GAMES: IDEOLOGICAL BATTLEGROUND

Abstract

Video games have evolved beyond mere entertainment, serving as complex cultural artifacts that mirror and shape real-world geopolitical dynamics. This paper explores the medium as an ideological battleground, focusing specifically on the Call of Duty franchise to analyze the intersection of video game narrative, mechanics, and Muslim representation. Utilizing a framework of critical media analysis and procedural rhetoric—how games make arguments through their rules and gameplay—this study examines how contemporary military shooters construct the "Other." The analysis reveals a persistent dichotomy where narratives frequently relegate Muslim characters to hostile antagonists or passive victims, reinforcing post-9/11 Orientalist tropes. Crucially, this paper argues that these ideologies are not merely passive storylines but are deeply embedded within the game's mechanics. Through repetitive gameplay loops centered on counter-terrorism, targeting systems, and Ludo narrative design, players are systematically conditioned to view the Middle East and its population through a lens of perpetual threat and securitization. Ultimately, this research demonstrates how mainstream gaming franchises function as soft-power mechanisms, weaponizing digital spaces to normalize specific Western geopolitical agendas while marginalizing Muslim identities.

Keywords: Call of Duty, Ideological Battleground, Muslim Representation, Procedural Rhetoric, Orientalism, Military Shooters.