David Millard

For a number of years now I have used Spec Ops: The Line (by Yager Development, published by 2K Games) as an example in my lectures on interactive narrative of a game that fuses together its narrative and play. Framed as a classic power fantasy FPS shooter, it subverted all expectations when it was released back in 2012 by turning the tropes of the genre against the genre, and making a compelling experience about the sacrifices and consequences of war.

With the pandemic making all things virtual I recently created a video of that lecture, which goes through some of the things that Yager do to weave the narrative into the game in such an effective way. There are countless examples of places where they toy with the player’s agency, create spaces for diegetic choices, and employ mechanics as metaphor, culminating with a harrowing sequence where the culpability of the games protagonist is mixed with the culpability of the player.

You can find the full embed below (content warning, the clips show graphic scenes of violence):

It is also worth repeating the plug for Brendan Keogh’s excellent extended essay on Spec Ops: ‘Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line’, which is available as an ebook.