Playing Soldiers No More

I'm not a soldier.  I have the utmost respect for armed forces members.  At least most of the time I do, considering the sacrifices they make during times of war.

With that said, I like my video games.  Sports are always a welcome addition.  Racing is pure ecstasy.  Platformers aren't quite passe, but they are close.  Music and rhythm games are family favorites as well.  First-person shooters (FPS) aren't the top of my list, but my brother has gotten me involved with SOCOM; I reciprocated with Army of Two.  I like the camaraderie that can build during an intense gaming session, but I'm sure it doesn't compare to real-life.  I like having to rely on my team-mates to get out of a firefight; but no matter the game's outcome, I get to go home intact (ego not withstanding).

Six Days in Fallujah was a game slated to be published by Konami.  It is based on a battle during Operation: Iraqi Freedom, obviously in Fallujah.  The game was announced a few days ago, but in an interesting interview with GamePro magazine, Atomic Games president Peter Tamte explains the history:

One of the divisions in our company was developing training tools for the United States Marine Corps, and they assigned some Marines from Third Battalion First Marines to help us out. However, a few months into development, Third Battalion, First Marines was deployed in Iraq and participated in the Battle of Fallujah... When they came back from Fallujah, they asked us to create a videogame about their experiences there, and it seemed like the right thing to do.

Obviously, this story is skewed in that it's the presdent of the company wanting the company to be portrayed as, literally, an ally to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during this battle.  What does that mean for us?  Well...

If you're a hard-core gamer, it means the possible loss of a seemingly well-made game based upon actual experiences with input from people who (no disrespect intended) lived through the expeience.

If you're against war and all that it entails, you may count this as a victory against the tyranny that perpetuates war and all that make people think war is cool.

Reading more of the interview, I found myself compelled by Tamte's excuse that "[the soldiers] wanted us to make a video game about [it]".  I can see that happening, but I don't know if it represents the whole, if it is/was something that the entire group would like to see happen.  For all the war movies I've seen, it's been just that movies.  I had a friend when I worked in Houston who showed me photos of his experience during the Gulf War.  I saw (before embedded journalists) of burned corpses, bullet-riddled bodies of enemies (luckily for my memories, no allies were photographed), and bombed out tanks and trucks.  

There are some things that perhaps shouldn't be experienced, as best as possible.  War is a horrible and tragic thing; we will never be rid of it, at least in my life time.  I don't mind pretending to be a soldier in a somewhat fictiticious game, but a game based upon real events where real soldiers lost lives?  Were I the family of said soldiers, I may take issue with it.  Obviously, many did.  Asahi, a news network servicing Asia, reports that Konami is pulling the game.

I think in the end, it's the right choice.  Yes, it looked to be a great game, but not at the cost it took to truly develop that realism.  This one was just too close to home...

Closing quote: Our God and soldiers we alike adore ev'n at the brink of danger, not before; After deliverance, both alike requited, Our God's forgotten, and our soldiers slighted. - Francis Quarles