| Captain Martin Walker | |
|---|---|
| Spec Ops character | |
 Martin Walker from Spec Ops: The Line | |
| First appearance | Spec Ops: The Line (2012) |
| Created by | Yager Development |
| Voiced by | Nolan North |
| In-universe information | |
| Nationality | American |
Captain Martin Walker is the protagonist and player character of the 2012 third-person shooter video game Spec Ops: The Line, the tenth entry of the Spec Ops series, developed by German studio Yager Development and published by 2K Games. Walker is a member of Delta Force, a special operations force of the United States Army. During the events of The Line, Walker is tasked with leading a team on a recon mission to a disaster-ravaged Dubai. Sometime after his arrival in Dubai, Walker decides to search for his former superior, Colonel John Konrad, who is last known to be leading the city's evacuation and relief efforts. He begins committing unethical acts of violence against other survivors in the city, and experiences hallucinations which distort his perception of the game's subsequent events.
Walker is designed to be the protagonist of a video game experience which challenges the player emotionally through its exploration of discomforting themes associated with the efficacies and consequences of war on its combatants. Lead writer Walt Williams was largely responsible for Walker's characterization, which underwent changes in tandem with the revisions to the story of The Line during its development. Williams eventually decided that Walker's sanity would gradually deteriorate as the story progresses. He believed that this provides greater narrative depth as Walker's experiences explore the extent of a soldier’s humanity and the impact of his psyche from the difficult choices he has to make.
Voiced by American actor Nolan North, Walker is noted by critics for his distinct characterization among protagonist characters in the video game industry, as The Line focuses on exploring the ethical implications of the player's direction of Walker's decisions as part of the game's storyline. Walker's motivations have been widely discussed by commentators, who explore and analyze the series' underlying themes in various publications and academic writings.