![]() Over the course of Spec Ops: The Line the player is faced with the concept of The Other, a philosophical concept dating back to the late 18th century by philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel(Hegel, 2012). In essence, the game is punching the player with their own fist only to then question why they’re doing that to themselves. They decided to Press the button and continue forward, but was it really a choice? What alternative did they really have? The player is given the illusion that the didn’t have a choice in what they were doing, something that Captain Walker tried to tell himself repeatedly as he continues forward after the event. The player is presented with the prompt to Press X, no option to simply not use it, but the deliberate action is still required from the player to take this action. ![]() How Spec Ops explores this is in a singular moment of faux choice that the player is provided with to use an item that will enable them to continue. This entire motif in turn is call to the idea of free will and the philosophical concept of determinism(Sartre & Mairet, 2007), the idea that, putting simply, we can’t actually make choices and all actions are predetermined by the factors that preceded them. ![]() If they don’t progress the game doesn’t continue and the only real option for the player is either continue as the game wants or turn it off. While this on the surface is a humorous dig at the way Non-Player Characters in games are technically limited by what the developers have programmed into the game, it is also referencing the idea that the player never really has an option other than continuing forward. Bioshock Infinite overtly references this same idea with a sequence between the Lutece Twins where they state “If you don’t continue, I’m going to be forced to repeat myself”. Similarly to Bioshock( Bioshock, 2007) and Bioshock Infinite( Bioshock Infinite, 2013), Spec Ops uses the illusion of choice rather than explicit choices themselves to both give the player a sense of agency to their actions as Captain Walker, but criticising this mirage of agency at the same time. Like many other titles that explore the relationship between Player and Player character, Spec Ops expands on this theme through player choice, but it a way not explored as frequently. Even before the game has started it is forewarning of the events it surrounds. Flag Code”, 2017) even states that a flag being flown like this is a sign of great distress. An inverted American flag is seen on the title screen forewarning the events within the game a skewed perspective, America not being seen how it should be, US Code(“U.S. Even from the title sequence the game is already speaking for its content. Every aspect of the players experiences from shop to end credits is part of the entire considered experience. The player is involved in the experience of Spec Ops: The Line just by hearing the title or seeing the box art. This intentional wrong footing of the player, while it may have actually hurt the game as a financial project, selling under 1 million units on PS3(“Spec Ops: The Line (PlayStation 3) - Sales”, 2017) and 360(“Spec Ops: The Line (Xbox 360) - Sales”, 2017) combined at time of writing, is integral to commentary its making. As just another shooter where the Americans go in, shoot the bad guys and save the day. Yager Development attaches the game to a series of typical military shooters that were vogue for the industry and gamers at the time of development and positioned it as nothing more than what it appears on the box. Using a variety of typical and well learned video game symbology, the title attempts to fool the consumer into thinking the title is going to be very different from what it is. ![]() Spec Ops: The Line from the outset is a trick on the player.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |