A former editor of a popular gaming magazine once stated that games like Medal of Honor offended him. All this talk of GTA and other such games wasn’t this particular editor’s problems. Instead, he had problems with games that were set after true-life historical events. He felt that since games are a form of entertainment, basing games on true events is in some way mocking these said moments in history.
Not that this individual isn’t entitled to his opinion. After all, we all have an issue with something out there that others don’t see wrong, but maybe we do. As a result, some people may frown upon your views; those that are in your opinion, taboo. But what seems so out of the ordinary is that this individual is a supposed hardcore gamer; one who you would think would understand the developer’s intentions better than the average person. They found themselves disgusted at the idea that such games existed. But it makes me wonder how many other mediums of entertainment he’s shut out of his life to steadily hang on to this observation. He’d have to shut out a few, that’s for sure.
You need to look no further than the editor’s own example: Medal of Honor. The game that he was talking about was Frontline, in which certain scenes, borrowed very heavily from the film Saving Private Ryan (most especially the Normandy Beach invasion scene). In fact, when you get right down to it, the entire Medal of Honor franchise was built upon the ideas of Steven Spielberg himself, and with his direct involvement. There was no mention of the master filmmaker or any of his movies in the incessant ranting. Only the games suffered the ill-fated slam of being “unnecessary”, despite the fact that both films and games are made purely for entertainment purposes.
Hmm… what are we to do? On one hand we can appreciate a modest videogame that tries to immerse the player into the happenings at Pearl Harbor, or waste a few hours on Bennifer Affleck’s film that tells more of a love story, and all but completely ignores the subject matter until the end of the movie. We’ll take the former, thank you.
It could be said that games get the person involved in a way that no other entertainment medium can. While Saving Private Ryan was unquestionably brilliant, Medal of Honor Frontline has done it’s fair share to hook gamers into the hostile hells of World War II. And I can assure you that Medal of Honor Rising Sun will teach gamers a hell of a lot more than that dreadful Pearl Harbor movie ever could. Actually playing these games made gamers appreciate what happened in our past a lot more. And yet, films are praised while games are condemned?
9/11 By now, you may have heard about the game based on the events of the September 11th tragedy. The game is a mod of Unreal Tournament that 3 UCSD students were creating for a class. In the game, players spawn on one of the floors of the World Trade Center on September 11th. Players can die in a number of ways, including in a fire or when the structure collapses. The player even has the choice to leap from the building. Either way, the key to the game is that the player will die. Unlike all other videogames, where there is a solution, here that’s not necessarily the case. In this game, the player will likely (almost positively) die, no matter what decisions they make.
While the idea behind this game is certainly unsavory to most of us, the makers of this mod have a different view, and one I find quite compelling, even if it’s something that I don’t agree with in it’s entirety. The students argue that they aren’t making a game, but a true-life experience that has been translated onto a format that gamers can understand. And instead of it being merely a film or book, it’s something that immerses the player directly, involving him /her in ways a film or hardcover could never do.
And really, why not make a game based on true life? We all know that only a scant couple of months after the 9/11 tragedy, there were a few television shows that aired episodes involving the Twin Towers incident, simply because it happened, everyone knew about it, and networks knew that ratings would increase. We also know that it’s only a matter of time before someone makes a movie about it, and it’s praised as being a gleaming achievement in film history. In this case, 3 students were inspired by a real life event that emotionally changed their lives forever, and created a game from their own experiences. It’s the same idea, but translated to a different medium. In fact, these students claimed that the longer they worked on the project, the more personal it became to them.
Some people believe that games like Medal of Honor Frontline is mocking the bloody events of World War II, simply because it’s game.
Only a Game Perhaps the only valid argument against the 9/11 mod is that the nation hasn’t had enough time to heal from the catastrophe in order to be able to accept the idea of a videogame being based on those events. Again though, if television shows can do it only months after the incident, why not games after two years? It seems that the loudest mouths rallying against such a game can’t come up with an answer to that question. And why should they have to? Games are in enough hot water already with an outside world that doesn’t understand them. Now throw this on top of every other evil that videogames are responsible for, and the nay sayers know they have an easy victory on their hands.
And yet, can’t games be anything more than just games? Are games as an entertainment medium forced to stay just that, not allowing it’s content to actually teach something to gamers now and then? It seems that’s how some people tend to want to view the videogame world. Our society is inspired by what happens to us in real life, and yet we aren’t allowed to express it unless our name is Steven Spielberg? If I recall, M*A*S*H was a television show that was set around the events of the Korean War, and it was a comedy no less! What about ? isn’t that film considered to be one of the best films released that year?
I believe that it’s safe to assume that, despite these UCSD students’ intentions, most will view their actions as tasteless, just as that former magazine editor views Medal of Honor as being tasteless. But I view the 9/11 mod -- as well as any other game that is inspired by true life events – with an open mind. After all, let’s think about that 9/11 mod for what it is at it’s core; it’s a game that is utterly unfair; one that doesn’t allow a player to exit with their life no matter what they do. It’s a game that punishes the player for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no exit. And the player knows he’s going to die. If that doesn’t touch down on the truth of the 9/11 experience, I don’t know what does.
