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Armageddon Army

Playing God, God Mode Mods, and the Rhetorical Task of Ludology

University of Texas at Dallas

Scholars are witnessing a dramatic confluence of faith, politics, and gaming. On the stage of this war theater, the players are indistinguishable, the simulations just one mission removed from real war. One is immersed in war as game, the other in war as eternal battle. The military has invested millions in developing games as strategic communications tools, hiring real soldiers and officers as consultants to ensure optimal realism in game play. Nowthat the harmonic convergence of faith, politics, and computer games has been graphically (and brutally) realized, specifically, made real in the dueling holy wars— ours and theirs (jihad)—what now? This article proposes a game modification of the god mode of the game, America’s Army, as a critical response to the reality ofwar and the use of computer games as military recruitment tools.

Key Words: mods • god mode • ludology • rhetoric

Games and Culture, Vol. 1, No. 1, 89-96 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1555412005281909


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