How No Russian Became Call of Duty’s Most Memorable Mission - Art of the Level

ign.com:

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.

Call of Duty is these days primarily seen as an online multiplayer hub, but it didn’t always have this focus. When the series began in 2003 it was created with cinematic storytelling in mind. Across its first three games developer Infinity Ward found new and exciting methods through which to tell increasingly dramatic stories. In 2007’s Modern Warfare, players were shocked as their character was killed off mid-way through the story in a nuclear explosion. For the sequel the team wanted something bolder.

No Russian places you at the centre of a terrorist attack in a Russian airport. Arriving less than a decade after the September 11 attacks, it was a deeply uncomfortable mission when it was released in 2009. It remains