The Only Video Game Series To Win An Oscar Was Created By Steven Spielberg

First-person shooter (FPS) video games are a dime-a-dozen. Even today, "Call of Duty" dominates mainstream multiplayer gaming, while titles of a similar vein — à la "Apex Legends" or "Valorant" — help shape the genre's ever-evolving nature. However, the FPS genre hallmarks that are taken for granted today were painstakingly shaped by groundbreaking titles that consciously pushed the limits of a shoot-to-kill premise. Some endeavors, like the original "Doom," are still remembered with the nostalgic reverence it deserves (having even inspired an objectively terrible movie adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson). But others, like Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts' (EA) "Medal of Honor" series, have sadly been relegated to the realm of forgotten FPS games that are no longer relevant.

If you're surprised to see a direct connection between Spielberg and a video game series, it is worth delving into how this came about. Long story short, the now-dissolved game studio DreamWorks Interactive worked closely with Spielberg in 1999 to create a video game narrative revolving around World War II. Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," which was released a year before in 1998, inspired the director to pen a similar concept/story for an interactive video game experience. Published by EA and initially released for the PlayStation, "Medal of Honor" not only spawned two sequels helmed by Spielberg but also inspired a dozen genre mimics that eventually culminated in Activision's "Call of Duty" in 2003. Granted, "Call of Duty" developed its own quirks over the decades, but it owes its existence to "Medal of Honor" and Spielberg's unique vision.

As you might already know, the Academy doesn't directly give out awards for video games, as there is no provision for it. But in 2021, a documentary titled "Colette," which was included in the gallery mode for "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond," won an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category. What does this connection entail?

Anthony Giacchino's "Colette" was made exclusively for the documentary gallery in "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond," a 2020 franchise entry that attempts to recreate the appeal of Spielberg's 1999 original. Although the game itself isn't extraordinary, its gallery section features documentaries about World War II veterans that grant more depth to the real-life inspired premise. "Colette" follows former French Resistance member Colette Marin-Catherine, who makes the difficult decision to visit the Mittelbau-Dora Nazi concentration camp, where her brother was killed decades ago. It is a heartbreaking journey undertaken by Colette, whose strong, instinctive emotions serve as the guideline for the 24-minute documentary. We also learn about Colette's years in the resistance, and how she worked as a nurse for the Allied troops after the D-Day operation of June 6, 1944. 

Although the merits of "Colette" are its own, despite being connected to the 2020 game, we need to talk about "Medal of Honor" as a half-forgotten FPS series. When Spielberg first helmed the game series in 1999, the gameplay and story aspects felt fresh, as the war-themed subgenre was not as saturated or overdone as it is today. In the game, players slip into the shows of an OSS agent in the middle of World War II, who needs to rely on stealth to navigate the dangerous maps and sabotage the Nazi war effort. Co-op mode is also available, with a split-screen deathmatch mode allowing two players to compete in parallel maps. The developers introduced levity to balance out the game's heavy subject matter by letting players unlock secret characters like William Shakespeare or a ... random dinosaur for gameplay purposes.

This could be nostalgia speaking, but the first "Medal of Honor" trilogy truly feels more cinematic than other FPS titles of the time, which, of course, can be attributed to Spielberg's dynamic involvement. The franchise has failed to recapture its former glory at the present due to a plethora of reasons, but we will always have the initial games that are worth revisiting time and again.