How No Russian Became Call of Duty’s Most Memorable Mission – Art of the Level [IGN]
Oct 24, 2023 4:48 pm
Posted:
Oct 24, 2023 2:00 pm
This week marks the 20th anniversary of Call of Duty. As part of a week of Call of Duty coverage, this feature takes an in-depth look at ‘No Russian’, the controversial mission from Modern Warfare 2. It contains discussion of content some readers may find disturbing.
Few video game missions can claim to be as well known or as polarising as No Russian. The fourth mission of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the unforgettable story of a deadly terrorist attack. It infamously involves the mass shooting of civilians, a seemingly reckless idea for a piece of entertainment. But behind the shock value and bad press is the tale of a team that dared to push interactive storytelling to its very limits.
To find out how No Russian was put together IGN spoke to designer Mohammad Alavi, who created the mission alongside colleagues at Infinity Ward. With his insight, we examine how No Russian makes use of player discomfort, tightly-controlled pacing, and limited interactivity to create Modern Warfare 2’s shocking twist.
But in Fukuda’s mind, these characters weren’t Americans. Packed into the back of an APC, he imagined the opening of the mission to be deathly quiet. “And then before the doors open, the guy in front of you turns, he goes, ‘Remember, no Russian,’” Alavi remembers Fukuda telling him. “And the doors open. It’s just a bunch of civilians in a mall. And he just starts mowing them down.’
Alavi was fascinated by Fukuda’s ambition to flip player expectations in such a dramatic way. He saw it as an opportunity to create a powerful storytelling moment – one that would not just be the catalyst for Modern Warfare 2’s story, but something that would remain anchored in people’s minds for years to come.
“I often got questions,” says Alavi. “‘Did you mean to make something controversial?’ And I was like, ‘No. That actually wasn’t my intention. What I meant to make was something memorable.’”
Alavi believed the key to making No Russian memorable lay with Makarov. Because of the first-person nature of Call of Duty, players would typically never be in the same room as Makarov – the main characters were always two steps and often an entire country behind him. But by casting you as an undercover CIA operative, Alavi could put you within touching distance of Makarov during his bloodiest hour.