About
Just a Game About Iraq
Category: Industry, Posted: 04/11/2009 at 12:14AM EDT by Jorge Albor, Columnist
For the sake of full disclosure, let me say right away that I am biased towards peace. War is a tragic human folly, and I would like nothing more than to see a world free of violence. That being said, I am no stranger to war games. Yet I have to admit, I was taken aback earlier this week when Konami announced Six Days in Fallujah, developed by Atomic Games, a third-person action shooter set during the 2004 battle for the Iraqi city.
Fellow Gamernode writer Tyler Cameron has a great column up right now regarding the game's design goals and potential pitfalls. I highly recommend giving it a read, particularly if you are interested in why some have come out against the game, both anti-war advocates and veterans alike. Peter Tamte, President of Atomic Games, recently spoke with the Wall Street Journal to address some of these concerns and explain the team's approach to a very touchy subject.
"For us, games are not just toys. If you look at how music, television and films have made sense of the complex issues of their times, it makes sense to do that with videogames," said Tamte.
I'm mostly in agreement with Tamte, preferring not set thematic limits on videogames, though I'm not so sure anyone can "make sense" of war. For some intimate with the war, the theme is fine but the timing is off, perhaps we need to give the subject time for wounds to heal. Yet, other experienced vets are not so concerned. In fact, at least a few dozen soldiers who actually fought in the battle have worked with Atomic's design team. The Los Angeles Times spoke to one such Marine, Mike Ergo, about his consultant work with Atomic.
"Video games can communicate the intensity and the gravity of war to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be watching the History Channel or reading about this in the classroom," said Ergo, now 26 and a junior at the University of California at Berkeley. "In an age when everyone's always online or playing games, people's imaginations aren't what they were, sadly. For this group, books may not convey the same level of intensity and chaos of war that a game can."
I'm less pessimistic about people's imagination, but I can't deny the evocative power of videogames. I wouldn't adore them as much if they could not express meaning in a unique and immersive way. As I see it, there is no time restriction on current event subject matter. Films such as Stop-Loss, Redacted, and Gunner Palace tell stories about the actions in, or repercussions of, the war in Iraq (both real and fictionalized) because subject matter is fresh.