Veteran scriptwriter Jesse Stern has defended a controversial airport “massacre” scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. According to Stern, the Moscow airport level was a “risk” Infinity Ward had to take.
“People have really strong reactions to the airport scene and it’s been fascinating because we all wanted to make it something that would be upsetting, disturbing, but also something people relate to,” Stern told GamePro.
“People want to know. As terrifying as it is, you want to know. And there’s a part of you that wants to know what it’s like to be there because this is a human experience.”
Stern explained that Infinity’s game testers initially responded to the scene with anger, sadness or disgust.
“And then after a few moments of having that experience, they would remember that they were in a video game and they would let go. Every single person in testing opened fire on the crowd, which is human nature,” said Stern.
??”It feels so real but at the same time it’s a video game and the response to it has been fascinating. I never really knew you could elicit such a deep feeling from a video game, but it has…Sometimes you take huge risks and it really works. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all. But if you don’t take the chance, you’re not going to make something new.”
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