Greek Island Angry at Portrayal in Videogames

[Greg Tito]

Greek Island Angry at Portrayal in Videogames

Arma III includes an accurate map of Lemnos, and the Lemnians don't like it.

Bohemia Interactive Studio's Arma series has always prided itself on realism. The weapons wielded by the armed forces in the game are based on what they would use on operations, with accurate bullet drop-off and penetration. The latest game, Arma III, is no different and the plot focuses on NATO operations against forces operating on the small Greek island of Lemnos. Unfortunately, the present population of Lemnos is upset that Arma III will show the countryside in such detail in a game featuring war when the island has a peaceful place in Greek culture and myth.

"We cannot fathom that our island, a place of peace and creation, will be turned into a scene for violence and battle," said Antonis Hatzidiamantis, the mayor of Lemnos. "We reserve our legal rights to defend our island's reputation."

Lemnos is important to the Greek god of metalwork and crafting, Hephaestus, and the volcanic island was home to the deity's forge. According to myth, Hephaestus fell on Lemnos when Zeus threw him out of Olympus.

Perhaps more importantly, the Lemnians have concerns over the very fidelity that Bohemia Interactive instills in the Arma series, especially with the island's proximity to the Turkish mainland. "There are national reasons to keep certain areas on the island secure but [in the game] they are shown in high-definition," said the head of the town council. "There could possibly be problems with national security."

In contrast, there is no word whether the Lemnians have a problem with Hephaestus' portrayal by Rip Torn in God of War III or the general mangling of Greek myths committed by Sony's series.

Source: AFP [http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hmZZ6JlquaMk4dqjXOJ_fGnZufhg?docId=CNG.59c8f07fc7da6a4419e50d7af3fe7904.101]

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[Monsterfurby]

Huh. Surprising. Why didn't the inhabitants of Malden, Everon, Kolgujew, Chernarus and Sahrani do so before? Oh, right, it's because those places don't exist (at least not in the way or place they were shown to be in).

And they couldn't just go the same route as before and change the name of the island while just using it anyway because.....? I mean, after all, you have to expect some over-sensitive local population to get up in arms about your game, after all, computer games are the root of all evil.

PS: I would love to have an ARMA game set in my home town. And that's not because I want to see destruction and gore among places and people I know and love, but because that would be a pretty chilling war game experience.

 

[vehystrix]

I get that they're trying to keep out their island of a violent videogame, as it could very well hurt tourism. I wonder who gave Bohemia the permission to recreate an actual island instead of a fictional...

 

[manythings]

Well see now they've pre-empted my use of the game to as a tool for training my minions to conquer the island. Fuck you Bohemia Interactive Studios.

 

[Talvrae]

In all seriousness... that a really good tourist bet. Seeing theyr island in such detail in a videogame could only bring more tourists

 

[Braedan]

So, their first complaint is that they think it is disrespectful to show this island under attack (which is just fuckin wacky)

And their second is that this could be a matter of national security? How? Are they saying that the ARMA 3 team has the ability to gather more intel about this island than the Turkish government? They're either trying to insult Turkey, imply that Bohemia Interactive has a covert spy department, or they are absolutely nuts.

Couldn't a Google Maps satellite image give a pretty good, slightly more accurate view of the map. I mean, I can even get street view in a couple locations. I'm pretty sure that Turkey could get live satellite coverage if they REALLY wanted to.

Edit: Besides, there looks to be around 40 people on the island. If Turkey wanted to take over the island I doubt they would even do any recon seeing as there are probably less than a dozen guns.

 

[NLS]

So, their first complaint is that they think it is disrespectful to show this island under attack (which is just fuckin wacky)

And their second is that this could be a matter of national security? How? Are they saying that the ARMA 3 team has the ability to gather more intel about this island than the Turkish government? They're either trying to insult Turkey, imply that Bohemia Interactive has a covert spy department, or they are absolutely nuts.

Couldn't a Google Maps satellite image give a pretty good, slightly more accurate view of the map. I mean, I can even get street view in a couple locations. I'm pretty sure that Turkey could get live satellite coverage if they REALLY wanted to.

Exactly this. I mean, if Bohemia can get all this "sensitive data", then it should be no problem for the Turks (if they even consider it).

Instead, they should use this as a gift and a training tool for the day the Turks come invading their beaches. If the the Turks can, so can the Greeks.

 

[theriddlen]

I hate it when people complain about games with accurate map of their neighborhood. All it can really do is get some tourists over there, nothing more - what they should do is thank ARMA developer instead of getting angry.

or they are absolutely nuts.

This one.

 

[Jordi]

I get that they're trying to keep out their island of a violent videogame, as it could very well hurt tourism.

Or it could help tourism. The people who play the game presumably like it and might think it's cool to visit the island for real. Whereas the people who wouldn't like it, would only even hear about it if they made a fuss about it.

I wonder who gave Bohemia the permission to recreate an actual island instead of a fictional...

But do you need permission? Surely they haven't copyrighted or trademarked their landscape.

It seems to me that the Lemnians are just milking this for the publicity in the hopes that it might increase tourism.

 

[Actual]

Wait how could the makers of a video game obtain geographical information that could pose a threat to their national security?

It wasn't very secure to start with if Bohemia interactive could turn with some cameras and reproduce it in video game form.

This politician needs to stfu, it's fiction, no-ones going to think Lemnos is really war-torn.

 

[Staskala]

Perhaps more importantly, the Lemnians have concerns over the very fidelity that Bohemia Interactive instills in the Arma series, especially with the island's proximity to the Turkish mainland. "There are national reasons to keep certain areas on the island secure but [in the game] they are shown in high-definition," said the head of the town council. "There could possibly be problems with national security."

What?
If some video game ultra-realistic war simulator developer has access to those top-secret landscape details you can bet your ass that the Turkish secret service knows them too. As well as everyone who can use google earth, I'd wager.

 

[carpenter20m]

You do realize that it's not the Lemnians that have a problem, but just one guy? I bet that over 90% of the island's population have never heard of ARMA (should I do this 99%? I probably should).

Generalizations like that are dangerous and show ignorance bigger than the Lemnians' (who, actually, do not even feature in the story, except for one guy).

Other than that, yes, that guy is probably nuts or too conservative or just ignorant. The island's population is a whole other story, though, isn't it?

 

[Staskala]

You do realize that it's not the Lemnians that have a problem, but just one guy? I bet that over 90% of the island's population have never heard of ARMA (should I do this 99%? I probably should).

Generalizations like that are dangerous and show ignorance bigger than the Lemnians' (who, actually, do not even feature in the story, except for one guy).

Other than that, yes, that guy is probably nuts or too conservative or just ignorant. The island's population is a whole other story, though, isn't it?

Sorry, but who are you to question AFP? If AFP said so, it must be right.
Journalism rule no.1: Do not question the agencies. Blindly copy everything they report for the agencies never fail.
If you don't like it, go back to your pathetic, "media-critical" blogs, this is how the professional journalists do things.

 

[carpenter20m]

You do realize that it's not the Lemnians that have a problem, but just one guy? I bet that over 90% of the island's population have never heard of ARMA (should I do this 99%? I probably should).

Generalizations like that are dangerous and show ignorance bigger than the Lemnians' (who, actually, do not even feature in the story, except for one guy).

Other than that, yes, that guy is probably nuts or too conservative or just ignorant. The island's population is a whole other story, though, isn't it?

Sorry, but who are you to question AFP? If AFP said so, it must be right.
Journalism rule no.1: Do not question the agencies. Blindly copy everything they report for the agencies never fail.
If you don't like it, go back to your pathetic, "media-critical" blogs, this is how the professional journalists do things.

uhm... /sarcasm?

I actually read the source. It still says that one guy was complaining to one paper about the game. It's not that there are protests around Lemnos wanting to ban the game.

And to be honest, I am distrustful of newsblogs as much as I am of traditional media.

 

[Cubilone]

Well it is not exactly like Google Maps. As far as I can tell, it's not only the geography but also the buildings, that are modeled after the real ones pretty closely.

I am Greek and I can see what's happening here. Just the mayor getting all technophobic with no real reason. A lot of time people get irrationally upset about things (it's not only Americans that do it excessively, it seems to be a common problem among human populations around the world), they get emotional because it just doesn't feel right even if it is rationally OK and justifiable.

I thought it was quite funny, Lemnos is a completely non-touristic island (it's one of the most remote in the Aegean Sea), with only a little population, I find it amusing that it was randomly chosen by the game studio. Perhaps they were expecting no-one would react precisely because it's such a small place? I also think it's funny that they're worrying about these things at this time, but then again Turkey has been very aggressive the past weeks.

 

[darthricardo]

I love that it almost seems they're treating Greek Mythology with the seriousness involved in legitimate religion.
Oh, and I guess I should say...
Inb4 legitimacy of religion flamewar

 

[billP]

The real problem the Island has is that there are sensitive military installations on the island so much so, it is currently illegal to take photos near those military installations. You can be arrested for doing so today. Does any one remember those English tourists who were jailed some years ago now for taking photos of planes at a Greek military airport base? However the game appears to have high resolution images of the entire island including military installations. Security issues between Turkey and Greece are still live issues today and are no laughing matter despite what many of the posters may think. Their are many unreported engagements occurring between the two sides and I believe the game manufacturers know it and it is no coincidence they chose the island. The mayor seems to be placing a different spin on the reasons why the island featured on the video game is of concern to it. The real reason I suspect are different. The Greek government does not encourage tourism on the island due to security reasons which is why it is not a popular destination for tourism. I wonder if the game manufacturers would have gotten away with making a similar game of say the Gaza strip or West Bank?

 

[Vault Citizen]

To the people of Lemnos, deal with it.

That is all.