That game you grew up playing? It might not have been what you thought. The NSA infiltrated World of Warcraft and Xbox Live. The CIA funded the company behind Pokémon Go (via Google Earth’s roots). The US Army built America’s Army to recruit 12-year-olds, then moved to Twitch to play COD and Fortnite with kids — running fake giveaways that led to recruitment forms.

Call of Duty rewrote the real “Highway of Death” massacre (US did it, game blamed Russia). Military advisers shape narratives. Leakers post classified documents on Discord to win War Thunder arguments. The same guy who directed Black Ops later gave a talk about a Vegas hotel shooting — three years before the Mandalay Bay massacre.

Gary DeVore (hands found chopped off). Amir Hekmati (Marine-turned-game-dev, arrested in Iran, tortured, sentenced to death). These are the human consequences.

Games used to warn us — Metal Gear Solid, Deus Ex, Spec Ops. Now they’re training us. Drone strikes run on Xbox controllers. The “PlayStation mentality to killing.” The most dangerous game isn’t the one you play. It’s the one playing you.

  • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
    14·
    6 days ago

    I was already in my 30s when CoD came out. I protested the call for war in 2003. I knew there was no evidence to support Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. And I knew what the purpose of CoD was: a military recruitment and training tool.

    Edit to add: I think it helped that I’d seen The Last Starfighter.

    The film tells the story of Alex Rogan […], a teenager who, after winning the high score in an arcade game that’s secretly a simulation test, is recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war.

  • ShinkanTrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    6 days ago

    These fuckers need to make better games. Back in the day they had their hands on every other album. Bangers too, love me some Scorpions.

    Come on, guys, you could mop the floor with Ace Combat of you wanted to.