Is Spec Ops: The Line a noteworthy inversion of the trope, or is it merely a non-example? The whole game is set in Dubai (an Arab-speaking muslim country), but the locals can be heard speaking either Farsi or accentuated English depending on the scene. Also, the ally stated to be fluent in foreign languages uses Farsi to communicate with them. This artistic licence actually serves the plot: a popular interpretation of the events is that the player character, an American soldier, is either in Hell, in Purgatory, or dying; the story would be a Dying Dream or an Ironic Hell. Also, dialogs mention the protagonists served in Afghanistan prior to the events, and it's implied to be a bad experience. In this interpretation, the wrong language is one of the many clues the story is more than it initially seems.
Is Spec Ops: The Line a noteworthy inversion of the trope, or is it merely a non-example? The whole game is set in Dubai (an Arab-speaking muslim country), but the locals can be heard speaking either Farsi or accentuated English depending on the scene. Also, the ally stated to be fluent in foreign languages uses Farsi to communicate with them. This artistic licence actually serves the plot: a popular interpretation of the events is that the player character, an American soldier, is either in Hell, in Purgatory, or dying; the story would be a Dying Dream or an Ironic Hell. Also, dialogs mention the protagonists served in Afghanistan prior to the events, and it's implied to be a bad experience. In this interpretation, the wrong language is one of the many clues the story is more than it initially seems.
Edited by Psychopompos007