Observation One

Friday, September 5, 2014

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Note: This observation took place over the Contingency, Loose Ends, and Just like Old Times
missions.
Background Information: The observations that I took happened in Petropavlovsk Russia, on
the Georgian-Russia border, and in Afghanistan. In Contingency Task Force 141 infiltrates a
Russian naval base. Captain Price has a plan to end the war in the states and it includes a nuclear
warhead stored in the base. Once the Task Force gets to the warhead, Price launches it toward
America and detonates it in the atmosphere where it creates an EMP blast which relieves some of
the Russian resistance on the U.S. Army. In Loose Ends characters Roach and Ghost are sent to
Makarovs safe house in the mountains of the Georgian-Russian border. There they retrieve
information and store it in a DSM from Makarovs computer. Once they retrieved that they run
to the landing zone where Shepherd was supposed to retrieve them, but he betrays and kills them
tying up two of his loose ends. In Just Like Old Times Price and Soap are on one mission only:
Kill Shepherd. They chase him through his command base in Afghanistan. They finally find
Shepherd and chase him down through a canyon on speedboats and shoot down his helicopter.
The final scenes are of Shepherd against the two and seems to winning until Soap throws the
knife that was lodged into his chest into Shepherds eye finally killing him. Most of the enemies
that appear in the observations are Russian soldiers. They are under the impression that
Americans have committed a massacre at a Russian Airport. The other enemies are American
soldiers who are loyal to a US general who wants revenge for the loss of his soldiers prior to the
event of this game.
Figured World: A certain social space with their own rules pertaining to that one space
My figured world is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. You follow two characters named Roach
and Ramirez as you try to stop a corrupt US General set on getting revenge while also fighting
against the Russian army who is being used by a terrorist named Makarov. The game takes place
in major places such as Afghanistan, Russia, USA, and South America. The story follows
guidelines used by our army today. Certain protocols and rules are expected to be followed by all
soldiers. Theres a chain of command and you follow all orders given to you. You set out on
missions in either 4 man teams or a full on assault. While doing more covert missions you tend
to be stealthier. Keeping noise to a minimum and staying out of sight is key. On the other hand
missions that take place in a full on assault require more shouting to get through all the
explosions on the battlefield. In this particular mission Task Force 141 was infiltrating an enemy
naval base. Due to these circumstance being extremely quiet and stealthy was the appropriate
behavior here. The group had to keep noise to a minimum and they had to move carefully and
quietly so they would not be seen or heard. Later on in the mission the task force was discovered
and resorted to force to complete their objective. This called for them to be completely opposite
of how they were a few minutes prior. There was more shouting to get orders to other soldiers
across the field.
Actors: People who fill certain roles within a figured world

"There's a simplicity to war. Attacking is the only secret. Dare, and the
world yields. How quickly they forget that all it takes to change the course
of history is the will of a single man." Paul Haggis

Photo by Activision,
Infinity Ward

Cpt. John Price: Price fills the role of Captain of Task Force 141.
There isnt any time for games when he is around. When he has a mission
he gets it done without fail. Even though he follows all orders given to
him, if there is a time where he thinks its wrong he will do things his way.

John Soap MacTavish: Soaps role is second-in-command of

Task Force 141. Whenever Price isnt relaying orders he is the one giving
them. Soap is a lot like Price in many ways, but also different. He isnt as
serious and is seen cracking the occasional joke here and there. When
things get serious though, so does he. He is also one of the three playable
characters in the game only being playable in the last two missions.

Photo by Activision, Infinity

Ward

Roach Sanderson: Roachs role is one of the

Gary
three main
playable characters in the game. He is seen
amongst his
fellow comrades on all missions. On his last
mission he
Ghost were betrayed by their superior Shepherd.
He and Ghost were shot down and burned. Unlike Ghost, Roach was still conscious at the
time he was being burned alive.

Simon Ghost Riley: Ghost is another familiar face in Task

Force 141. He is always there to assist his squad mates when there is
danger. He fills a supporting character role. He and Roach were killed on
their last mission to recover information about the Russian terrorist
Makarov. They both were shot, Ghost killed instantly, and burned.

Photo by Activision,
Infinity Ward

James Ramirez: Ramirez is a private in the US Army. He and his

squad were usually on the front lines most of the time in the United States.
Even though Ramirez was not a part of this observation he is still a vital
element to the success of the American army. He is also one of the three playable
character in the game.
Lieutenant General Shepherd: Shepherd fills the role of the
Primary Antagonist. He views the world in a negative view after he lost
30,000 soldiers after a nuke was detonated years ago and no one did

anything. His only goal is to get revenge for all the live that were lost all those years ago.
He kills Ghost and Roach and has them burned. He dies at the hands of Price and Soap.
Photo by Activision,
Infinity Ward

Vladimir Makarov: Makarov fills the role of secondary antagonist.

He is a Russian Ultranationalist who was voted out of the party by the
Russian president along with several other supporters. This along with the
death of his mentor Zakhaev fuel his rage and insanity and his thirst for
revenge against America and Russia. He is a ruthless man who do anything
to get what he wants.

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Infinity Ward

Artifacts: An object that is relevant to the culture of a figured world

AGM: This was available to Task Force 141 near

the end of the mission. AGM stands for Air-To-Ground
Missile. It was a crucial element to the success of the
mission. The missile strikes were able to clear heavy
resistance that was blocking the way to the objective.

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

Nuclear Warhead: Ending the mission

was the launch of a nuclear missile. It detonated
over the United States which was currently
under attack from the Russian army. Upon
being detonated an EMP was sent out that
disabled all electronics. This caused many
casualties on the Russians side. The EMP was
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

a key factor in the US Army pushing back the Russians.

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

EMP: The EMP is a very important part to

the success of the war. The EMP completely disabled
all of the Russian vehicles and communications. This
was especially important to Ramirez and his squad.
They were pinned down and completely surrounded
by the Russians. With the EMP all of the Russian
vehicles fell on the Russian troops and they were all
killed. This gave the small unit time to get to a safe
place and regroup. It also gave the whole army time
to come together and form a counterattack.

Communities of Practice: People with the same views and interests in a community.

Task Force 141: Price, Soap, Ghost, and Roach. These four men started out with one
single goal. They wanted to bring down Makarov and end the war that he started. After
witnessing Shepherds betrayal that all changed. Their focus shifted on avenging their fallen
comrades, saving their own lives from Shepherds forces, and bringing an end corrupt man at all
costs.

Ultranationalists: Makarov. Makarov is continuing the communistic ideals passed down

from his old mentor Zakhaev. He wants all countries to kneel to Russia and will stop at nothing
to achieve his goals. Makarov went as far as firing on his own people in a Russian airport to
frame America. With this incident he was able to receive support from Russia and their army to
invade America to further his own plans.

Russia: Russian Army. All of Russia has fell into Makarovs hands. He tricked them into
thinking the US went in and massacred all of the people in the airport. Nonetheless as soon as
word got out all of Russia cried for war. They didnt hesitate at the chance to invade America.

Shadow Company: Shepherd. Their only goal is to make them look like the heroes. To
do this they will take down anyone in their way even if they were allies. Shepherd was the one in
charge of Task Force 141. He had them do all types of things to further his own goals. When
they werent needed anymore he killed them.

The US Army: The Army. Their goal is to put an end to the war. They had got put into a
corner and all seemed lost, but the EMP was their ray of light. With that small chance they were
able to push back the Russian army.
Domain: A domain is what the community as a whole is striving towards. It shows how the
community works and grows together.

The War: The obvious domain is the war. Many people contribute to it like the US
Army and Task Force 141. All of them are coming together as one trying to put an end to

the war. On the other side is the Russian army. All of Russia is uniting to take down
America and avenge all of the lives that were lost at the airport.
Revenge: This is the main goal of Makarov and Russia. Makarov wants revenge for the
death of his mentor and the Russian government not helping him achieve his goals.
Russia, still believing that Americans committed the massacre at Zakhaev International
Airport, wants revenge for all the lives that were lost.

Practices of the Community: People coming together and engaging in an activity countless
times that help achieve a common goal

Completing Missions: One of these practices is going on and completing missions.

Everyone realizes that by doing this they further complete their goal of winning the war against
the Russians.
Literacy Practices: A type of practice that deals with written, verbal, and nonverbal aspects of
a community.

Commands: The most common literacy practice throughout the mission is commands.
These are mostly said by Price, but they are given to everyone. Commands are very important in
order to complete the game. These need to be followed by the main character in order for the
game to continue. If a command is not met this will result in a failure and ultimately the player
will have to restart from the beginning of that command. Examples of command can be as simple
as going to open a door or access a computer. More difficult commands could be completing a
certain portion of the mission without being detected or eliminating a certain amount of enemies
within a certain time limit. This is a very common social norm amongst soldiers to receive
commands from their superiors.
Observation One: Contingency
3:00mins: The mission starts off with Price
and Roach meeting in the woods somewhere
in Russia. They start to advance to down the
path to their current objective. When they
come to the road theyre stopped by a
Russian convoy. They let the pass then
proceed to take out the remaining guards at
the front of a bridge. Once the pair cross the
bridge they are met with an enemy BTR (a
small tank) and have to escape into the
nearby woods.

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

6:00mins: After the run in with the BTR

the Russians are now looking for the pair.
As they move through the woods they pass
multiple groups of soldiers looking for
them. At two points Roach is instructed to
take out guards. After that they come to a
clearing with a large group of guards
patrolling up a hill. The two chose to let
them pass and silently moved up the hill
behind them.
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

9:00mins: The pair has moved past the patrol

and has now reached a ridge overlooking a
small town. Price calls in to Soap for air support
from an AGM. Once told Roach calls in the
AGM, but I quickly shot down by a SAM turret
(Surface-to-Air Missile that locks on to aircraft
and shoots them down). The pair then moves
down the ridge to while Price tells Soap to
disable the SAM turret. After this the duo meet
Photo By Activision, Infinity Ward
up with other soldiers after the SAM has been
dealt with. Task Force 141 has now been found by the Russians and a firefight ensues. The group
quickly eliminates the enemy soldiers and moves closer to the naval base. Once again Roach is
instructed to use the AGM to lighten some of the enemys defenses.
12:00mins: By this point there is a full fight
between the Task Force and the Russians. The
group is slowly advancing towards the Russian
submarine. The group is then stopped by an
enemy helicopter. Roach is then instructed to
use the AGM multiple after this to lighten the
load. The group then reaches a vantage point
to watch over Price as he enters the sub.
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

15:00mins: Now Task Force 141 is defending

the sub from the oncoming enemies. Once
again the AGM is being used multiple times.
After the last AGM strike Ghost tell Price that

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

the submarines missile silo is opening. After repeated cries of the missile silo being open the
nuclear missile launches with Price stating that it was a good thing. The mission ends with Ghost
telling command that there is a nuclear warhead in the air.
Observation Two: Loose Ends
3:00mins: The mission starts of as Roach
and Ghost are told to invade Makarovs safe
house on the Georgian-Russian border in the
Caucasus Mountains. The team is looking for
a computer to connect their DSM to so they
can get valuable information about Makarov.
As they move forward in the forest they are
ambushed with landmines (commonly
referred to as Bouncing Bettys) and
Makarovs men on all sides. As they men
make a push to the estate they witness
vehicles driving away trying to escape. They were quickly taken down and deduced as nothing
more than decoys. A quick firefight ensues then the team breaches the house and are met with
more enemies.
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6:00mins: After
dispatching that small
group of enemies Roach
and Scarecrow are then
instructed to search the rest
of the house for remaining
enemies. There a three
separate breach points that
have enemies hidden at
them. One is upstairs and
two are down below. There
is an ammo cache in the
located in a back room in
the basement. After this
Ghost contacts Shepherd
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward
and tells him Makarov isnt
there. He then contacts
Price and asks if things are going better on his side of things. Roach is then told to connect the
DSM to Makarovs computer to start downloading all the information.
9:00mins: As youre connecting the DSM youre told by
Ghost that enemy forces are converging on your positon.
Once Roach is done Ghost tells him to prepare by setting
up claymores around the perimeter and going to the ammo
cache to restock on ammo. Once this is completed the

Photo by Activision, infinity Ward

download is started and multiple enemies from all sides start pushing towards the house to take
out the team.

12:00mins: The firefight

between sides continues as
more enemies assault the team.
The DSM starts off slowly
downloading information, but
soon starts downloading at a
faster rate. Makarovs men are
increasing in numbers and
getting closer and closer. Just as
a big group of enemies come
the DSM finishes the download.
Ghosts tells Roach to retrieve
and the team makes way
towards the extraction point.

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

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Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

15:00mins: The team is making an all-out dash to the extraction point. Along the way they are
met with more of Makarovs men. Taking them out Roach comes to a clearing as the helicopter
is arriving, but is injured by an RPG. Roach awakes from unconsciousness and is given a gun to
hold back enemies as Ghost is dragging him away from the fight. Shepherd and his men arrive to
assist as they help Roach to his feet. Shepherd asks if they have the DSM and once they
responded yes he proceeds to shoot both Roach and Ghost. After he collects the DSM from
Roach half-dead yet still conscious body Shepherd instructs his men to throw the bodies in a
ditch. After dowsing them in gasoline Shepherd throws his cigar on the bodies then leaves as
they burn.
Observation Three: Just Like Old Times
3:00mins: The mission start with Nikolai
telling Price and Soap that he will be
waiting at the extraction point in three
hours. Price tells him not to bother
because its a one-way trip. The two then
advance to a ridge overlooking a patrol
of Shepherds men known as Shadow
Company. Price tells Soap to wait until
they split up then they take them out. The
two advance farther and take out the
remaining men. The pair then rappels
down a cliff killing two guards at the
bottom. They enter a cave which is full of enemy forces. They advance but quickly hide as a
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward

large enemy patrol is heading towards them. The group notices that the previously killed guards
cant be contacted and decides to send a small group to check it out. They then take down one
more enemy the advance into a large opening filled with enemy soldiers.
6:00mins: The two quietly and
quickly move by the group. When
they get to the exit two guards
come through. Price and Soap
take them out and move to the
next area which is full of steam
from pipes and machinery.
Another group of enemies come
into the area looking for the pair.
Price and Soap quickly take them
out and move forward. Price takes
out another guard as the radio turns on with an enemy soldier stating they lost all contact with
one of their patrols. Soap is told to pick up a riot shield so the two can advance across a bridge.
The radio comes on again and the pair learns that Shepherd is evacuating the base as enemy
guards inform Shepherd of unknown hostiles in the base but Shepherd corrects them telling them
its Price. Soap and Price move forward and engage in another firefight.
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11:00mins: After moving past these

enemies the two come to another open area.
There are some more men in there and Price
state that they are trying to buy time for
Shepherd. They get past these enemies and
come to a breaching point. When inside the
two eliminate the remaining soldiers and see
Shepherd has rigged the place to blow. The
pair manually override the doors and make it
out in time. Once outside Shepherd orders a
Danger Close (meaning that there are
friendlies nearby) airstrike in another
attempt to kill the duo. Unaffected the two
move forward and are met with another
Photo by Activision, Infinity Ward
group of Shadow Company. They quickly
eliminate them and head towards a door which leads to a Zodiac (a small boat) and they chase
after Shepherd.
Interview: Xzavier Smith interviewing Capt. John Price
Background Information: Price was based off of British SAS soldier John McAleese. Price is
also a reference to a similar looking character in the film A Bridge Too Far. His call sign, Bravo
Six, is a direct reference to the 1986 war movie Platoon, where Captain Harris call sign is
exactly the same.

1.
How did it feel knowing Shepherd was using you and your men to achieve his own
goals?
Price: I never trusted that man. There was just something about him that didnt sit right
with me. Naturally I was angry at the thought of him betraying us and his own country for his
own motives, but there was another feeling somewhere deep inside me. It couldnt have been
sadness. Ive seen this happen plenty of times its nothing new. I might be feeling guilty. I sent
those men there unknowingly to their deaths. It could have easily been me and Soap, but it
wasnt and theres nothing we can do about it now.
2.

Explain your reasoning behind intentionally firing a nuclear weapon on your allies.

Price: The enemies were pushing farther and farther into the United States. Every second
thousands of good soldiers died because of our superiors indecisiveness. I was not about to sit
around and let that continue. I am willing to do what is necessary. That missile saved thousands
of lives and gave valuable time to soldiers to get back into the fight. I did what was right. Even if
they wont admit it.
3.

Tell me about what you were feeling going into your last mission.

Price: The same thing anyone feels. Fear was a big portion of it among a myriad of other
feelings, but none of those mattered. The one feeling that mattered was the feeling of letting
people down. Letting all the soldiers who gave their lives thinking that they were fighting for a
good man with a just cause. Letting down two of my best men who gave their lives trying to put
an end to this war and fought until the very end. That is the feeling I was feeling the most. That
is the worst feeling of all.
4.

Explain what went down at the old airfield.

Price: It was a classic tactic. Shepherd used Makarov as a cover so he could eliminate the
rest of our team. Luckily for us we picked up on his true motives and defended ourselves.
Halfway through the fight I got a hold of Makarov. Bitter enemies to the end we were, but in
times of need the enemy of my enemy is my friend I guess. We were able to get Shepherds
location and just barely escaped. Shepherd knew we were coming, and that was just the way I
liked it.
5.

How did it feel when Shepherd killed Roach and Ghost?

Price: Ive seen plenty of men go on the battlefield. Thats what happens its war. Im not
saying it makes any easier to see another person just die like that, but after a while you get used
to it. Thats the frightening part of war. Humans can used to killing and watching other be killed
just like that, but when it happens to those who are closest it hurts. To answer your question I felt
a little bit of everything really. Sadness at the loss of two good men. Anger at the man who killed
them and was considered a hero for it. Frustration for not being able to stop him sooner. There
were a lot of feelings, but one stood out the most. Determination. No matter how it happens. No
matter when it happens. I. Will. Stop him.