HellbirdIV said:
All I want to know is, what about you? Where do you draw the line when you play?
If you're American, imagine yourself playing the role of the Russian Paratroopers in Modern Warfare 2 - Wrecking American suburbia, killing American soldiers, because that's simply what you're supposed to do. Really, the same can be applied to any nationality - why do you think Modern Warfare 3 didn't actually have the player invade Russia, but instead made you fight off Russian aggressors in continental Europe?
There's enough distance between us and World War II that people often question the absence of a German campaign in WWII games, but what if we modernize it? A game where the campaign has you fighting as Mujahideen, ambushing convoys of Coalition troops, or smuggling rockets into Palestine so they can be fired at the Israeli invaders? There's no secret agenda or "greater good" at play - you're playing a fictional representation of the very real enemies Westerners can and do face in reality, with the good and the ill that comes with that.
I would disagree with you on the WW II thing. Your profile say's your Swedish so you probably have VERY different attitude's to other nationality's. Not to get political or anything but you guy's sold Iron to the Germans an refused the Finish army safe passage to Norway when they were invaded, leading to allot of them being slaughtered, so not exactly the sacrifices some country's made, not having a dig, I have Swedish family, just stating how it went down lol.
For me I'm British and English an the area where I'm from very very few people's family's had little to do with the war effort, an again very few people had relatives who didn't fight or even die in the war. Plus I've allways been taught even if I don't agree necessarily with the war's they fight to respect an honor the people who fight in our name. All of my great grandfather's were in some fighting capacity or other during the war, so it bring's two important loyalty's together for me. So do I wan't no play as german's fight English World War II troops (an not even like corrupt or traitor troops or somthing like that), not even slightly, it may be only a game but I'm basically simulating possibly killing my great grandfathers (who I was very very lucky to know into my own adulthood) I can't remember the game it was but there was a very small section where you did have to fight British troops, an I find it uncomfortable an just had to grit my teeth an get through the small section. so I would say I would actively avoid purchasing a game that had a campaign against british troops.
The modern day line up is even more simple for me. I live very near a RAF base, where I live before was very near a military police base. I've got friends with close relatives in the force's, as well as friends that are in the forces who go to places like Afghanistan, do I want to play a game that has me simulate killing these people, not at all, would not even consider it. I think if I actually had a game an unexpectedly I was placed in the body of a Insurgent fighter etc etc tasked with attacking a British RAF base or something I would actually stop playing and return the game. Might as well be playing a game that has me breaking into my actual grandmothers house for an armed robbery.
Fictional Worlds with no intentional correlation to the real world, it's just a game it's all kl for me, ie I could accept playing what I considered an "evil" faction in a fictional world, attacking what I considered the "good" faction, as it's totally removed from me, my personal feeling's and my own bias. I think fictional worlds are the best way to convey a truly neutral story that everyone can take something away from.
Ultimately most decent games have a story, an I would think most healthy people just have a limit of what is just too close to home for them. Whether like for me it's essentially playing a game where it's very easy to see a connection to killing my neighbors, family an friends. Or for those who don't have those sort of connections perhaps it's playing a murder sim in a map designed around their house that's too close (at least I would hope).