Non-Americans Can Like Homefront, Too

[Daveman]

I'll say, isn't this more or less the same thing as MW2s plot.

 

[Staskala]

No, I can not.

Even disregarding all that stuff about American patriotism, Americans as the underdogs, the retarded plot, etc.,
I will never play a game by a developer that tries to push its own political agenda.

I'm sorry, but I prefer my entertainment without propaganda.

 

[Blind Sight]

I do! I'm probably gunna get this game anyway. But the premise IS pretty retarded.

The Half-Life series is about a mute, bespectacled genius with a legendary crowbar that's more epic than... Anything ever, and it follows his time travelin' adventures and alien slaying, and yet it's one of the best FPS series around.

Bad/"retarded" plots do not make a bad game.

But the plot for Half Life is still WAY more plausible than Homefront >)

See, you wouldn't be saying that if you studied physics, I've seen science students rant about how implausible and 'retarded' a resonance cascade (i.e. when the thingy goes boom in Half-life) is haha.

Personally I don't really see this plot as any more ridicious then most video game plots. Hell, it's called speculative fiction for a reason. If you want to see some REALLY silly plots, go look up Harry Turtledove's speculative/alternative history fiction:

Yes, that's Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and yes, he's holding an AK-47. Very silly, but very awesome.

I'm sorry, but I prefer my entertainment without propaganda.

If I may ask, what video games do you play and what tv shows or movies do you watch? I guarantee you I can easily dig political and social commentary out of them (especially Bioware, Bioware loves Thomas Hobbes so much it's insane).

 

[chadachada123]

I'm American, and I would defend my homeland against invaders.

Hence, many of the people in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't terrorists, they're just siding with actual terrorists because we straight-up invaded their land. Yes, many of the leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan were horrible, but then again, so are most American government leaders. For every horrible leader/terrorist in the Middle East there are plenty of normal every-man's just trying to make a living and protect their family, something the US is, frankly, failing to do, when our soldiers are allowed to murder innocent Arabs/Muslims without punishment.

Anyways, this game looks cool, but I hope they make it a bit more Guerrilla, because the gameplay videos I've seen look like a fairly standard FPS fare.

 

[chadachada123]

power fantasies about the small man exercising his 2nd amendment right to rise up & fight the evil occupiers is a rather American thing

Considering that's how the US was founded...Yeah, it is a very American thing.

Better than most modern FPSs that just have the US flexing their e-peens by invading small countries and whatnot.

 

[mb16]

Hence, many of the people in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't terrorists, they're just siding with actual terrorists because we straight-up invaded their land.

yes this man!
the Taliban isn't a terrorist group. its a freedom fighting group which has been made one by the news. as they shoot BACK at us

 

[johnman]

So its basically a spiritual sucessor to Freedom Fighters? Not a bad thing by all means, I loved Freedom Fighers and theres not alot else like it.

 

[The Random One]

"Homefront is really less about America per se, and it's more about defending your homeland, your living room, the place you sleep, your family, things that are dear to you. And that's what the sort of Homefront name really applies to, that it could happen in France - in Paris, London, Beijing or whatever. Any country is applicable, it's about defending something that you care about and that's dear to you."

[...]

"In this, you're a civilian who's being oppressed, who has turned freedom fighter and you're doing whatever you can to fight for something that you care about - your home, as opposed to being told by a general, 'go take this country' and not really having any associations or connections." It's this take on the human side of warfare - and the things worth fighting for - that Votypka and Kaos hope will strike a chord with gamers. "I think there's a lot of the resistance side - the guerrilla resistance feel - and the emotional storytelling and human cost of war, that you don't really see portrayed in, really, any other shooter I can think of."

The weird thing is that, if I had to think up a story in which my country got attacked and I had to defend it, I'd think of one in which we're invaded by the US. In fact I have thought of that already. Hey you, have my speculative fiction! Anyone?

 

[Exort]

I do! I'm probably gunna get this game anyway. But the premise IS pretty retarded.

The Half-Life series is about a mute, bespectacled genius with a legendary crowbar that's more epic than... Anything ever, and it follows his time travelin' adventures and alien slaying, and yet it's one of the best FPS series around.

Bad/"retarded" plots do not make a bad game.

Exactly my point^
But the plot for Half Life is still WAY more plausible than Homefront >)
No problem with the game itself, just the writing.

"Just the writing"?

You played the game already?

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

From what I've seen of the game, the story of Japan in this setting would have been a better plot. A once mighty Economic Power, hamstrung by its past, unable to resist a territory once perceived as backwards and doomed to fail, a former Colony of theirs even! The Japanese, like the English, have never been subjugated by the foe without, making their absorption into this new power even more difficult to comprehend.

And it's not like there isn't a big market of Japanophiles in the West.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Who the hell pissed in your cheerios? Nobody's saying that the next foreign horde is over the hill. Watch some interviews about the game, the staff hardly comes off as "nutcase rednecks."

Can't argue with people who don't understand what an analogy is.

Learn to read, dude. He's not saying that people in Chechnya or Afghanistan will sympathize with the poor americans. He's saying that the idea of wanting to defend your family and the place you sleep at night is pretty universal, no matter if you're American, Mexican, Afghan, or whatever.

Let me quote the article for you, 'dude'

"Any country is applicable, it's about defending something that you care about and that's dear to you."

So I took his little claim and applied it to some countries where people have actually been invaded. Of course, it would be remiss of me to assume that they actually want to market the game in those countries. But you see, it's blanket statements like this that create ill will towards the West. The idea that anyone in America, a country that has never been invaded in its history (unless you happen to be a Native American) could know the pain of invasion is just condescending.

These guys are releasing a fictional game about North Korea invading the USA at a time when tensions on the Korean peninsula are at an all-time high. That is the height of diplomatic insensitivity and they know it, but they're doubtless keen to cash in on the political climate - notice how he admits North Korea only became the antagonist later in the game's development? So in order to deflect any incoming flak about releasing such a game, they're making all these pretensions to sensitivity. It's about as transparent as an air curtain.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

power fantasies about the small man exercising his 2nd amendment right to rise up & fight the evil occupiers is a rather American thing

Well, I don't know about 2nd amendment rights, but Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden was pretty fucking similar. Admittedly much smaller in scope, but then Aussies don't have nearly as many firearms per capita as us.

And Tomorrow When The War Began was just as much of a fantasy as this. I remember I refused to believe it when I was 12. I will say this though: at the very least, John Marsden had enough taste to not name the aggressing country even though it was painfully obvious that they were Indonesians.

 

[Staskala]

If I may ask, what video games do you play and what tv shows or movies do you watch? I guarantee you I can easily dig political and social commentary out of them (especially Bioware, Bioware loves Thomas Hobbes so much it's insane).

Now hold it, what are we talking about here?
It's obvious that you can't get not influenced by the media you consume.
After all, every single person in a creative line of work will always write about what he thinks is right, about the ideologies and morals he identifies with and so on.
It's a given that you might pick up some of it, especially if it's well presented.

But that's not the issue here.
We're talking about a developer that's taking an actual political stance here.
I'm mostly referring to all that talk along the lines of "If NK could they would totally act like we show in this game!"

That's not presenting your own morals and ideals. That's not even political commentary.
It's just plain, old propaganda.

 

[viranimus]

哦，不！它可能是時間學習漢語。

Perhaps its not the scenario that is offputting, but the constant stream of clone shooters with very little difference between them that might be why people outside of the US might not be as interested.

You got to admit to look at it from an outside perspective, It really must seem like people in the US almost masturbate to Guns and Ammo magazine.

 

[Dyp100]

Maybe they they should stop advertising the games to Americans, for Americans.

The ads were like "SAVE AMERICA COS YOU'RE AMERICAN!" Yeah, but I'm not, and don't try to lie to me about it being about west ideals in general, because it's not.

In the end, it's going to be an America "FUCK YEAH" game with no real ideology difference between NK and the USA in the game.

 

[Kinguendo]

Yeah, I dont see the Universal appeal... unless they think we are all retarded. America gets screwed and thats it, the rest of the world can do nothing to stop NORTH KOREA from taking over. Doesnt help that Kim Jong-Un is a young idiot (his fathers words, not mine) either, yep world coudlnt stop some snot-nosed kid from turning a country on the brink of collapse into (apparently) the only super power on the planet.

 

[DaHero]

I wonder if they realize they're wasting their time...FPS and storyline doesn't mix. As soon as the game hits multiplayer it'll just be boiled down like every other FPS on the market, heck most FPS games out there have completely forgotten about storyline all together.

I applaud them don't get me wrong, they just probably should have focused on single player a lot...and not had multiplayer at all if they want to tell a story.

 

[John Funk]

Who the hell pissed in your cheerios? Nobody's saying that the next foreign horde is over the hill. Watch some interviews about the game, the staff hardly comes off as "nutcase rednecks."

Can't argue with people who don't understand what an analogy is.

Learn to read, dude. He's not saying that people in Chechnya or Afghanistan will sympathize with the poor americans. He's saying that the idea of wanting to defend your family and the place you sleep at night is pretty universal, no matter if you're American, Mexican, Afghan, or whatever.

Let me quote the article for you, 'dude'

"Any country is applicable, it's about defending something that you care about and that's dear to you."

So I took his little claim and applied it to some countries where people have actually been invaded. Of course, it would be remiss of me to assume that they actually want to market the game in those countries. But you see, it's blanket statements like this that create ill will towards the West. The idea that anyone in America, a country that has never been invaded in its history (unless you happen to be a Native American) could know the pain of invasion is just condescending.

These guys are releasing a fictional game about North Korea invading the USA at a time when tensions on the Korean peninsula are at an all-time high. That is the height of diplomatic insensitivity and they know it, but they're doubtless keen to cash in on the political climate - notice how he admits North Korea only became the antagonist later in the game's development? So in order to deflect any incoming flak about releasing such a game, they're making all these pretensions to sensitivity. It's about as transparent as an air curtain.

In all fairness to Kaos, the game has been in development for three years, and the North Koreans were the antagonists for at least two of them. So NK was chosen before the tension blew up. Kim Jong Il has been making anti-West statements for a LOT longer than this.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

Who the hell pissed in your cheerios? Nobody's saying that the next foreign horde is over the hill. Watch some interviews about the game, the staff hardly comes off as "nutcase rednecks."

Can't argue with people who don't understand what an analogy is.

Learn to read, dude. He's not saying that people in Chechnya or Afghanistan will sympathize with the poor americans. He's saying that the idea of wanting to defend your family and the place you sleep at night is pretty universal, no matter if you're American, Mexican, Afghan, or whatever.

Let me quote the article for you, 'dude'

"Any country is applicable, it's about defending something that you care about and that's dear to you."

So I took his little claim and applied it to some countries where people have actually been invaded. Of course, it would be remiss of me to assume that they actually want to market the game in those countries. But you see, it's blanket statements like this that create ill will towards the West. The idea that anyone in America, a country that has never been invaded in its history (unless you happen to be a Native American) could know the pain of invasion is just condescending.

These guys are releasing a fictional game about North Korea invading the USA at a time when tensions on the Korean peninsula are at an all-time high. That is the height of diplomatic insensitivity and they know it, but they're doubtless keen to cash in on the political climate - notice how he admits North Korea only became the antagonist later in the game's development? So in order to deflect any incoming flak about releasing such a game, they're making all these pretensions to sensitivity. It's about as transparent as an air curtain.

I understood your analogy perfectly, I just think you're wrong as hell.

Why do you have to be in a country that's been invaded to understand the idea of "my family and places I love are in danger, I want to protect them"? You're being wholly unreasonable in expecting a group of Americans to just say "hey, let's make a game about Afghans/some other people who we're not," and you're being idealistic if you don't think that advocacy groups would fuck them over for MISREPRESENTING (group X)

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I'd rather play as the Koreans myself.