volume 14 issue 2 December 2014 ISSN:1604-7982 the international journal of computer game research David Murphy David Murphy is a PhD Candidate in York/Ryerson's Communication and Culture program studying video game history, theory, and culture. In addition to scholarly pursuits, Murphy is an active volunteer in the independent videogame community through his membership in Toronto's Hand Eye Society. Contact information: davidmurphy_5 at hotmail.com Battle on the Metric Front: Dispatches from Call of Duty's Update War by David Murphy Abstract: While #gamergate raised public awareness of extremist attempts to protect player identities, an earlier, less discussed conflict erupted over a software update applied to Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch, 2012). In response to data derived from the surveillance of online play, a software patch curbed a controversial tactic called “quick scoping”. Players were subsequently enraged, interpreting the update as a personal attack on their community. Arguments, criticism, and death threats followed, specifically targeting Call of Duty community manager David Vonderhaar. Echoing the uncooperative, achievement-oriented play styles contributing to the franchise’s popularity, players threatened an individual in lieu of collectively protesting the system. By combining information posted by players with a critical investigation of reward systems, this article provides analysis of the incident, contextualizing it within a neoliberal climate of player/industry mistrust. Keywords: game studies, first-person shooter, metric testing, community management, neoliberalism, assemblage theory Introduction On July 23, 2013, Activision released a software update for Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch, 2012). While the patch mainly fixed reported bugs, community managers also made adjustments to the multiplayer mode that targeted the statistics of various weapons. Based on data derived from monitoring online play, the update reduced the AN-94 assault rifle's damage, slowed the DSR-50 assault rifle's rate of fire, and slightly reduced the Ballista sniper rifle's rate of fire (Mathes, 2013, para. 5). The changes were not well received. In response to the patch, a subset of the sniper community identifying as quick scopers felt unfairly targeted (Drift0r 2013, July 26). Using social media to express their frustration, some players tweeted death threats to David Vonderhaar, a community manager presumed to be responsible for the changes. Defending his colleague, Dan Amrich (2013, July 23) chastised players, decrying harassment as a broader problem plaguing gaming communities: If the loudest voices in the Call of Duty "community" act like an angry mob […], guess how the entire world views Call of Duty? Now consider that these Internet Tough Guy rants and demands are not unique to COD, but exist everywhere, in many gaming communities. This is why the world often does not take gaming seriously; this is why gamers are assumed to be immature, whiny a-holes. Because the immature, whiny a-holes are louder. (para.12) While many dismissed the incident as a case of trolling, the controversy exposed underlying tensions at the core of shifting player/industry relationships. An overview of game studies approaches to player/producer conflicts provides useful home about archive RSS Search