I’ve had a remarkably busy start of the year, and most of my time for “Games” has been spent playing instead of writing about them, but I’m always trying to think critically about games and their place in our world. I got off a plane this evening, shaken by some incredible turbulence, but was so dumbstruck by a video game trailer I couldn’t sit on my hands.
Tom Clancy’s The Divison 2 releases soon. I played The Division and enjoyed it for what it was, but some beats in the story didn’t sit super-great with me. Your player character is a super-secret government agent, to be activated only in time of great national emergency. This itself plays into a proto-fascist narrative where the chosen people will defend our homeland against some unknown invasion; The Division leans even harder into this by having a world inhabited only by “good guys” and “bad guys,” with no or limited consideration that in the wake of a complete societal collapse, the concepts of “looters” and “scavengers trying to subsist” may not be as clearly identifiable as they are in-game. I could go on, but this is about marketing for The Division 2.
The Division was set in New York City. The Division 2 doubles down on political imagery by taking its view of societal collapse to Washington, DC. There’s a ton of potential here to tell a story, but UbiSoft signaled at The Division 2’s debut that they had no interest in engaging with this in a meaningful way when they said in an interview with Charlie Hall at Polygon “We’re definitely not making any political statements,” and then…well, here’s the exchange from that article linked above (interviewer Charlie Hall in bold italics, the studio’s Creative Director Terry Spier in more plain text):
Wait a minute. It’s in DC.
Yes.
Your central character here on the key art has an American flag bandana tied to their backpack.
That’s correct.
This is not a political statement?
Absolutely not.
Taking up arms against a corrupt government is not a political statement?
No. It’s not a political statement. No, we are absolutely here to explore a new city.
Whoooooo boy. Let’s leave that for a second and not deal with the underlying nature of all art being political in nature, even if it’s just supportive of the status quo in its unwillingness to address said status quo, okay? Cool. Let’s talk music.
Are you familiar with Bob Dylan’s Masters of War? It’s a 60s protest song that needs zero edits to remain a pointed critique of the military industrial complex. It’s most effective delivery (IMO either from Dylan or mid-00s Eddie Vedder) is one not of outright rage, but calm disdain. Seven of the eight verses are pure ether towards the ruling elite, and here are three of the finest, verses 1, 7 and 8:
Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
…
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
…
And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I will follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
Till I’m sure that you’re dead.
I understand the title alone, “Masters of War,” could lead to some ambiguity? “Hey, Masters of a things are good, right?” I’m pretty sure the actual song leaves no ambiguity as to how the author or performer feels about the military industrial complex and our current forever wars around the globe.
If you’ve read this far, first: thank you. Secondly, if you want to take a guess at the connection between a coming “apolitical” video game’s marketing and the song Masters of War, take that leap of faith. Even if you think there’s no way in hell someone could possibly think combining these two would be a good idea, you’d be wrong. Someone at publisher UbiSoft put these two things together, and I don’t think my jaw has ever hit the floor harder or faster than when the line “I can se through your masks” was synced up with some hella-tight shots of our cool in game masks, dude. I wish I were kidding. I’m not linking out to this; you can find it if you want to. It’s not subtle, it’s not good.
Is there potential for a game about citizen sleeper agents rebelling against a corrupt government to fight against the very things this song is railing against? Yes, but it’d be real tough to pull off and would require a team dedicated to understanding our political moment, our history, and the fraught imagery of a collapsing capitol and how to use that in a way that says…
Taking up arms against a corrupt government is not a political statement?
No. It’s not a political statement. No, we are absolutely here to explore a new city.
Here’s my complete review of The Division 2: Fuck Right Off.