Satiating the Roman Masses. - I know some of you gamers out there are going to take this as yet another affront to your freedom to play whatever you want. Well, Okay. But I'm a gamer too, and I think that there comes a time for responsibility for what we buy and what we play.
Certainly companies have a responsibility for producing products that pose a psychological conditioning effect upon players. And I know that some are going to say that, hey, we're all adults here, we can handle it.
Well, some can and some can't.
And certainly parents need to be aware of what their children are playing.
But really, is more and more virtually realistic violence necessary and good for a video game?
Eidos's Shellshock: Nam '67 is a good example of the type of game I'm referring too. It's currently slated for a September release.
Eidos writes of this game (italics mine):
It's 1967. You've been drafted to fight in the most controversial war of modern times. As a rookie soldier, you will experience the fear, chaos and atrocities of the Vietnam War. From the napalm bombardments of civilian villages and the gruesome Viet Cong booby traps, to the permanent threat of invisible foes and deadly ambushes, can you survive your first tour of duty?....
...True-to-Life – Portraying the brutal atrocities and controversial actions of the Vietnam War, ShellShock: Nam ’67 provides the most true-to-life and completely uncensored depiction of the Vietnam experience for the first time in a video game.
Frankly, I don't see any good reason to play such a game.
I suppose they are trying to sell it under the guise of, "Experience History." But do we really need shell-shocked gamers; gamers conditioned to gruesome killing and torture?
Looking over the pictures for this game I couldn't help but remember my visit last year to the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. There were exhibits that detailed the atrocities of war in that museum, but there was a weight of sorrow for mankind that silenced all who read through the memories and viewed the photographs and videos.
Alongside the atrocities were the heroics of men and women who fought against those atrocities.
Everyone going through the museum spoke in hushed tones. My brother and I barely uttered a word between us as we walked through the exhibits. There was a sense of respect for those who went into the breech.
In many ways, I left that museum in a state of shell shock. There were moments when the tears flowed while reading the letters of soldiers to loved ones back home. Even now I'm welling up as I remember. It was a lot to absorb and the words of the ticket person made sense to me when I later recalled them. She said we could leave and come back later in the day.
My brother and I didn't leave and come back later in the day. We walked all the way through. In fact, I remember a point where I didn't want to continue because it was so emotionally draining, but I forced my self on because I felt to do otherwise would dishonor those who bled and died for my freedom and the freedom of other countries.
When we got back out under the hazy sun, we both took several deep breaths before quietly finding a trolley and touring more happier sights, sights that are secured by the sacrifices of the men and women by whom we had just been touched.
Somehow I don't think a game like "Shellshocked: Nam '67" can quite accomplish the same end.
My thoughts on a new game glorifying atrocities.
