Press now! Modern Warfare 2′s one button approach to terror

Matthew Kaplan provides a great wrap up of reactions around the game criticism blogosphere to the airport/terrorist level in Modern Warfare 2. I’m a little surprised at the number or writers voicing rather strong opinions on the level without yet playing it. Of course there’s been so much talk about this level and the position it puts players in, that it’s very easy to have an opinion. However, I do think this level bears playing to get the full measure of its impact.

When described the level before playing, I thought it seemed like a rather obvious attempt to court controversy. And after playing it I hold to that opinion, but I don’t really fault the game designers at Infinity Ward. Sometimes obvious is the right approach and with a game as unsubtle as Modern Warfare 2, obvious fits right in. As I played the level I felt genuinely disturbed. I felt helpless. I felt a little dirty. And I think that’s exactly what the game designers wanted. So they did their job.

I think much of the discussion of the scene has ignored the fact that this scene is not a significant departure from the mechanics of MW2. You have no real agency in this level. You are along for the ride. If you try and shoot the terrorist you are quickly gunned down. Essentially you are forced to simply follow along, navigating the space. However this is not unusual within the mechanics of the game. The game repeatedly puts you in short sequences where you must press a specific button. Walk up to the railing and press X to clip on. Ferociously tap X to throw a knife. In all of these situations the game reduces the player down to one button press. The game asks you to press now and then plays out the action for you.

This level is not really any different. I suppose it allows the player to shoot civilians if they want. But other scenes allow me to press X more than I need too as well. This sort of narrow interaction channel drastically limits player choice in an attempt to deliver a moment of narrative clarity. Sometimes this is the thrill of rappelling down a cliff wall, sometimes it’s the emotional wallop of witnessing terrorism. It’s not a deep and subtle interaction, but then one button press interactions don’t tend to be subtle. They tend to be obvious and to the point.