Ben Blackburn

English 2010

What Role Does Terrorism Play In The Video Game Industry?

Video games in the last decade have been more innovative, realistic,
immersive, expensive to produce, used in professional and governmental fields for
teaching purposes, and increasingly violent with the popularity of terroristic war
based games. In 2001, September 11th rocked the nation with the World Trade
Towers being targeted by a terrorist attack unlike any weve seen before; but what
role does terrorism play in the video game industry? An article by Marcus Schulzke,
from the State University of New York at Albany, argues that every form of media
other than video games receives scholarly attention in regards to terrorism, when in
fact, video games are the largest form of media directly affected and influenced by
the act itself; while a separate article by Sophia Stuart, from PC Magazine Digital
Issue, delves into the training the military uses in conjunction with video games to
deliver a more realistic tool to teach combat and cultural sensitivity in the Middle
East. Marketing tactics in video games are also prevalent in the industry according
to a news article by the Associated Press and NBC, which showcases one of the
most successful franchises, and highlights a strategy used recently in regards to
terrorism.
Martin Schulzke, a political science major at the university of New York at
Albany argues in his article, The Virtual War on Terror: Counterterrorism Narratives
in Video Games, that terrorism is studied on a scholarly level in nearly every form
of media other than video games. Schulzke compares the popularity between the
hit TV show 24, and highly successful video game franchise Call of Duty, which both
focus on a terrorist narrative. 24 follows the protagonist and counter-terrorist team

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on a man hunt and objective to thwart terrorism threatening the states and is stated
as capturing 8 to 13.5 million viewers per episode. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
series follows multiple protagonists whose mission is to thwart the plans of ultranationalist terrorist groups and has logged over 1.6 billion hours of online play and
has sold nearly 65 million copies worldwide. Schulzke states that terrorism brings 4
characteristics to video games which include protagonists using any means
necessary, even breaking the laws of its own country to catch the terrorists,
terrorism must be met with decisive violence, there is no way to protect ourselves
from terrorist attacks and lastly, terrorists typically attack from the inside rather
than out. Schulzke concludes his essay by arguing that video game developers
intensify the narrative of terrorism, strip terrorists of any moral beliefs or cause
beside to inflict harm on the western civilizations, and do so more than any other
form of media.
As Schulzke is a political science major, his interest in bringing correct
information to be analyzed as a whole is important in looking at the true effects,
causes and impacts terrorism can and is attributed to both psychologically and in
the industry itself. Schulzke is quoted in his Abstract section before the
introduction as saying Video games strengthen these themes to make the threat of
terrorism appear more pervasive and imminent. Consequently, counter-terrorism
games display an intensified vision of the War on Terror narrative, in which the
entire world is a war zone. The argument that is repeated and emphasized in
Schulzkes article is the success that the industry achieves through intensifying the
actual act of terrorism itself which allows the player to feel empowered and justified
in his or her participation.

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Sophia Stuart, a journalist for PC Magazine argues that video games are being
implemented with terrorist threats to give a life-like, soft introduction to help
soldiers adjust to future environments in her article Using Video Games to Prepare
for the Culture Shock of War. Stuart makes her argument based off of 2 interviews
she has with individuals from Alelo, a company focused on increasing
communication through a program called VRP MIL or Virtual Role Players for Military
Training. The program was created by and co-founded by interviewee, W Lewis
Johnson, who began early work on Alelo in 2003, just 2 years after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks and the US involvement in the Middle East. Johnson, now head of Alelo, has
contracts with the US Department of defense, the UK ministry of defense, and the
German armed forces. Johnson also previously worked at the center of advanced
research in technology for education at USC where he focused on tactical language
and won DARPAs 2005 significant technical achievement award. Johnson argues
that video games associated with war are superficial and Alelos main goal is to
integrate realistic communication environments and interactions to help soldiers
cope when they are out in the field. The second interview is with Andreas Gruendel,
a former US soldier who is now head of the VRP MIL division. Stuart inserts a picture
of Gruendel putting on a headset and booting up the virtual game/simulation to an
image of an Afghan sentry glaring at her with hostility. Gruendel explains that the
program goes through missions with characters who have culturally relevant
behaviors and will even suddenly go off the deep end if responded to incorrectly
and argues that the simulation is a solid way to train military personnel in soft skills
before they get deployed to enable them to complete their mission.
As a journalist for a magazine based on PCs, Sophia is looking to showcase
the link between the military and video games which in turn is associated with the

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war on terror. Sophia is quoted as saying, (VRP MIL) provides full immersion to
make sure that troops develop culturally and linguistically correct communications
including non-verbal cues before deploying to places like Afghanistan. The 2
interviewees are credible as Gruendel is a former soldier, knowing the reality of
terrorism first hand and Johnson, who has been working on military tactical
language and communication skills with groups around the world for the majority of
his career which speaks volumes for his experience. Johnson is quoted as saying,
What were really about is building tools to help people develop their
communication skills. Our virtual role-player simulations are measurable and
repeatable, and really work in achieving our aims. Johnson argues Alelos purpose
is to bring a more realistic viewpoint to the video games in a way that soldiers can
gain realistic communication and tactical skills needed in the field associated with
counter-terrorism.
Outside of the video game spectrum, NBC News and the Associated
Press released an article titled Call of Duty Tweets of Fake Terrorist Attack Spark
Backlash, the video game industry was controversially reported as using terrorism
to generate publicity and anticipation for their new game. NBC reports that while
promoting Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, the Twitter handle @callofduty, changed their
user name, profile image, and background photo to look like that of a news feed and
released a series of tweets seeming to break the story of a terrorist attack on the
North bank of the Singapore Marina resulting in a state of emergency and the
government asking its citizens to stay in their homes and keep their doors and
windows closed. This was later cleared up by a tweet sent out clarifying it was just
a glimpse into the future fiction of #BlackOps3. (News) In the article, a series of
tweets from individuals who were outraged and upset by the tweets were included

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This tweet comes at a bad time considering with whats going on in the world said
one user while others included utterly distasteful and irresponsible.
As a news outlet, it is important to understand that from their outlook, they
are reporting solely based off of the screenshots captured and responses in return
from the Call of Duty twitter account and those responding directly. News outlets,
however tend to be biased and this article sides with those who are outraged at the
tactics the Call of Duty franchise decidedly used to generate publicity as those who
were upset were documented thoroughly. The casual exploitation, camouflaging,
and over intensifying nature in which Call of Duty carried out their advertising using
a fake terrorist attack is being recognized and questioned in a public setting.
Breaking down all 3 articles into one would be to say that terrorism in video
games is not only just popular in media, but has nearly one of the highest priorities,
interests and influence in culture to date and is being taken advantage of in more
than just entertaining ways. The common thread of the 3 sources is the need and
importance of focusing on the casual nature in which the media portrays terrorism,
personalities and motives in video games. This casual nature then in turn is adopted
by other forms of media to enhance sales and popularity with questionable business
ethics that in turn change the moral outlook on terrorism itself. The political scientist
in Schulzke was the most straightforward using logic and statistics to make his
points. Schulzke highlighted the casual intensifying nature of terrorism for
popularity and has changed the way media in general portray the narrative itself.
The Associated Press and NBC highlighted and continued to argue the success of
the casual nature in which the makers of Call of Duty used a fake terrorist attack
announcement to gain momentum and publicity for their new game. The argument

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prevalent in this article communicates and plays off of a moral compass. The fact
that the article highlighted the tweets of backlash from outraged individuals gives
an idea as to the sources intentions. The head of Alelo supported the common
thread in the fact that he agreed that war games nowadays are strictly superficial
but differed in emphasizing the need for a change to offer a realistic viewpoint in
communications and characters to offer soldiers the realistic environment and
individuals they will be introduced to in the field.
The video game industry is exploiting and intensifying the terrorist narrative
in a casual nature. Understanding this conclusion will help allow for us to separate
ourselves from the fictional world the media creates. The intensification makes the
narrative more popular and casual due to the moral separation they offer as the
games are a pure villain-hero story-line. This format has yielded such astronomical
revenue and has attributed to countless hours immersed in these experiences. . I
conducted my own research and validity as to the political scientist in Schulzkes
arguments based on the Call of Duty franchise. Supporting evidence from the
Statistic Brain and Research Institute states, since 2003, Call of Duty has spawned
over 10 sequels or spin-off series with varying degrees of success. The first series of
the Call of Duty franchise is the least successful with 5.5 million copies sold
worldwide. These 3 installments center primarily on World War 2 and does not
directly involve a terrorist narrative. The second series, Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare is the most successful set, with over 63 million copies sold (Statistic Brain)
and revolves around a plot filled with ultra-nationalist, terrorist organizations
committing horrible atrocities. It is also notable that many of the first Modern
Warfare game plot takes place in the Middle East. The success of these experiences
in turn create opportunities for not only other game developers to profit and build

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off of this premise but also other forms of media. When NBC and the Associated
Press reported on the casual nature Call of Duty marketed their game with a
terrorist attack, it showcased the problem that is existing in this frightening trend.
The video game industry, in a sense is the driving force behind the change in
realistic perception of terrorism in media. The narrative of terrorism is so popular in
the genre because just as Stuart says, the video games are immersive. We as a
people want to see and be a part of the action and take down the evil the game
presents but it is at the cost of being superficial and unrealistic as Johnson states.
The separation we need to have from the medias fictional narrative of terrorism is
critical to understanding the real story-line of terrorism and its retaliation in return.

Works Cited
Schulzke, Marcus. "The Virtual War on Terror: Counterterrorism Narratives in Video
Games." New Political Science (2013): 586-603.
Stuart, Sophia. "Using Video Games to Prepare for the Culture Shock of War." PC
Magazine January 2015 Web. 09 April 2016
News, Associated Press & NBC. "Call of Duty' Tweets of fake Terrorist Attack Spark
Backlash." NBC, 1 October 2015. Web. 09 April 2016
Statistic Brain Research Institute. "Call of Duty Franchise Game Sales Statisitics."
Statistic Brain Research Institute, 1 November 2015 Web. 09 April 2016