Educational "Death Strip" Game Condemned by Historian

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Educational "Death Strip" Game Condemned by Historian

The Director of the Berlin Wall Memorial says a videogame based on the "death strip" that once separated East and West Berlin is "tasteless" and an "unsuitable" way to teach about a serious subject.

"Death strip" was the name given to the no-man's land of gravel, trenches, traps and guard towers that ran along the Berlin Wall [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall], the infamous barrier that divided the German capital following the end of the Second World War. The death strip was the primary obstacle faced by Germans who wished to cross into the West; it was wide open, offering no cover and a clear field of fire for East German guards, and in its early days escapees who were wounded while attempting to cross were sometimes left to bleed to death as a warning to others.

It's a grim topic and, based on the promotional video, one that's treated with an appropriately serious tone in 1378 (km), a game created by Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design [http://www.hfg-karlsruhe.de/] student Jens Stober. Named after the length of the border that split East and West Germany, the game is set in 1976 and allows people to play as either East German border guards or refugees fleeing to the West, with the choice to "shoot, arrest, run, give up, kill or be killed." Escapees who are caught face imprisonment, while guards earn honors for preventing their escape - but those who kill more than three times are "magically transported to the year 2000, where they face trial for their crimes."

"Through the personal identification as a fugitive of the republic or a border guard, and the intensive experience of the border areas, the interest of the young generation in the conflict of recent German history will be awakened," the university said in a statement.

But Axel Klausmeier, the director of the Berlin Wall Memorial [http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/index.html], doesn't believe videogames are an appropriate tool for teaching history. He called 1378 (km) "tasteless" and described it as an insult to the families of those killed while trying to reach freedom. "The seriousness of what once went on at the border can't be portrayed in this way," he said.

Klausmeier's attitude is unfortunate and off-base, but not entirely surprising. There are a great many people for whom videogames remain an inherently trivial pursuit and to them, the idea of using "games" to present serious subject matter is utterly foreign. Six Days in Fallujah [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/90759-Six-Days-in-Fallujah-Triggers-Outrage] fell victim to essentially the same thinking. Videogames have come a long way, but they clearly still have a long way to go.

1378 (km) [http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.1378km.de%2F] will be available as a free download beginning on October 3, German Unity Day.

Source: GamePolitics [http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100929-30147.html]


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T-Bone24

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So videogames based on serious events are unacceptable? But films are fine. Also books and music. That's tasteful. Videogames can't possibly be serious.

Grr...
 

DalekJaas

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I can see his point, but so much is in bad taste these days it doesn't really matter
 

Kapol

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T-Bone24 said:
So videogames based on serious events are unacceptable? But films are fine. Also books and music. That's tasteful. Videogames can't possibly be serious.

Grr...
That's because they're 'games.' Not things of education, oh no, they can never be that. I agree that some of this thinking is pretty stupid... why not use games to learn about historical events? That would get kids, or anyone, interested, and likely they'd be able to see it from a different prespective then just reading about it in books. I think it would be easier to connect emotionally to the situation by game then it is to read about it in a book.

Plus, I think it seems like an interesting concept for a game over. Cops and robbers sort of style in a way.
 

icyneesan

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My father would love to have more media of how he went through hell being in a POW camp. Something really bloody, and gory, watching your friends die slowly in real time. Of course that wont happen, why? Because people will complain about it even though they don't understand :p
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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T-Bone24 said:
So videogames based on serious events are unacceptable? But films are fine. Also books and music. That's tasteful. Videogames can't possibly be serious.

Grr...
I'd explain my opinion on the matter in detail but I'm sure Extra Credits has done a better job of articulating the concept than I ever could.

(Also, am I the only one who sees a password on the video?)
 

GrinningManiac

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I suppose I can see where he's coming from. But I'd agree that a game, when done properly, is as tasteful as any other medium.

I don't know if this game is 'tasteful', though. Something feels wrong about it
 

T-Bone24

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Kapol said:
T-Bone24 said:
So videogames based on serious events are unacceptable? But films are fine. Also books and music. That's tasteful. Videogames can't possibly be serious.

Grr...
That's because they're 'games.' Not things of education, oh no, they can never be that. I agree that some of this thinking is pretty stupid... why not use games to learn about historical events? That would get kids, or anyone, interested, and likely they'd be able to see it from a different prespective then just reading about it in books. I think it would be easier to connect emotionally to the situation by game then it is to read about it in a book.

Plus, I think it seems like an interesting concept for a game over. Cops and robbers sort of style in a way.
Exactly, games are inherently more engaging than films or books can ever be when describing a real event. If it's well made, then it will draw the player in more and the player/student will need to pay attention to events, rather than, as I did countless times, falling asleep at another dull video about the Russian Revolution.
 

TwistedEllipses

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The historian does have a point. Is it really the best way to teach someone about horrific events in history to have them re-enact the events themselves? That's in pretty poor taste...

EDIT: There is a danger that the message is missed and the focus is on the killing, rather than the consequences. Especially since there's normally a detachment from killing in videogames.

Annoyingly the video won't play for me, so I'm not sure how well they handle it...
 

SinisterGehe

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So basically making video games about subjects that still touch the emotions and hearts of Living people is unwritten taboo amongst the society? But in every other form of media it is not?..

Great Atheismo give me some atheismo damm sense to understand the mess!!!
 

Formica Archonis

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carnkhan4 said:
The historian does have a point. Is it really the best way to teach someone about horrific events in history to have them re-enact the events themselves? That's in pretty poor taste...
The problem is, how is this different than:

1) A good movie depicting the events in question? People watch movies to be entertained or moved emotionally. Is it bad if they enjoy themselves while learning?

2) Reenacting from history [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War_reenactment]? Is it wrong to put on a costume and fire pretend bullets at another man in a costume?
 

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Video has been replaced, not sure why the Vimeo version suddenly has a password but YouTube saves the day!
 

Andy Chalk

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One day games will be accepted as a valid medium for stuff like this.

But not until people who outright dismiss them go away.

Someone needs to show him a message board about, oh say, Saving Private Ryan where people talk about how awesome the opening scene is.

Because films are a valid medium for showing how TOTALLY RAD death and anguish are.

But not games.

This reminds me of JFK Reloaded. It allowed you to re-enact the assassination of JFK, and broke down every single shot in every way so you could see how close to the actual event you could be, in order to prove or disprove the commission report.

Was it educational? Hell yes. Was it also ridiculously fun to just cause mayhem? Also hell yes. Just like how some people watch Black Hawk Down and think how terrible it must have been, while others root on the good guys as they blow shit up.
 

Jared

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Im not sure...I mean a game based around the wall and Brendenberg Gate...seems, a little off
 

Cousin_IT

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Video requires password to view :/

As for games as a tool for teaching history, would want to see the game before passing specific judgement. But one might suggest that, while games are good for teaching maths & other things (see Zoombinis for maths teaching awesomeness in game form), teaching a subjective subject like history through the same medium is different. After all, they might say, are you learning anything while your mind is focused on the task at hand (usually gunning someone down)? & if the proper context is not provided what happens when you finish & reflect on what you've just done?

The same is true (& the point often made, just not reported on The Escapist because this is a games website) of documentaries & films. Movies are criticised for often presenting history in a highly distorted way for the sake of being able to create a simplistic linear narrative to base the film around. Documentaries are often too reliant on pointless reenactments or graphic images to hold the viewers attention, & sometimes seem to relish in the shock value they provide, to the point they distract the viewer from the reason they're supposedly being shown these images, & even desensitise due to overexposure (are people really that shocked any more when they see footage from inside the concentration camps for the umpteenth time in yet another WW2 documentary, despite what they're viewing being real human beings?).
 

TwistedEllipses

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Formica Archonis said:
The problem is, how is this different than:

1) A good movie depicting the events in question? People watch movies to be entertained or moved emotionally. Is it bad if they enjoy themselves while learning?

2) Reenacting from history [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War_reenactment]? Is it wrong to put on a costume and fire pretend bullets at another man in a costume?
1) As long as you keep in mind, that there's a difference between the two. Braveheart has been the bane of historians for years...

2) Personally I find re-enacters strange. It's basically cosplay. They can't seriously expect to re-enact a battle with a few people on either side pretending to fight. They do however usually have a rough grasp of equipment and such and will put on displays and explain to the public, so I guess there's no harm in it.

EDIT: I guess I'm not really saying the game would have no merit, just that if this was the only thing you were exposed to on this subject, you wouldn't have a very well rounded grasp of it. Other historic topics would be more suited to this format.

2nd EDIT: 1) Not every film treats a subject matter well. e.g. Uwe Boll's holocaust film looks distasteful.
 

Booze Zombie

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Yes, video games never do anything seriously... those emotions people say they feel?
That's all lies, obviously.