Kanomi has pulled out of a publishing deal with Atomic Games over the game titled Six Days In Fallujah. Part game, part documentary, the project shows the player what it's like to be a Marine in a modern war that's still ongoing. The real Nov 2004 battle left four dozen Americans and over a thousand insurgents dead in fallujah.
Could this game be a tribute to those who died? Could it educate the public about an important battle? The usual gang of naysayers are trying to stomp out new perspectives saying it's "too realistic." Why wouldn't we want to see the truth about war? Atomic Games president Peter Tamte explains intelligently why the game should be made. Why keep the gritty stuff hush-hush.
The controversy also lies in showing the perspective of the insurgents. The game is based on accounts from real-life Marines and a Marine consultant. War simulator games have been produced by the US Army as training for such battles, heading straight for the demographic that fills recruiting stations.
Video games carry the power to bring us to new worlds and show us a side of something we wouldn't otherwise see. It can even be used to educate us about what is really happening out there.
Atomic Games hopes to release the game next year. Pray it gets a publisher.
Blog about intelligent entertainment by Jan-Luc Van Damme
Hi Jan,
ReplyDeleteJust came across this blog via your other blog since you referenced our COAP 2009 game Paparazzi, and I am a google stalker. ;) It's always nice to find someone talking about ARGs and the like.
I actually have quite a bone to pick with FPS war sims, because they seem to sensationalize real horror and tragedy; the game might be incredibly realistic, but it's still consumed by the gaming majority as a pleasurable adrenaline rush. When I watch people play Call of Duty, it doesn't occur to me that they're learning a valuable lesson about the madness of war. I think this is in large part due to the extreme experential difference between shooting pixels and shooting humans. I'd be curious to know whether Six Days in Fallujah actually tries to do things differently from other mainstream war sims, or if they're just glossing the usual shoot-em-up with political rhetoric.
We will never know.
ReplyDelete