How many people were killed by spanish inquisition today? If a family member of yours had just been killed by the Taliban I bet you wouldn't write that post. How do you think the families and friends of Dr Karen Woo ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/7932055/Killed-in-cold-blood-the-British-doctor-who-went-to-help-in-Afghanistan.html ) are going to feel when they see a games company making money out selling a game where you play her murdererscaptainfluoxetine said:
Playable Taliban Won't "Push Too Hard" in Medal of Honor
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
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i dont see the problem... its a War game, you have to have two sides or more fighting against each other...
if the game is going to be set in modern day afganistan then of course its going to be the Taliban you are fighting against/for...
what are you going to do? Change the name of the Taliban in the game so as to not offend anyone?.....
Changing the name or not they are still going to be the same enemy in a morality standpoint.
The arguement "its just a game" was pretty weak. from a marketing and exposure perspective it would have been better to state that:
"As we are developing a realistic first person shooter gaming expirience based on the current War in Afganistan, naturally we have added the Taliban as a Playable faction in our Multiplayer section of the game to further increase the realism of the game we are producing as well as providing the player with a choice, play as the defender of freedom or the Agressor, which side you view the Coalition Forces and the Taliban is up to the individual views of the player."
if the game is going to be set in modern day afganistan then of course its going to be the Taliban you are fighting against/for...
what are you going to do? Change the name of the Taliban in the game so as to not offend anyone?.....
Changing the name or not they are still going to be the same enemy in a morality standpoint.
The arguement "its just a game" was pretty weak. from a marketing and exposure perspective it would have been better to state that:
"As we are developing a realistic first person shooter gaming expirience based on the current War in Afganistan, naturally we have added the Taliban as a Playable faction in our Multiplayer section of the game to further increase the realism of the game we are producing as well as providing the player with a choice, play as the defender of freedom or the Agressor, which side you view the Coalition Forces and the Taliban is up to the individual views of the player."
Boo hoo hoo.
It's not like these are the same Taliban that the United States gave weapons and aid to in the 80's to fight the Russians by proxy... This is, after all, just a video game.
It's not like these are the same Taliban that the United States gave weapons and aid to in the 80's to fight the Russians by proxy... This is, after all, just a video game.
Educating these little snots about the horrors of real war (through the game, of course) would be a service to those troops. Of course, the message will probably be lost on them, but hey, that's what parenting is for.albino boo said:
No doubt you'll be working with them in the campaign. They just need a faction that can be opposite the special forces guys.Grahav said:
Counter Strike has a playable Terrorist team with each of the models to pick having a back story to tell you where they came from. No problem there. At least now there isn't. In the past maybe.
Press X to blow up a girls school!
OT: Why do I get the feeling this is about to become the next "controversy" on Fox News? (see: Mass Effect and Modern Warfare 2)
OT: Why do I get the feeling this is about to become the next "controversy" on Fox News? (see: Mass Effect and Modern Warfare 2)
"Just a game" is a weak, weak excuse. It's still an expressive medium, completely able to communicate ideas as any movie, book or song. If your going to be terribly un-PC, then do that, place tongue in cheek and make something fun from sheer trashiness. If you're going to be serious, then grow a pair and try to honestly say something of value through making a player play from the perspective of a terrorist: For all the flak it got from gamers for being there to cause shock value, "No Russian" did have a very well thought out point regarding sacrifices for the greater good, and it's place in military tactics. It was disturbing to make a point, however marginal the point appeared under the heaping helpings of patriotism. Just throwing in a Taliban section for the fun of it does disservice to the medium, and comes across as a trashy stunt.
I wonder if they'll ever make an old west game, where you can either play as part of the American armies that slowly advance towards the west or try the hard-mode by playing as a warrior within the many Indian tribes that try to stave off their advance or perhaps even turn the tide in a dramatic change of history. It'd make a nice change methinks although of course it wouldn't kick up as much controversy as this little example probably aimed for and it'd also be wholly unpatriotic, I am sure.
And for the record...this little song came out only 2 or 3 months after WTC. Some people went all chest pounding or yelling 'for freedom' or grieved for those who died in the attack and others, not involved in this little media trump up, just sang along...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOK2cmyD-kc
And for the record...this little song came out only 2 or 3 months after WTC. Some people went all chest pounding or yelling 'for freedom' or grieved for those who died in the attack and others, not involved in this little media trump up, just sang along...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOK2cmyD-kc
Interesting. This is the first I've heard of this.
A fair point, and one I haven't seen mentioned yet, is that serious wargamers have been playing the role of the Nazis and the Stalinists for decades now - sometimes in the same campaign (I know the Battle of Kursk has often been a popular subject of simulation). I'm not aware of any hardcore grognards who have started goosestepping or purging because they spent a long time trying to figure out how the Red Army can win battle X or what the Nazis did wrong in Tunisia.
That being said, though, and FPS-type game is a little more "immediate", so to speak, than the symbolic lines-on-a-map wargaming culture. Does it make a difference in taking on the role of an actual human ("human" admittedly being a bit questionable in the case of the Taliban) rather than some nameless overseer general issuing orders? I'm really not sure how I feel about this. Probably a storm in a teakettle and it'll amount to nothing at all, but a part of me wonders how necessary it may be to go there, and if it isn't just in part a ploy to get more publicity.
A fair point, and one I haven't seen mentioned yet, is that serious wargamers have been playing the role of the Nazis and the Stalinists for decades now - sometimes in the same campaign (I know the Battle of Kursk has often been a popular subject of simulation). I'm not aware of any hardcore grognards who have started goosestepping or purging because they spent a long time trying to figure out how the Red Army can win battle X or what the Nazis did wrong in Tunisia.
That being said, though, and FPS-type game is a little more "immediate", so to speak, than the symbolic lines-on-a-map wargaming culture. Does it make a difference in taking on the role of an actual human ("human" admittedly being a bit questionable in the case of the Taliban) rather than some nameless overseer general issuing orders? I'm really not sure how I feel about this. Probably a storm in a teakettle and it'll amount to nothing at all, but a part of me wonders how necessary it may be to go there, and if it isn't just in part a ploy to get more publicity.
I'm not really looking forward to this, although the whole Taliban thing seems like an interesting concept.
But I've heard that although the single player is "dope", the multiplayer is "janky".
But I've heard that although the single player is "dope", the multiplayer is "janky".
Certain Games already allow you to play as the Taliban in fairly realistic settings, and there has been little to no fuss so far. Off the top of my head Project Reality allows fairly intense and realistic depictions of Taliban and Iraqi insurgents ambushing and attacking US/UK forces.
While I respect that a relatively obscure Battlefield 2 mod probably won't reach timmy and his moral guardian parents as easily as a new Medal of Honour will, there is precedent for the idea of a modern, realistic enemy.
As an aside, EA appear to be dealing with this very sensitively and honestly so that is good at least.
While I respect that a relatively obscure Battlefield 2 mod probably won't reach timmy and his moral guardian parents as easily as a new Medal of Honour will, there is precedent for the idea of a modern, realistic enemy.
As an aside, EA appear to be dealing with this very sensitively and honestly so that is good at least.
Oh gimme a break. Why is it that people think patriotism is blindly supporting your nation against others? Go look up the meaning of the word and where it originated in American history.Loonerinoes said: