Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Army of Two's Political Agenda

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Water Cooler Games

Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Army of Two's Political Agenda

by Ian Bogost September 9, 2007

categories: Console & PC Games , Political Games

There's a good interview up at Gamasutra with Chris Ferriera, lead designer of the forthcoming EA Montreal shooter Army of Two. Fans might know the game for its innovations in collaborative play, but Ferriera discusses the title's political content and inspiration -- private military contractors (PMCs) -- in encouraging detail.

We take [the characters] from their days in Delta Force, and their days as Navy SEALs, and their start as PMCs and how they get trained. We unveil the corruption behind the military privatization, and we explain the problems that poses to society and to America, and the world, when you have a gigantic organization that does nothing but operate for corporations and for money.

I also appreciated Ferreira's discussion of researching the topic through books and newspapers, and defending a modern-day politically-inspired game rather than one that relies on analogical futuristic or fantasy settings (e.g. Bioshock, Haze, BlackSite).