How would you feel about a game with ISIS as the enemy?

[Hades]

ISIS sells women as sex slaves and destroys archaeological sites to fund their mission of murdering religious minorities and establishing an oppressive and bloody dictatorship. They have no redeeming features, they are merely an organised crime syndicate with aspirations of being Adolf Hitler.

If you cannot comprehend that sometimes the world really is that black and white because you are so sure there's a hidden seam of grey there, that's your problem, not ours.

Your notion that a large body of people are defined solely by the worst actions of the collective is hilarious.
Your concept that they consist exclusively of people devoid of any positive charactersitic is objectively unrealistic.
And worrying. Creepy. Dehumanizing.

I do NOT condone ISIS as a group, for the record. Fuck them.

I'm sorry but when they use beheading not just as execution or a deterrent but as a recruitment tool then I think its safe to dismiss the whole lot as bloodthirsty psychopaths. ISIS proudly and gleefully shows its cruelty to the world. Why would mentally healthy or decent people get attracted to such an organisation.

ISIS is terrible and uniquely terrible at that. ISIS is so terrible that every major faction in the middle east agrees on something for once, namely that ISIs is terrible. If they can get America and Iran to even consider working together then that's a big accomplishment.

I second the Nazi argument being made. I view ISIS like I do the Nazi's, terrible things can happen to them in games and I'd feel pretty comfortable about it.

 

[loa]

I'm sorry but when they use beheading not just as execution or a deterrent but as a recruitment tool then I think its safe to dismiss the whole lot as bloodthirsty psychopaths. ISIS proudly and gleefully shows its cruelty to the world. Why would mentally healthy or decent people get attracted to such an organisation.

I have no idea. That's a good question, isn't it?

Even american people get recruited by ISIS, travel there, leave their lives behind for... what? Why?
Why identify with this? Are they that validation-starved, that insecure? Glory hounds?
Think they're fighting for something worthwhile? That can't be it, can it? I don't know.

What I do know, though, is that those people don't look "evil". They look like people.
And that's what's really really scary about them.

 

[Grumman]

I do NOT condone ISIS as a group, for the record.

Then quit making excuses for them. ISIS is an organisation specifically focused on creating a violently oppressive dictatorship, that uses evil means to achieve that evil cause. The organisation has no redeeming features, and no decent human being would willingly support them.

 

[loa]

Then quit making excuses for them. ISIS is an organisation specifically focused on creating a violently oppressive dictatorship, that uses evil means to achieve that evil cause. The organisation has no redeeming features, and no decent human being would willingly support them.

You see, that completely irrational (if you're honest with yourself) aversion towards believing that someone in that organization may like kittens or be a loving father, can tell funny jokes, be good at art or anything even vaguely positive is exactly why this would be interesting.
Nauseating in the context of that groups actions, sure, but interesting.

Also that's pretty much how extreme it has to be to make a military shooter even vaguely interesting to me.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I wouldn't feel comfortable with it, it's a bit too topical at the moment. No doubt it'd be turned into propaganda by those fucks. When ISIS has been curb stomped and wiped from the earth it might be more acceptable. Which might be never.

 

[MonsterCrit]

A Video Game with ISIS as the enemy?

Why not? I've shot at just about every other race, nationality, species, social group on the planet. Heck by OCD now demands that I be allowed to just for the Completionist value.

THis is my view on the subject as a gamer; no politics, no butt-hurt, no propaganda. I'm an equal opportunity Spawn-Camp-Sniper.

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

None what so ever.

For one the war isn't over and for two, they are not exactly being beaten either. I just don't think it would be a right time to make a video game out of real-time on-going holocaust of Christian populations, the brutal execution of all walks of life from gays being thrown off buildings, captured minority groups lit on fire in steel cages, the culling of the Ydis -- rapes, murder, butchery.

No thanks my friends.

What would happen is ISIS would only set up more propaganda from such things and turn it around completely. I'd say wait for such things to find their end course in history before you start making games out of them because its not really a fun and games matter at the moment.

 

[Grumman]

You see, that completely irrational (if you're honest with yourself) aversion towards believing that someone in that organization may like kittens or be a loving father, can tell funny jokes, be good at art or anything even vaguely positive is exactly why this would be interesting.
Nauseating in the context of that groups actions, sure, but interesting.

What are you trying to say? "Sure, he burned a Shia family alive, but he loves kittens!" An evil person does not do everything evilly, but that does not make them less horrible people.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

I find it worrying that a few people in this thread carry the sentiment that a game about IS should be about how 'misunderstood' they are or how 'they're not all terrible!'. The fact that we have someone who's worried that ISIS can be demonized any further is a testemant to how messed up the entire situation is. ISIS aren't a misunderstood group of freedom fighters fighting against being wronged, they're a well-organized and powerful group that has caused suffering and pain on anyone who they see as 'lower'. America has been a relatively large factor in their rise to power, sure, but that doesn't excuse saying something along the lines of 'Where's the games that show Nazis for who they actually were and challenge the popular view'?

And to answer the question directly, I'd feel fine about playing it but a game being made about them would only increase their strength, especially in recruits from Western countries. Wartime media for ANY war is going to end up propoganda one way or another, you'll never get your Saving Private Ryan's, Grave of the Fireflies and Enemy at the Gate's if you create something whilst the fighting is still going on.

 

[loa]

What are you trying to say? "Sure, he burned a Shia family alive, but he loves kittens!" An evil person does not do everything evilly, but that does not make them less horrible people.

Okay look, you got a problem with me wanting to play as a version of ISIS which is distinctly not one-dimensionally defined solely as "evil" (whatever the fuck that disney term means. Kinda fucked up that you apply that to reality, really. But whatever) in a fictional game with a fictional story containing real world references, fine.
I don't care. Bye.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Ironically I think ISIS would consider something like that a win for their "brand".

This is what I was thinking. On the one hand if it was handled well and not just done for shock value it could be good. On the other ISIS love publicity. So it might be best not to for the time being.

This is especially true as most of their propoganda is entirely about the atrocities they commit, so showing them in a video-game and letting people experience them in glorious HD might not be the best idea.

 

[loa]

I find it worrying that a few people in this thread carry the sentiment that a game about IS should be about how 'misunderstood' they are or how 'they're not all terrible!'. The fact that we have someone who's worried that ISIS can be demonized any further is a testemant to how messed up the entire situation is. ISIS aren't a misunderstood group of freedom fighters fighting against being wronged, they're a well-organized and powerful group that has caused suffering and pain on anyone who they see as 'lower'. America has been a relatively large factor in their rise to power, sure, but that doesn't excuse saying something along the lines of 'Where's the games that show Nazis for who they actually were and challenge the popular view'?

Okay... putting a bunch of words into my mouth but okay... I can do this.
All I wanted was something other than america vs brown people.
The caveat that ISIS in that game that never will be should not be displayed as moustache twirling comic book villains was to make it more uncomfortable. Give it that downplayed-ness of real life as a juxtaposition to how fucked up it is.
So it is not a fun game from a story perspective. And fyi, neither should "america vs brown people" be.

Now you spin this into me being on some sort of campaign for the "misunderstood ISIS".
I am angry now. Trying to stay reasonable here.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Snip

I wasn't aiming my post at you specifically so there's no need to get angry. I think you can see why people are seeing your posts as defensive of ISIS in a way. You seem like you want the members of ISIS to be shown in the same light as villains-you-hate-to-like such as Walter White, Hannibal (from the TV show), Dexter, etc, but that would just be incredibly distasteful when applied to real life atrocities and real life people.

 

[Deathmageddon]

Any group that beheads, burns alive, crucifies, and harvests the organs of innocent people while they're still alive - for no reason other than being kafir - deserves similar if not worse treatment in games and IRL than Nazis get.

(Warning: graphic) http://madworldnews.com/muslim-slaughterhouse-christians/

 

[loa]

I wasn't aiming my post at you specifically so there's no need to get angry. I think you can see why people are seeing your posts as defensive of ISIS in a way. You seem like you want the members of ISIS to be shown in the same light as villains-you-hate-to-like such as Walter White, Hannibal (from the TV show), Dexter, etc, but that would just be incredibly distasteful when applied to real life atrocities and real life people.

No, hannibal is a supervillain who has cannibal powers. Not that.
I want khalid who upgrades your weapons or whatever at camp, you talk to him, you crack some jokes, then you chop heads off and burn people alive and do whatever mission you got.
And I never said it would be tasteful. I don't find topical military shooters in general tasteful.
They have eerie propaganda vibes and putting a concrete, non-fictional terror organization as the enemy would only worsen it.
Put it as the faction you play as, we get this.

And sure, you were totally not aiming at me directly, just at all those countless other "ISIS supporters" here.
Which is a grand list of absolutely nobody. Please.

I concede though, this was a bad idea. And probably not a good theoretical game either!
So I retract my statement, ISIS is too loaded to be put into games right now, including as the villains.

 

[laggyteabag]

Wouldn't bother me. We've been killing terrorists in videogames for years, but they tend to go under generic names like Call of Duty's OpFor. If they were called ISIS or Al Qaeda, it wouldn't bother me one bit, but I would certainly understand if people were to take issue with it.

 

[vledleR]

ISIS are huge (and damn effective) propagandists. A game like that would definitely be used against us. If you've seen their video of the Jordanian pilot slaughter, picture something like that with an American prisoner and use footage from that game. Mainstream media would have a field day.

 

[ZeroFarks]

It's already been done, and Crusader Kings 2 is an awesome game.

 

[Napoleon_XIX]

There does actually exist a game wherein one can end up as a pseudo-ISIS. One starts off as a generic opposition group in Syria and has to choose between trying to hold out until western diplomats sort things out or throwing jihadis at Assad and hoping that you can win the war of atrocity attrition. I thought it rather interesting approach to the conflict, but can no longer remember the name (it was browser-based).

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

So you're saying to not just make the enemy brown people- But brown people with a modernist twist.

Can we just have an original game idea instead? Is that an option?
Like, I feel like when a game tries to tackle a social issue overtly it usually ends up being bad- just like with any medium. "GAHHH YOU GOTTA KILL THE BAD GAIS" (Which, yes, ISIS has pretty much confirmed itself to be a "Bad guy" to an almost cartoonish level) is pretty stale. It's stale in everything. I mean, I could play COD4 and get the same experience I would get from playing this proposed idea.