Former Marine Officer Mulls Over Medal of Honor
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Mr. Busch, you are very skilled with you words. I assume only someone who has been through an actual war can make such clear and valid points about video games and actual conflicts. I don't know if you know this, but you countered several points that Jack Thompson was yelling about; my favorite being "The game cannot train its players to be actual skilled special operations soldiers, nor is it likely to lure anyone into Islamic fundamentalism." I do not know if you used that exact sentence in response to what Thompson said, or if you've never heard anything Thompson said before now, but I thank you for it. If, somehow you ever read this post, could you personally contact Thompson and talk to him. You would be doing me and many other gamers a great favor.
Holy shit, playing games isn't like the real thing? So that also means that Tony Hawk's ain't like skating in real life? And playing Oblivion is nothing like killing goblins for real?
Whoah, mindfuck.
...
With the sarcasm out of the way, I think that the text seems a bit confused at times. More specifically, he makes a big point out of telling that games about war are nothing like the real thing, but still thinks that they "equate the war with the leisure of games". No gamer in their right mind thinks that they know shit about how a war feels, and the ones that do won't get near reading essays anytime soon, I'd reckon - I don't get how he fails to understand this while still making the point that games aren't turning anyone into terrorists.
Perhaps I got it all wrong. Probably did.
Also, this feels a little like he felt like using some of the post-war whining rights, but then again, I've got little pity for soldiers and I'm against the war in the middle east in general. I don't mean to insult anybody, but that's how I feel. I apologize beforehand if anybody feels that their beloved soldiers and national dignity in general has been ridiculed or anything like that.
EDIT: Forgot to mention in my indignation that I think kudos should be given to this man for actually having a well functioning brain, something a lot the other people speaking about this subject seem to lack (out in the big world, of course, not here on The Escapist)
Whoah, mindfuck.
...
With the sarcasm out of the way, I think that the text seems a bit confused at times. More specifically, he makes a big point out of telling that games about war are nothing like the real thing, but still thinks that they "equate the war with the leisure of games". No gamer in their right mind thinks that they know shit about how a war feels, and the ones that do won't get near reading essays anytime soon, I'd reckon - I don't get how he fails to understand this while still making the point that games aren't turning anyone into terrorists.
Perhaps I got it all wrong. Probably did.
Also, this feels a little like he felt like using some of the post-war whining rights, but then again, I've got little pity for soldiers and I'm against the war in the middle east in general. I don't mean to insult anybody, but that's how I feel. I apologize beforehand if anybody feels that their beloved soldiers and national dignity in general has been ridiculed or anything like that.
EDIT: Forgot to mention in my indignation that I think kudos should be given to this man for actually having a well functioning brain, something a lot the other people speaking about this subject seem to lack (out in the big world, of course, not here on The Escapist)
Well huzzah for sound experienced minds speaking out, instead of only getting crap from ignorant experts tooting out their rear.
Well said.
Hooray, a non-gamer providing an actually balanced opinion towards Medal of Honor rather than screaming panic at how everybody's going to die because all of our children - oh THINK OF THE CHILDREN - are going to become Islamic fundamentalists. Nice to see somebody with an actually valid and useful opinion weighing in on the subject out of experience rather than blind fear and anger.
"But imagine how frustrating this game would be if, just as you began to play it, an invisible sniper shot you dead every time," he continued. "The game would not be popular, because being killed that way isn't fair - just like war. Reality has a way of correcting misconceptions."
I remember a Vietnam simulator game from not long ago getting reviewed on x play (might have still been called Extended Play). I think it was a PC or original xbox title. Anyways, Sessler's review was that the only fun part was boot camp because the entire rest of the game was getting shot in the back by snipers, accidentally setting off mines, and aimlessly wandering around in the jungle. In other words, it was too much like the real thing. Anybody know which game I'm talking about? I can't find the review online anywhere.
I remember a Vietnam simulator game from not long ago getting reviewed on x play (might have still been called Extended Play). I think it was a PC or original xbox title. Anyways, Sessler's review was that the only fun part was boot camp because the entire rest of the game was getting shot in the back by snipers, accidentally setting off mines, and aimlessly wandering around in the jungle. In other words, it was too much like the real thing. Anybody know which game I'm talking about? I can't find the review online anywhere.
This got a chuckle out of me.Woodsey said:
However, the way some gamers talk, you'd think Medal of Honor and Call of Duty were combat simulators.
My thanks to all who have posted supportive comments in response to my brief essay. In seeing some trends I feel it necessary to address a few of these comments. I posted the same on the NPR and Eurogamer website.
I originally titled it "Talibanned" when I submitted it. NPR gave it the more literate title, "Why A Video Game Does Not A Soldier Make". In doing so, some listeners/readers have made the assumption that my focus was simply denouncing a video war game's capacity and intention to train game players to be soldiers. It is, of course, obvious that they cannot, and I did not state that anyone had said that it was their purpose. I reiterate that they can't produce soldiers to bridge the point that they can also not produce Taliban fighters. For readers who were following my message, this particular truth of the game lessens the justification for our military banning it as if it were a threat. For readers who missed the lead story to my opinion piece, I respond to the fact that "Medal of Honor", a video war game based in Afghanistan during our current war there, has been banned from sale on US military bases as well as those of several allied nations. Tim Myers corrected that misunderstanding best in his comment which I repost. Tim Myers wrote: "I don't think Mr. Busch is disputing a claim that video games accurately represent combat, or the life of a soldier. I read his point as being that politicians are misrepresenting what video games do. It is disingenuous - not to mention out of their jurisdiction - for the Pentagon to demand that the makers of Medal of Honor change the names of the enemy from the Taliban to another, fictitious enemy. In my mind, this is tantamount to banning the portrayal of the remains of American servicepersons from being represented to the American public in any form. It is an example of undue government intervention, and a propaganda tool. No rational person believes that playing video games adequately prepares someone for the realities of war. But our government seems to think that they strike close enough to home to censor them. And therein lies the rub."
Tim may as well have written my essay. It might have been clearer. But NPR would have only given him 3 minutes 12 seconds as well, and that is what took away some of my connective tissue. The essay began at 832 words. It is now 545. Exact time is difficult to write for. You gamers understand the issue of time better than most as your game experience is driven by it. I am glad to see so much discussion on this site which friends directed me to. I hope that some of you will express your thoughts on the NPR site with the essay as their audience is likely a little light on serious gamers.
For those of you who understood my point and how much of it I could make in the time I had, my thanks. For those who felt I was unclear, I hope that these additional comments allow you to hear the essay differently. I have my problems with "Medal of Honor", but I find it hard to believe that the military found a way to officially ban it from sale on our bases. I stand by my words. Sorry for the clarification as most of you get it. Thank you all for talking it out. Play carefully. Here is the essay:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130435221
I originally titled it "Talibanned" when I submitted it. NPR gave it the more literate title, "Why A Video Game Does Not A Soldier Make". In doing so, some listeners/readers have made the assumption that my focus was simply denouncing a video war game's capacity and intention to train game players to be soldiers. It is, of course, obvious that they cannot, and I did not state that anyone had said that it was their purpose. I reiterate that they can't produce soldiers to bridge the point that they can also not produce Taliban fighters. For readers who were following my message, this particular truth of the game lessens the justification for our military banning it as if it were a threat. For readers who missed the lead story to my opinion piece, I respond to the fact that "Medal of Honor", a video war game based in Afghanistan during our current war there, has been banned from sale on US military bases as well as those of several allied nations. Tim Myers corrected that misunderstanding best in his comment which I repost. Tim Myers wrote: "I don't think Mr. Busch is disputing a claim that video games accurately represent combat, or the life of a soldier. I read his point as being that politicians are misrepresenting what video games do. It is disingenuous - not to mention out of their jurisdiction - for the Pentagon to demand that the makers of Medal of Honor change the names of the enemy from the Taliban to another, fictitious enemy. In my mind, this is tantamount to banning the portrayal of the remains of American servicepersons from being represented to the American public in any form. It is an example of undue government intervention, and a propaganda tool. No rational person believes that playing video games adequately prepares someone for the realities of war. But our government seems to think that they strike close enough to home to censor them. And therein lies the rub."
Tim may as well have written my essay. It might have been clearer. But NPR would have only given him 3 minutes 12 seconds as well, and that is what took away some of my connective tissue. The essay began at 832 words. It is now 545. Exact time is difficult to write for. You gamers understand the issue of time better than most as your game experience is driven by it. I am glad to see so much discussion on this site which friends directed me to. I hope that some of you will express your thoughts on the NPR site with the essay as their audience is likely a little light on serious gamers.
For those of you who understood my point and how much of it I could make in the time I had, my thanks. For those who felt I was unclear, I hope that these additional comments allow you to hear the essay differently. I have my problems with "Medal of Honor", but I find it hard to believe that the military found a way to officially ban it from sale on our bases. I stand by my words. Sorry for the clarification as most of you get it. Thank you all for talking it out. Play carefully. Here is the essay:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130435221
I would just like to point out that the author of this article made a subtle mistake.
There is no such thing as a *former* marine.
It's actually considered very disrespectful to refer to one that way. The concept is, once a marine, you are a marine for life.
There is from their own website -
Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be undone, and Semper Fi reminds us of that. Once made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps.
There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
---
There is no such thing as a *former* marine.
It's actually considered very disrespectful to refer to one that way. The concept is, once a marine, you are a marine for life.
There is from their own website -
Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be undone, and Semper Fi reminds us of that. Once made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps.
There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
---
