“I did it without hesitation. Am I the bad guy?”: Online conversations in response to controversial in-game violence

Abstract

Video game content has evolved over the last six decades, from a basic focus on challenge and competition to include more serious and introspective narratives capable of encouraging critical contemplation within gamers. The “No Russian” mission from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 casts players as terrorists responsible for the murder of innocent bystanders, sparking debate around how players engage and react to wanton violence in modern video games. Through thematic analysis of 649 Reddit posts discussing the mission, 10 themes emerged representing complexity in player experiences. Those themes were grouped into categories representing (descending order), (1) rote gameplay experiences, (2) dark humor, (3) comparing the mission to other games and real-world events, and (4) self-reflective eudaimonic reactions to the mission. Although less common, the presence of eudaimonic media effects (in at least 15% of posts) holds promise for the use of video games as reflective spaces for violence prevention.

Keywords

Entertainment theory eudaimonia guilt Reddit video game violence violence prevention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adam (2018) Monkey puppet. Know Your Meme. Available at: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/monkey-puppet

Ashcraft

(2009) Modern Warfare 2 censored in Japan. Kotaku, 9 December. Available at: https://kotaku.com/modern-warfare-2-censored-in-japan-5422287

Barlow

(1997) Schindler in the English classroom? The Education Digest 62(8): 40–43.

Barnes

Riesenmy

Trinh

, et al. (2020) Dank or not? Analyzing and predicting the popularity of memes on Reddit. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.14326

Bartsch

Mares

M-L

(2014) Making sense of violence: perceived meaningfulness as a predictor of audience interest in violent media content. Journal of Communication 64(5): 956–976.

Benaim

(2018) From symbolic values to symbolic innovation: Internet-memes and innovation. Research Policy 47(5): 901–910.

Bowman

Ahn

S-J

Mercer Kollar

(2020) The paradox of interactive media: the potential for video games and virtual reality as tools for violence prevention. Frontiers in Communication 5: 580965.

Boyan

Grizzard

Bowman

(2015) A massively moral game? Mass Effect as a case study to understand the influence of players’ moral intuitions on adherence to hero or antihero play styles. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds 7(1): 41–57.

Braun

Clarke

(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101.

10.

Bushman

Anderson

(2002) Violent video games and hostile expectations: a test of the general aggression model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28(12): 1679–1686.

11.

Calvert

Appelbaum

Dodge

, et al. (2017) The American Psychological Association Task Force assessment of violent video games: science in the service of public interest. American Psychologist 72: 126–143.

12.

Campbell

(2013) Playing with controversial images in videogames: the terrorist mission controversy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In: Attwood

Campbell

Hunter

, et al. (eds) Controversial Images. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 254–268.

13.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019) Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Leveraging the Best Available Evidence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/riskprotectivefactors.html

14.

Consalvo

(2007) Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

15.

Daneels

Bowman

Possler

, et al. (2021) The ‘eudaimonic experience’: a scoping review of the concept in digital games research. Media & Communication 9(2): 178–190.

16.

de Vrieze

(2018, September) Meta-analyses were supposed to end scientific debates. Often, they only cause more controversy. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.aav4617.

17.

Denham

Spokes

(2018) Thinking outside the ‘Murder Box’: virtual violence and prosocial action in video games. British Journal of Criminology 59(3): 737–755.

18.

Drummond

Sauer

Ferguson

(2020) Do longitudinal studies support long-term relationships between aggressive game play and youth aggressive behaviour? A meta-analytic examination. Royal Society Open Science 7: 200373.

19.

Emery

(2009) MPs row over Modern Warfare. BBC, 9 November. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8342589.stm

20.

Entertainment Software Association (ESA) (2019) 2020 essential facts about the video game industry. Available at: https://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Final-Edited-2020-ESA-Essential_facts.pdf

21.

Evans-Thirwell

(2016) From all ghillied up to No Russian, the making of Call of Duty’s most famous levels. PC Gamer, 13 July. Available at: https://www.pcgamer.com/from-all-ghillied-up-to-no-russian-the-making-of-call-of-dutys-most-famous-levels/2/

22.

Ferguson

Copenhaver

Markey

(2020) Reexamining the findings of the American Psychological Association’s 2015 task force on violent media: a meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science 15(6): 1423–1443.

23.

Frank

(2019) “Storm Area 51” weekend had neither raids nor aliens. But it wasn’t a bust. Vox, 27 September. Available at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/27/20879010/storm-area-51-alienstock-event-photos

24.

Frieden

Elliott

(2007) Teach with movies: using the storytelling power of movies to motivate students. Teacher Librarian 34(3): 61–62.

25.

Given

(2008) Emergent themes. In: Given

(ed.) SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. SAGE.

26.

Gollwitzer

Melzer

(2012) Macbeth and the joystick: evidence for moral cleansing after playing a violent video game. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 48: 1356–1360.

27.

Grizzard

Tamborini

Lewis

, et al. (2014) Being bad in a video game can make us morally sensitive. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 17: 499–504.

28.

Grubb

(2020) NPD: the top 20 best-selling games of the decade in the US. Venture Beat, 16 January. Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/16/the-top-20-best-selling-games-of-the-decade-in-the-u-s/

29.

Harris

(1976) History and significance of the emic/etic distinction. Annual Review of Anthropology 5: 329–350.

30.

Hartmann

(2017) The moral disengagement in violent videogames model. Game Studies 17(2). http://gamestudies.org/1702/articles/hartmann

31.

Hartmann

Toz

Brandon

(2010) Just a game? Unjustified virtual violence produces guilt in empathetic players. Media Psychology 13: 339–363.

32.

Hemenover

Bowman

(2018) Video games, emotion, and emotion regulation: bridging the gap. Annals of the International Communication Association 42: 125–143.

33.

Hester

(2019) “Remember, No Russian””: Critics and developers remember call of duty’s most infamous mission. US Gamer, 28 October. Available at: https://www.usgamer.net/articles/no-russian-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-infamous-mission-critics-developers-lookback-feature

34.

Holl

Bernard

Melzer

(2020) Moral decision-making in video games: a focus group study on player perceptions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies 2(3): 278–287.

35.

Hornshaw

(2020) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered’s “No Russian” fails now more than ever. Gamespot, 4 April. Available at: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-remastereds-no-russi/1100-6475549/

36.

Ivory

(2015) A brief history of video games. In: Kowert

Quandt

(eds) The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Digital Games. Routledge, pp. 1–21.

37.

Jenkins

(2006) Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: NYU Press.

38.

Jiow

Lim

Lin

(2016) Level up! Refreshing parental mediation theory for our digital media landscape. Communication Theory 27(3): 309–328.

39.

Joeckel

Bowman

Dogruel

(2012) Gut or game: the influence of moral intuitions on decisions in virtual environments. Media Psychology 15(4): 460–485.

40.

Kocurek

(2012) The agony and the Exidy: a history of video game violence and the legacy of Death Race. Game Studies 12(1). http://gamestudies.org/1201/articles/carly_kocurek

41.

Kohler

(2008) Grand Theft Auto: a history of violence. WIRED, 29 April. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2008/04/grand-theft-aut-9/

42.

Krcmar

Cingel

(2016) Moral Foundations Theory and moral reasoning in video game play: using real-life morality in a game context. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 60(1): 87–103.

43.

Krcmar

Farrar

(2009) Retaliatory aggression and the effects of point of view and blood in violent video games. Mass Communication & Society 12(1): 115–138.

44.

Lynes

Hoffin

(2020) Video Games, Crime, and Next-gen Deviance. Bingley: Emerald.

45.

McKernan

(2013) The morality of play: video game coverage in The New York Times from 1980 to 2010. Games and Culture 8(5): 307–329.

46.

Malazita

Jenkins

(2017) Digital games and moral packaging: the impacts of in-game decisions on public pedagogical deliberations. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds 9: 3–20.

47.

Martin

Matthews

Ratan

(2015) Playing by the rules: parental mediation of video game play. Journal of Family Issues 38(9): 1215–1238.

48.

Mathur

VanderWeele

(2019) Finding common ground in meta-analysis “wars” on violent video games. Perspectives on Psychological Science 14: 705–708.

49.

Mekler

Iacovides

Bopp

(2018) A game that makes you question: exploring the role of reflection for the player experience. In: CHIPLAY 2018. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/3242671.3242691

50.

Mezirow

and Associates (2000) Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

51.

Mohan

Guha

Harris

, et al. (2017) The impact of toxic language on the health of Reddit communities. In: Mouhoub

Langalais

(eds) Canadian AI 2017. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57351-9_6

52.

Murray

(1997) Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York: Free Press.

53.

Oliver

Raney

(2011) Entertainment as pleasurable and meaningful: identifying hedonic and eudaimonic motivations for entertainment consumption. Journal of Communication 61: 984–1004.

54.

Oliver

Bowman

Chung

M-Y

(2016) Video games as meaningful entertainment experiences. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 5(4): 390–405.

55.

Oliver

Raney

Slater

, et al. (2018) Self-transcendent media experiences: taking meaningful media to a higher level. Journal of Communication 68: 380–389.

56.

Riffe

Lacy

Fico

(2005) Analyzing Media Message: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research. 2nd ed. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

57.

Rogers

Woolley

Oliver

, et al. (2017) Fun vs. Meaningful videogame experiences. A qualitative analysis of user responses. Computer Games Journal 6(1–2): 63–79.

58.

Sanford

Madill

(2007) Critical literacy learning through video games: Adolescent boys’ perspectives. E-Learning and Digital Media 4(3): 285–296. https://doi.org/10.2304/elea.2007.4.3.285

59.

Samson

Gross

(2014) The dark and light sides of humor: an emotion-regulation perspective. In: Gruber

Moskowitz

(eds) Positive Emotion: Integrating the Light Sides and Dark Sides. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 169–182.

60.

Schulzke

(2013) Being a terrorist: video game simulations of the other side of the War on Terror. Media, War, & Conflict 6(3): 207–220.

61.

Senior

(2012) Modern Warfare 2 designer explains the thinking behind No Russian mission. PC Gamer, 9 August. Available at: https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2-designer-explains-the-thinking-behind-no-russian-mission/

62.

Sherry

Lucas

Greenberg

, et al. (2006) Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. In: Vorderer

Bryant

(eds) Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. New York: Routledge, pp. 213–224.

63.

Sicart

(2013) Beyond Choices: The Design of Ethical Gameplay. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

64.

Smith

Lachlan

Tamborini

(2003) Popular video games: quantifying the presentation of violence and its context. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 47(1): 58–76.

65.

Sunstein

(2019) Algorithms, correcting biases. Social Research 86(2): 499–511.

66.

Tamborini

Bowman

Prabhu

, et al. (2018) The effect of moral intuitions on decisions in video game play: the impact of chronic and temporary intuition accessibility. New Media & Society 20(2): 564–580.

67.

Thompson

Haninger

(2001) Violence in E-rated video games. Journal of American Medicine 286(5): 591–598.

68.

Totilo

(2012) The designer of Call of Duty’s “No Russian” massacre wanted you to feel something. Kotaku, 2 August. Available at: https://kotaku.com/the-designer-of-call-of-dutys-no-russian-massacre-wante-30777344

69.

Waddington

(2007) Locating the wrongness in ultra-violent video games. Ethics and Technology 9: 121–128.

70.

Weaver

Lewis

(2012) Mirrored morality: an exploration of moral choice in video games. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 15(11): 610–614.

71.

Webster

(2014) The ESRB is turning 20. IGN, 16 September. Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/16/the-esrb-is-turning-20

72.

Welsh

(2009) Activision chose to censor Russian MW2. Eurogamer, 17 November. Available at: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/activision-chose-to-censor-russian-mw2

73.

Williams

(2013) We Are Not Heroes: Contextualizing Violence through Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Game Developers Conference Vault.

74.

Zillmann

(2000) Humor and comedy. In: Zillmann

Vorderer

(eds) Media Entertainment: The Psychology of its Appeal. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 37–57.