The Half-Life 2 mod Insurgency was originally designed with counter-insurgency scenarios in mind, but being designed and developed by a bunch of amateurs (led by teenagers still in high school, but many developers are now working in the industry), it could not really have much more depth than applying a 'modern insurgency war' setting to the depiction of 'realistic' tactical combat. At that point, OIF had not begun, but INS was designed with the prediction that the Iraq war would turn into an insurgency after the initial invasion. A better-suited theatre would be Afghanistan, but the engine limitations shifted the choice to Iraq (and planned on the Balkans conflict).
Ultimately, I think it is not any developer's fault for not creating an accurate depiction of an insurgency, but it is largely the audience and point in time. The player has to be mentally prepared for what they are about to experience, and should not expect to approach the game like they would approach Halo or Call of Duty.
For a counter-insurgency game to be successful, I think it needs to have an extension of the game outside of the 'engine' experience. That needs to provide extra outside pressures to influence the player in a certain direction politically speaking, then it's up to the player to sort of the military strategy according to the political requirements (time limits, body count, media representation, etc). If a player decides to drop WP over a UN school filled with civilians, they won't see any immediate consequence in game... but once that action is documented (perhaps by a simulated in-game media?) and word gets out to the simulated political powers-that-be, that can change the course of the game. I think a game accurately depicting a modern insurgency conflict (as most modern conflicts are) could be a breakthrough in war games and will inevitably happen.
... if anyone is already pursuing it, I'd be interested in getting involved. I was the one who started Insurgency at age 16 in 2002 - while leading and designing the mod for five years, I was an infantry soldier in the Canadian Army reserves. I had to leave INS to pursue my education and career in photojournalism (now working as a freelance visual journalist in Toronto), but I have a life-long fascination with war and I aspire to document conflict with my camera. Perhaps once I return from war, I can again use video games as another creative outlet for my perspective of conflict.
Ultimately, I think it is not any developer's fault for not creating an accurate depiction of an insurgency, but it is largely the audience and point in time. The player has to be mentally prepared for what they are about to experience, and should not expect to approach the game like they would approach Halo or Call of Duty.
For a counter-insurgency game to be successful, I think it needs to have an extension of the game outside of the 'engine' experience. That needs to provide extra outside pressures to influence the player in a certain direction politically speaking, then it's up to the player to sort of the military strategy according to the political requirements (time limits, body count, media representation, etc). If a player decides to drop WP over a UN school filled with civilians, they won't see any immediate consequence in game... but once that action is documented (perhaps by a simulated in-game media?) and word gets out to the simulated political powers-that-be, that can change the course of the game. I think a game accurately depicting a modern insurgency conflict (as most modern conflicts are) could be a breakthrough in war games and will inevitably happen.
... if anyone is already pursuing it, I'd be interested in getting involved. I was the one who started Insurgency at age 16 in 2002 - while leading and designing the mod for five years, I was an infantry soldier in the Canadian Army reserves. I had to leave INS to pursue my education and career in photojournalism (now working as a freelance visual journalist in Toronto), but I have a life-long fascination with war and I aspire to document conflict with my camera. Perhaps once I return from war, I can again use video games as another creative outlet for my perspective of conflict.
