really annoying unrelatable characters that were so completely dissociated from the plot they didn't make sense at all to the point you couldn't empathize with their struggle at all. I don't want to play domestic terrorists while the plot glosses over everything that's been done. That's not immersive.
All in all, I don't care what politics a huge corporation has. They're meaningless to me, and they are just there to sell you something.
Hence, propaganda. Not for the sake of influencing your political opinion, but for the sake of manipulating your interest in a commercial product.
If games become "super political" like Holywood these days, that will absolutely put me off.
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