Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Post 28: Digital Shooting

I am going to take a minor break from regular television and movie media for a moment and comment on something that has been a spark of debate in a different area of media and entertainment that I think is worth looking at: gaming. I want to say right off the get-go that this post contains spoilers so if you intend on playing the Modern Warfare 2, DO NOT READ ON!!!!!!!!

**SPOILER ALERT!!!**

It’s fact that gaming is number three In grossing large amounts of entertainment money which is only trumped by music and film. So that being said, games are becoming a deep part in our cultural upbringing and part of society. This is grounds for the topic I wanted to raise. I am sure most of you who follow games like I do have at least heard of the big game that has been released called Modern Warfare 2, part of the epic Call of Duty series. However there is heavy controversy about Modern Warfare 2 that has taken most people by surprise… and Activison (the publishing and producing company putting the game out) even put a warning on the screen allowing you to skip the part that is in question. Essentially it shows a very graphic presentation of a group of terrorists going into an airport and opening fire on innocent people, killing many of them, and your character that you play IS one of them. However you do realize that this character is working for the CIA or FBI (I honestly forget which organization) and is undercover. He is forced to make a choice: not go through with this and blow his cover destroying all the work he has worked for, or go through with the plot and kill innocents to keep his cover.

Needless to say this is a very touchy subject, especially with the wounds still raw from the Texas shooting situation we are all facing on a daily basis via the news. I just thought it interesting that a game, which is made clearly for entertainment purposes, is coming under such attack. I think people are starting to realize that gaming is no longer the “pong” days… but it is quite literally digital entertainment. Some would argue that the plots and stories rival that of books, television, and movies and the gaming projects are quickly becoming increasingly more expensive to make due to how much exposure they get. Just something to ponder about.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you that it is just a game. But I think the past correlation between violence in video games and the real world is what has people concerned, such as in the case of Virginia Tech. Also, the whole terrorists in an airport shooting at people, brings up a lot of emotions from September 11. But anyways it sounds like a fun game, my boyfriends really into those type of games maybe ill have to check into getting it for him.

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  2. I'm really not into video games so maybe I can offer a different point of view. The situation you described in the video game seems very controversial because it is. I'm all for war video games but there's certain lines that I don't think should be crossed. Terrorism itself in a video game is a big deal, nevermind shooting up innocent people at an airport. I think terrorism is too much of a hot button issue to be using it from a first person perspective in a video game.

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