Originally published for G4@Syfygames on 3/22/2016
When we boot up our console or PC to play video games, we usually don’t think about our chosen title’s implications from an academic perspective. After all, we play games to have fun, right? However, I beg to differ. There are certain titles that have had a massive impact on not just the players, but in the academic field, too. In media criticism, there are many theories that help explain the particular functions of rhetorical messages. Today, I’d like to offer a look into Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT); and there is no better application for that than Spec Ops: The Line.
Warning: There are spoilers and potentially disturbing images in this feature. If you don’t mind that, read on.
According to Dr. Michael James Heron and Pauline Helen Belford from Journal of Games Criticism, “video games have a long tradition of including elements of moral decision making within their ludic and narrative structures.”[1] By establishing a relationship of core values between the two focal points (player and avatar), Spec Ops: The Line successfully manages to establish a connection with the player. At multiple points during gameplay, the title challenges said values through forced dilemmas. Each decision breaks the player’s expectations through horrific consequences, which provides an excellent example of communicator reward valence. This leads into the application of EVT to The Line.
Before I go further, I’d like to explain what EVT is. This is an important theory to consider, because it affects our daily lives. EVT analyzes how people respond to unanticipated violations of social norms and expectations.[2] For example, it’s expected to help the elderly across the street. However, it’s not expected to rob them once they cross. A key part of this theory, communicator reward valence, must also be considered. This involves an evaluation a person makes about the person who committed a violation of expectancy.[3] A great example is everyday conversation. If you’re talking to someone and the person is making eye contact, nodding, and responding actively, you’ll feel more encouraged. However, if the person is yawning, texting, and avoiding eye contact, it shows that they have no interest in what you’re talking about, and bets are that you’ll feel violated. These are rudimentary demonstrations, but Spec Ops: The Line takes these concepts and dials them up by a thousand.
Spec Ops: The Line (2012) is a third-person shooter video game developed by German studio Yager Development and published by 2K Games. The title’s narrative revolves around Captain Martin Walker, who is sent into a post-cataclysmic Dubai after a massive sandstorm levels the city. Walker is sent with an elite reconnaissance team, Delta Force, on a mission to find U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad and his platoon’s survivors. As the player advances through the game, Walker begins hallucinating as he realizes the horror of war, his actions, and its effects on others. What makes this title so special is that it consistently breaks the fourth wall by not only questioning the main character’s morality, but the player’s, too. This is thanks to the gut-wrenching decisions the player must make along the journey, and the consequences have dire implications for how the narrative will play out.
The Line was a very influential title that invaded many players’ comfort zones. In addition, it received Story of the Year honors from Entertainment Examiner, stating that the game was “unafraid to take gamers on a different type of journey than the traditional ‘shoot em up’ and save the day game.”[4] In an interview with Examiner.com, The Line’s Lead Writer Walt Williams touched on the realities of war, how soldiers cope with the aftermath, and how these aspects are never mentioned in gaming.
“The aftermath of combat is something we don’t usually see in military shooters. It’s the uncomfortable reality of war that we don’t necessarily want to think about when sitting down to enjoy a game. When faced with the human cost of victory, you don’t feel like a winner. That’s what happens to Walker, and the player, the further they get into Dubai.”
This illustrates the experience of dissonance, an uncomfortable feeling that shakes us when a rhetorical text’s values gainsay our own, which is a common side-effect of EVT. In War Bytes: The Critique of Militainment in Spec Ops: The Line, author Matthew Thomas Payne provided examples of the game’s ability to challenge moral values within the player.
“Walker and company are forced to fight and kill fellow American GIs; Walker is increasingly plagued by hallucinations that cloud his judgment; the team slaughters unarmed civilians; and even the game’s interstitial loading screens taunt the player with rhetorical questions and cynical quotes (i.e. “Do you feel like a hero yet?” and “Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you”). As one makes their way through the campaign, it becomes evident that, first impressions to the contrary, this game is not what it purports to be. Indeed, Spec Ops might be the game industry’s first major, anti-war military shooter.”[5]
These are excellent examples, since EVT analyzes how individuals respond to unanticipated violations of social norms and expectations. Many of us were raised knowing the difference between right and wrong. Saving a life is good, while ending one is bad. But what if the situation involves saving one life while the other dies? Or killing hundreds to save a comrade? These are difficult questions to answer. No one wants to be a villain, but simultaneously, no one wants to be the hero who sacrificed many lives, either.
The Line’s best example is the notorious white phosphorus scene at the halfway point. Walker (the player), and his two Delta Force squad members, are standing atop a building. They must save a group of civilians below, since the insurgents plan on executing the innocent people. The problem is, Delta Force is outnumbered 10:1, so there’s no chance of a successful infiltration. However, there are white phosphorus (WP) mortar launchers at the player’s position, which is tactically advantageous. A dilemma arises. Option A: Let the civilians die by insurgent hands, and kill them with WP afterwards. Option B: Carefully aim the WPs on the insurgents first, then save the civilians. For the uninitiated, WPs are real-life chemical weapons that burns flesh down to the bone. Most recently, Russia was accused of using these during their airstrike on Rakka, Syria (ISIS’s de-facto capital).[6] Most of us would choose Option B, because we expect the civilians to survive.
They don’t. The radial impact of the WP mortars automatically extends to scorch the innocent civilians, no matter how accurate you are. In other words, you accidentally committed genocide, despite your best intentions. This hits even harder after you rappel to ground level and advance through the charred carnage. There are victims, insurgent and civilian alike, still screaming in agony. Some question your decision, while others beg for mercy. There’s a dead mother hugging her child, both burnt alive in the most agonizing fashion. Even worse, another dilemma appears. Do you kill the barely surviving victims out of mercy, or do you let them die in agony? Either way, you can’t truly save them. Regardless of your decision, the best you can do is keep moving forward; after all, the mission is paramount, right?
This is the best example of EVT and communicator reward valence, because the “right” decision completely gainsays our expectation. By doing something “good”, we expect something good in return. But this scene slaps that notion in the face. Although Walker (and the player) had the best intentions, no matter what decision you make, innocents will die. Because of this, the player feels violated (or at the very least, horrified). Through this rare perspective, The Line lets you see the horror of your consequences, and the realities of war.
As Williams mentioned earlier, civilians at home (usually) don’t get to see the aftermath of combat. We expect soldiers to come home in good health and with a sound mind. However, this is unfortunately not the case. Many veterans return home with severe cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a real medical condition that affects friends and family alike. Drug addiction amongst veterans has risen substantially as a result of PTSD.[7] Although this is a real life example of EVT, this directly correlates to The Line. Initially, Walker is your typical model soldier with a sound mind and solid judgment skills. We expect him to complete the mission and return home in good health, just as we do for soldiers in real life. However, by the end of the game, Walker is a broken man, and just a nudge away from becoming criminally insane. There’s no doubt in the player’s mind that Walker will be permanently scarred for life, and no amount of therapy will fix his psychological trauma.
I hope you enjoyed this academic perspective on Spec Ops: The Line and EVT. Sure, video games are made for pleasure, but it is still a form of media nonetheless. By applying real media criticism theories to particular aspects of peculiar titles, we can learn far more about its context than just playing it. Next time, I’ll be analyzing Squaresoft’s cult classic JRPG Xenogears, and how it correlates to Psychoanalytic Theory.
Citations
[1] Heron, M. J., Dr., & Belford, P. H. (2014, June). Do You Feel Like a Hero Yet? by M. J. Heron & P. H. Belford. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://gamescriticism.org/articles/heronbelford-1-2/
[2] Burgoon, J.K.; Hale, J.L. (1988). “Nonverbal Expectancy Violations: Model Elaboration and Application to Immediacy Behaviors”. Communication Monographs 55: 58–79. doi:10.1080/03637758809376158.
[3] Ledbetter, Em Griffin ; special consultants Glenn G. Sparks, Andrew M. (2011). First look at communication theory. (8. ed.). [S.l.]: Mcgraw Hill Higher Educat. p. 91. ISBN 9780071086424.
[4] (2012, Dec 21). Year in Review: ‘Spec Ops: The Line’s’ tale earns ‘Story of the Year’ honors. Entertainment Examiner (USA). Retrieved from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/14355E33843B9670?p=AWNB
[5] Payne, M. T. (2014). War Bytes: The Critique of Militainment in Spec Ops: The Line. Critical Studies In Media Communication, 31(4), 265-282. doi:10.1080/15295036.2014.881518
[6] Mailonline, I. C. (2015, November 30). Is Russia using deadly white phosphorus in Syria? Kremlin accused of breaking Geneva Convention as footage claims to show chemicals being dropped on civilians. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3340056/Is-Russia-breaking-Geneva-Convention-using-deadly-white-phosphorus-Syria-Claims-images-footage-incendiary-dropped-civilians.html
[7] Glantz, A. (2015, March 14). The death of baby Ada Mae and the tragic effects of addicted veterans. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from https://www.revealnews.org/article/the-death-of-baby-ada-mae-and-the-tragic-effects-of-addicted-veterans/?utm_source=Reveal
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