POTW: Reality in our games

PALGN Feature | What do you think?

You may have seen last week's news about Konami's upcoming 'Iraqi themed third-person shooter', Six Days in Fallujah (you can read Kimberley's article here). The article and subsequent media prompted discussion among PALGN members about whether real life events - particularly sensitive ones - should be allowed to 'spill over' into the gaming arena. Accordingly we thought it would be apt to ask the question in this week's poll of the week and firmly capture the thoughts of the PALGN community.

Fantasy versus reality. Are you seeking an escape from the real world when playing games? Is the active perspective of gaming - versus the passive perspective of other media, whether that be viewing or reading for example - what makes these themes uncomfortable for us? Maybe there's a certain amount of time that needs to pass before events can be played out in games, i.e. your World War II titles? Or is gaming, as art, perhaps a mirror to society and one that should reflect it regardless of the subject matter?

So give it some thought and please tell us, should sensitive real life current events be portrayed in gaming?

Vote | View Results

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29 Comments

Mush Man

2 years ago

Edit (28/2/2011): This post was stupid. It is now removed.

Qbert

2 years ago

I think yes, if other mediums can do it, then why not video games? It would actually make the experience more realistic for the player.

Macka

2 years ago

Qbert wrote

I think yes, if other mediums can do it, then why not video games? It would actually make the experience more realistic for the player.

That's the problem. It's one thing to see these kinds of things on the news or in movies, but it's another thing entirely to actually be there in the video-game environment. For example, those 5 year old kids from middle-eastern countries who bear guns and are ready to kill or be killed, you couldn't possibly have them in a game. Realism has boundaries when it comes to games imo.

Qbert

2 years ago

^I don't necessessarily think so. I mean most books and movies strive to achieve as high a level of realism as possible. If they could find a way to engage and immerse people as much as video games can, I'm sure that they would take it.

I don't think that every subject should be touched upon, but as a blanket view, I think it's fine.