Modern Warfare: The Movie

Writer talks about real terrorism, aliens, why they made the airport level, and the possibility of adapting MW2 into a movie.

In an interview with GamePro », Modern Warfare 2 and NCIS scriptwriter Jesse Stern talks about what Infinity Ward exactly wanted to achieve from the controversial airport mission.

Airport Scene

Stern states that they wanted to create a disturbing and upsetting feeling within the airport mission but that it is also a terrifying human experience that they want us, the gamers, to experience for ourselves.

"We've been catching a lot of criticism for that and a lot of praise as well. 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.
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. These are human beings who perpetrate these acts, so you don't really want to turn a blind eye to it. You want to take it apart and figure out how that happened and what, if anything, can be done to prevent it. Ultimately, our intention was to put you as close as possible to atrocity. As for the effect it has on you, that's not for us to determine. Hopefully, it does have an emotional impact and it seems to have riled up a lot of people in interesting ways. Some of them good. Some of them bad."

"When we tested the level, it was interesting. Steve Mancuda, who ran a lot of the testing, said people would get angry or sad or disgusted and immediately wonder what the Hell was going on here. 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. 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."

Zombies and Aliens

Stern also mentions some of the ideas that Infinity Ward thought of during pre-development. This even includes the outrageous thought of aliens and zombies to be added to the game. Infinity Ward must have noticed too how popular the Zombie mode has become in CoD: World at War while they were talking about adding zombies into Modern Warfare 2. Later, this co-op based gametype has been converted into Special Ops, a much more realistic gametype in Modern Warfare 2 that can be played solo, split-screen or co-op over the Internet.

"In the beginning we talked about having things in Modern Warfare 2 like outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things such as aliens and the living dead."

Modern Warfare: The Movie

As Infinity Ward loves making fast paced, action packed movies like we see in so many different Hollywood variations each year, Stern is asked how he would feel like making a film out of Modern Warfare.

"It would work very well as a film. Hopefully, that's a conversation I'll have with somebody somewhere down the line. Jason West, Steve Macuda and the rest of the guys from Infinity Ward have an interest in doing it and Activision wants to do it. I'd be very curious to give that a try. You've got your source material to draw on, which is the biggest advantage in getting one of these movies off the ground."

So there you have it, head over to GamePro » to read the full interview.

What do you think of the controversial airport mission? Did you find it too disturbing? How would Aliens and Zombies have fitted into the game? Would a Modern Warfare 2 movie succeed? Head over to the MW24/7 forums » now and join the discussions!

~boyle111