When video games make the horrors of nuclear war seem real – Reader’s Feature

A reader looks back at how nuclear war has been portrayed in video games, from Missile Command in 1980 to the modern Fallout titles.

On the list of things that might ruin your day, nuclear war is probably right up there. I doubt anyone could argue that nuclear weapons aren’t mankind’s worst invention and it defies all logic that any country would keep a nuclear arsenal, let alone use it. However, I am drawn to the subject of nuclear weapons and nuclear war in fictional scenarios. Whenever nukes are involved in a story, tension and drama can be ratcheted up to unparallelled levels because the risk to humanity’s continued existence is understandably severe.

As demonstrated in the 1983 movie War Games, nuclear weapons and the pastime of computer gaming can sometimes overlap to generate an entertaining form of fusion. If asked specifically about the most effective use of nukes in games, almost certainly I’d mention the Fallout franchise. In my opinion Fallout 3 was a way better game, but with respect to a single unsettling moment that’s lodged itself in my memory, Fallout 4 certainly deserves a prize.

After a brief history lesson and a slick montage, Fallout 4 places you in front of a bathroom mirror with your wife/husband standing by your side. The year is 2077 and we’re in retro futuristic America and life seems fairly idyllic. You are one of the parents of a newborn baby. You live in a nice house that’s situated in what appears to be a nice suburb. It’s a bright and sunny day outside. There’s a knock on the front door, and so you go and answer it. A representative from Vault-Tec has an offer for you. In the event of a crisis, you and your family can enjoy shelter and residency in Vault 111.

The ensuing conversation gives you a chance to define your game character’s attributes via a registration form. The Vault Tec rep leaves and what follows is a precious family moment, with you and your spouse in your baby son’s bedroom. Plans to visit the park are made. Today could be a great day, if fate doesn’t have other plans. The mood distinctly changes when you’re called back into the living room by your multi-armed hovering robot, Codsworth.

There’s a troubling newsflash on the TV. Portentous music starts in the background. Confirmed reports come in of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. An early warning siren begins to wail outside, and the next moment the three of you are on the move. You run through chaos and mass distress playing out on the street outside. Guided by soldiers, your tight family unit flees down a path and up to a gate through which only a privileged few are allowed. Quick, quick, onwards and onto that large circular platform. ‘We’re going to be okay’, says your partner. Famous last words.

There’s a brilliant flash, and then you see it. A dreadful mushroom cloud, huge and all powerful and terrifying. The platform that you cower on lowers you and your small family into the ground just as the blast wave hits. You look up as the lift shaft above you closes. Pray for all of those poor souls who are left behind on the surface, because surely everyone who isn’t lucky enough to be a vault dweller is now dead.

Another game that’s strongly associated with nuclear war is Missile Command. This eighties arcade cabinet was fairly iconic. The game asked you to protect cities by shooting down incoming missiles. For me one of the defining characteristics of Missile Command was the trackball that you used to move your crosshair around the screen. The other memorable aspect of the game were the bright flashes that appeared whenever impacts happened.

Missile Command was designed by Dave Theurer for Atari, at the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, and as such was undoubtedly influenced by the tensions of that time. The game’s iconic status was further guaranteed when John Connor was seen playing it in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Incidentally, director James Cameron’s classic 1991 film has what is almost certainly one of the most effective cinematic depictions of what a nuclear blast might do to a city and its residents. In Missile Command, once all of your cities suffer the same fate, a rather gloomy final message appears on screen: THE END.

There’s a rather good licensed version of Missile Command that you can play via your browser.

Missile Command: Recharged is also available from the usual digital game outlets. Recharged is an updated version of the game with flashy visuals and catchy music. Missile Command: Recharged is fun, if fun is the right word to use when you’re trying to save cities and their residents from being vapourised by incoming ballistic missiles. On the downside, I do think that the visual makeover of Recharged has taken away an important aspect of Missile Command.

The explosions in the reinvented game are now black voids, and so they don’t resemble nuclear flashes at all. I don’t know why this decision was made. Maybe nuclear war and atomic explosions were considered too upsetting or unpalatable for a modern audience. But the game does play well, even without a trackball. There are various modifiers that you can apply that quite effectively tweak the core experience of arcade mode, and there’s a missions mode to try out also.

Incidentally, I watched the film War Games again before writing this feature. Despite a rather corny score, the 1983 hacker thriller still holds up well. The wall screen representations of nuclear threats and strikes that feature in War Games are effectively realised and timeless, and the film’s story is worryingly prescient today, given the rise and mass adoption of artificial intelligence. Still, you’ve got to focus on the positives. Putting AI in charge of nuclear weapons might save some cash-strapped government a fair chunk of money. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

By reader Michael Veal (@msv858)

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