In the army now – Narrative elements and realism in military first-person shooters

Abstract

From their early beginnings until today computer and video games have always been substantial parts of the so-called military-entertainment complex. Especially the genre of first-person shooters (FPS) has been closely associated with the military due to its typical contents and gameplay mechanisms. This paper presents a content analysis of narrative elements in military-themed FPS games from 1992 to 2010 (n=189). The results show that particular conflicts, locations and fractions appear very frequently in these games. The wars and conflicts are almost exclusively portrayed from an American or Western perspective and the degree of realism differs depending on the respective topics and settings. Based on the results of the content analysis, we develop a typology of levels of realism in FPS. The findings are discussed with regard to potential effects of military- themed FPS on their players as suggested by narrative persuasion theory.