28th Annual Student Research Conference
"Do You Feel Like a Hero Yet?": A Deconstruction of the Military Shooter in Spec Ops: The Line
Bryan A. Liming
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
Spec Ops: The Line is a third person shooter produced in 2012 by Yager Studios in conjunction with 2k Games. This game puts the player in control of Captain Martin Walker on a mission to assist John Konrad, who was supplying aid to a sandstorm-ravaged Dubai. However, when Walkers helicopter crashes on the outskirts of Dubai, they encounter insurgents who claimed they have captured Konrads unit. What seems like a cookie-cutter military shooter is soon revealed to be a deconstruction on the military shooter genre as a whole. Your mission turns from Give aid to Dubai to Kill everything in your way to Konrad, and mocks its own genre for glorifying war and needless slaughter. This essay will look at the narrative and gameplay devices used to demonize the tropes of the military shooter, as well as incriminating the player for their enjoyment of the bloodshed.
Keywords: Spec Ops, Spec Ops The Line, Video Games, Deconstruction
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 101-3
Location: MG 1000
Time: 8:30