game internation relationship

International Relations and War Instructions and Diary Questions

Introduction This module provides an introduction to divergent topics in international relations studies and war. Unlike many modern war-centric games that glamorize conflict, the games here provide deep, realistic insight into the horrors of war, providing both international and civil perspectives on and off the battleground. They also showcase some theory behind how and why wars begin, entrenched in enthralling and detailed narratives. Required Game (all need to play) Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a unique take on World War I and its effects on the people forced to bear victim. Unlike most of its predecessors in the long line of video games biographing wartime, Valiant Hearts relies on two-dimensional platforming and puzzle-solving to weave a heartfelt tale revolving around four characters from different parts of the world, all fighting the same cause. The stand-out, colorful narrative eventually reveals darker themes, and emphasizes the significance of people who make sacrifices for their family and nation over weapons or victory. Play time: 6 hours. Game Options (choose one): Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an open-world action-adventure stealth game telling the latest chapter in the story of the legendary soldier, Big Boss. In Hideo Kojima’s most ambitious title yet, Big Boss awakens from a nine-year coma and enlists the help of some old acquaintances to track down and exact revenge on those responsible for the destruction of his private military force. This is the only installment in the Metal Gear Solid franchise to utilize an open world, which fully realized Kojima’s vision for a stealth game in which players could approach any mission in any manner they wanted to. Much like its predecessors, MGSV revolves around deterrence theory: that is, states will not use nuclear weaponry due to the threat of mutually assured destruction from other nuclear weapons. Play time: ~25-30 hours (Play through end of Chapter 1, only completing mandatory missions) This War of Mine is a sobering real-time strategy survival game centered around optimization, where you work through the horrors of war from the civilian perspective as opposed to the on the battleground. Portraying the helplessness and despair of conflict, players will have a multitude of branching paths attempting to combat it through scavenging, crafting, fighting, and keeping their characters’ moods and health stabilized. The game also forces the player into tests of morality, highlighting its sacrificial nature in wartime. Play time: ~15-20 hours (make sure to recruit each playable character at least once)

Readings Please read the following articles in the “International Relations and War” content folder:

• Hayden2017: “The Procedural Rhetorics of Mass Effect: Video games as Argumentation in International Relations”

• deSmaleKorsSandovar2019: “The Case of This War of Mine: A Production Studies Perspective on Moral Game Design”

• Kim2016: “’Valiant Hearts’ Took the Necessary Time to Explain WWI”

• Emba2015: “Just War Theory: A Primer”

• Murray2018: Chapter 3 from On Video Games: The Visual Politics of Race, Gender, and Space by Soraya Murray

• Chapman2016: “It’s Hard to Play in the Trenches: World War I, Collective Memory, and Videogames”

• Crawley2014: “War is hell: How This War of Mine drew on real-life survivors for inspiration”

• Haven2011: “Civilians ‘suffer first, last, and in the middle’ during wartime”

Reading Diary Questions Please answer the following three questions (and address ALL underlined sub-questions):

(1) Murray (2018) argues that often, landscape and space in games tell hugely political or culturally important stories by their own right, and uses a number of examples from Metal Gear Solid V to support this point. Using examples from the game you played and the other readings, discuss how the physical setting, landscape, and perspective of your game tell the story of war and its effects. How do the setting, music, and game mechanics contribute to the overall atmosphere? What kind of symbols and imagery are important to this story? Complete these questions for both the game you choose and Valiant Hearts, and if you chose Metal Gear Solid V, make sure to include examples from outside of the Murray reading.

(2) One of the main findings in Chapman (2016) is that many historically-based games offer a

limitedly accurate perspective on their history, as key elements or events are often omitted in favor of other aspects. At the same time, Hayden (2017) argues that video games don’t just tell a story, but offer a first-person simulation of the worlds within the story. First, explain the main conflict in your game, and the main actors involved. How well does your game tell its story of war? Does it cover the many different facets of war, for example, as covered in some of the readings? What are the shortcomings in the storytelling? Take a side on Hayden’s claim. Do you think the first-person immersion aspect of video games is useful, especially in studies of international relations and war? Why or why not?

(3) As opposed to games that portray a glamorized, solely-on-the-frontlines perspective of war

(more “immediate” events of war), the games in this module take place both on and off the battlefield, and are more reflective of the tragedies that are byproducts of violent conflict. Along this line, the protagonists of these games will often find themselves in morally compromising or questionable positions. What are some examples of these situations? How

do you rationalize them? Why do you think these choices were made in game design (think also about the development aspect here, for example, in what de Smale, Kors, and Sandovar (2019)) say about the creation of This War of Mine)? Discuss at least three examples in detail, and make sure to reference the readings, your game choice, and Valiant Hearts.