Modern Warfare – excellence in DVD menu design
So there’s an article on Kotaku where Brenden Keogh counters John Walker’s assertion that Modern Warfare 3 (and by extension, all Modern Warfares. Let’s face it, they’re all the same) in an “un-game”.
Keogh sings the usual song, appealing to our emotions by describing how heart pounding the cinematic set pieces were, and how he was left shaken by the visceral action on screen. He resorted to psychobabble about gamers insisting on being the centre of the universe.
Not once did he even address what actually makes a game and how Modern Warfare fit within that criteria.
He eventually comes to the conclusion that Modern Warfare is in fact a game and that that Walker was simply playing it wrong.
My eyes rolled so hard my ocular muscles spasmed and ejected my eyeballs.
Of course being the opinionated crank that I am I commented, stating that Keogh is entitled to enjoy Modern Warfare for what it is, but it is not a game, and he failed to state otherwise. I received this response from a fellow commenter;
“A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.”
Electronic game? Check.
Human interaction? Check.
User interface? Check.
Visual feedback? Check.
Video device? Check.Holy shit, you’re wrong
Let’s look at that list of criteria shall we. Instantly we can discount the first one, as I had already stated it was not a game. Not even an electronic one. Now look and the next four points. They are synonymous with a DVD menu.
Modern Warfare is nothing but a jazzed up DVD menu.
It makes sense really. You follow the instructions, press the buttons when you are told to press them, to progress to the next piece of film.
reebzblog 
“Instantly we can discount the first one, as I had already stated that it was not a game”.
So it’s not a game because you said it’s not a game? Right…
I had agreed with John Walker’s assessment that CoD is an “un-game”, because essentially its not a game. It doesn’t adhere to any of the basic tenets of what makes a game.
You don’t dispute this by using a definition that refers to a game. You dispute this by proving to me how CoD fits within the definition of a game.
That is the core of the argument.