Personally, first person shooters are my bread and butter of gaming. The excitement of being able to land a 360 no scope from across the map is one of the few joys that could never be recreated in any other game. First person shooters come in a various flavors and backdrops, from the sci-fi space adventure to the post-apostolic wastelands. But by far the biggest use of a first person shooter is that of a military background. Be it the first World War or the modern wars of today, chances are if a period in time had firearms present there is a game based on that period in some kind of military backdrop. These games tend to be the biggest sellers in their genera, such as Battlefield and Call of Duty. But why is it that military shooters sell so well, and what’s with the glorification of military action and war? I can present some answers to that as a player of such games.

My first shooter was actually a Call of Duty game. I can’t remember the name, but I do remember it being based on fighting in World War 2. ( a common staple in many a shooter) I remembered fondly how good it felt to be taking down the virtual bad guys, only to be amazed to learn that the game was in fact based on REAL bad guys that we actually fought and WON. Little 10 year old me couldn’t believe that story, that the events transpiring before me were based on real things and just proved that the good guys always won. From there I began developing a taste form more shooters, usually in the context of historical shooters.

Fast forward to 2009 and the newest game out was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. What peaked my interest in this game was the setting of the modern day. The guns in game were way better than the bolt actions of the World War eras I was used to, and the shiny new technology of unmanned drones and sentry turrets made me feel like I could take on the whole world in the game. To boot, there was this vague story line about some all encompassing terrorist group and Russians (of course) which fitted perfectly with my elementary school level history lessons. “Hey, those are the bad guys!” I probably thought as I kindly allowed my lazer guided missile to turn a man’s innards into outnards. Little did I realize that was probably the intention they were going for.

I used to be a military head. Still kinda am. I can tell you random facts about the genius of innovation that was the AK-47 or the muzzle velocity of a M249 SAW (it’s 3,000 ft/s btw). Part of that reason was my exposure to military shooters. They presented me this cool and awesome world of explosions, violence and being the hero. A fantasy that appealed to lil old me. So when i found out that I could be a part of all that for real, I was really considering it. I was actively thinking about going into the armed forces, first as a scout sniper, but deciding I could be a decent S.W.A.T marksman. And that’s what I think was one of the goals of so much militarism in games. To convince kids like me to join up and buff up the ranks of our military, to show the world that we have a big and capable fighting force. Also from a game developers perspective this is a chance to make money hand over fist while getting some brownie points from good ol’ Uncle Sam.

In the end though I didn’t fall though with it. As i got older, I began seeing just how opposite real war and battles are from the games. There’s no regenerating health, no arsenal of high tech weapons at your sole disposal. Real fighting is so much more than that, and is something I personally hope I’ll never have to experience. Was i naive? Yes, maybe a little. Was I astonished by the allure? Kind of in some ways. But I’m not saying all games of these types are just pieces of propaganda to get people to join the military. I’m just putting out there the allure I felt when playing those games. Do I still play them? Of course. Gotta keep my K/D ratio positive. What is important to take away from this is that these games, whether intentional or not are glorifying the prospect of war. It’s important that we keep that in mind if we choose to purchase them, as well as who else will be exposed to them. Be responsible and stick to the age ratings.