Are video games pushing reality and real conflicts a bit too much?

[[R-MOD]Wasteland]

Originally Posted by [R-DEV]Evilhomer

I would rather you wouldnt to be honest. but its a free country i guess.

Nah, it's your mod. I'll paraphrase tomorrow to avoid searchers. But right now it's 5 AM and the sun's coming out, with me feeling hella guilty about playing ArmA and Insurgency all night long.

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

not anouther of these topics.... god i hate all this political corectness crap...

[Taffy]

Well, couldn't you say the same thing about the MoH series, the CoD series, BF1942, BF:V, CoH, and practically every FPS and RTS that depicts real-life events? I'd say that Company of Heroes, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty ar3e more 'hurtful', for want of a better phrase, than PR, because they depict actual events (MoH uses Omaha beach, which was nearly a complete slaughter). I doubt many people will be kicking up a fuss about this game, IMO.

EDIT: Yeah, what Rhino said.

[matt.b]

I think it's a bit unfair to apply that reductivist 'PC crap' label to Beerhunter's thoughts. This isn't Hilary Clinton's or the German Christian Democrat's knee-jerk 'ban violent videogames' nonsense, but an ethical question worth some thought.

I'm also uncomfortable with specific situations & conflicts being represented as entertainment, like insurgents setting roadside bombs for british troops in PR's Basrah, or US soldiers battling Iraqis beneath Saddam murals in Insurgency, & would find BF2-style fictional confilicts more palatable.

This is probably a bit rich coming from someone who made the destroyable middle-eastern village with the provisional title of 'Explodistan' but hey Ultimately it's a user-created mod & there seems to be an overwhelming demand for these kinds of settings & themes. Possibly players get a thrill from the naughtiness or unethical nature of it, much like GTA/Vice City?

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

Originally Posted by [R-DEV]matt.b

like insurgents setting roadside bombs for british troops in PR's Basrah

we have ppl surving in the armed forces, and in the britsh armed forces (ie, UK_Force) that support this mod and even helped develope the map al basrah so I dont really think its that much of an issue?

[ArmedDrunk&Angry]

Originally Posted by BeerHunter

They may be wondering why we, as game players, are enjoying ourselves playing war games based on the same conflicts their loved ones are living and dieing.

I started playing online with Flashpoint and I was happy to see the 160SOAR and people honoring the sacrifices made by soldiers in Somalia.

There are people who do not think about what they are doing and perhaps these games do alter their sense of reality concerning the war in Iraq and wars in general but I think they are a tiny fraction of the gaming community in general.
Those would be the same people who had problems w/ D&D in the 80s, people who are mentally unstable and cannot properly function.

I think, in this community at least, the depth of military knowledge even among civilians leads to a greater understanding of the horrors of war even as we play it as a game.

Games that try to be realistic are in fact honoring the discipline and dedication of troops in battle.

WWII games don't really enter into the equation as much because it was so long ago and the veterans are in their 80s at the youngest.

Games like GTA I think are far more damaging because you are not replicating soldiers fighting for a cause, instead you are pretending to be the worst criminals with no goal but making money.

When I see a video on live leak that looks just like some action that happened on the Helmand map I have more understanding and admiration for the soldiers involved, not less.

The extent to which we the players are glorifying war is hard to measure but like it or not armed conflict is part of our world and our traditions and playing a game based on that I do no think increases your tendency to be violent or warlike.
The more realistic the game, the more you understand some of affects of war.

[matt.b]

we have ppl surving in the armed forces, and in the britsh armed forces (ie, UK_Force) that support this mod and even helped develope the map al basrah so I dont really think its that much of an issue?

Yeah sure, PR's developed as a tactical sim which mostly steers it away from being in poor taste, & could possibly even give you an appreciation of the difficulties faced by servicemen.

Games like GTA I think are far more damaging because you are not replicating soldiers fighting for a cause, instead you are pretending to be the worst criminals with no goal but making money.

Yep although Basrah can be played like GTA if you're an insurgent, bombing round the streets in a c4-strapped lada yelling 'allah akbar'

[puglous]

Well, this argument could extend to violent games in general. Even if a violent video-game takes place in a more fictional enviroment, people are still getting enjoyment out of "mimmicking" the sort of behaviour that leads to suffering in real life.

But even with games like GTA, I don't think they are any kind of threat to society. I don't see any more reason to believe people would become criminals from playing that game than there is reason to believe people would reject crime after playing it because they already vented their maniacal urges in a video-game.

Though I'm not sure how relevant this is, I feel I should also add that mimmicking violence when we play with fellow members of our species is probably not a social construct, but rather a natural instinct. When wolves play, for example, it looks almost identical to fighting, just without blood and fur flying around:

http://www.wolfmountain.com/istaswanati031905.MOV,

[ArmedDrunk&Angry]

Well, the allahu ackbar stuff is right off the news video so it is in the theme as well.
If you kill teammates because " it's just a game " you are quickly noted and banned so it does not lend itself to wild out of control behavior for the most part.

I think the community does a fair job policing itself and preventing any racist rants against the insurgents.

We certainly have enough threads talking about both sides of the issue so I would think overall PR has a positive affect.
The complexity of the game I think helps people to work together better and that has to have an effect on your daily life.

But if you are a true pacifist ( not the ones here that play war games but claim to be pacifists ) then I'm sure any game the simulates war is considered bad.

[SiN|ScarFace]

If games that depict realistic things such as war bothers you, don't play it.

Just because you find something in poor taste does not mean anything really other than you don't like it. I also find it ironic that people only have a problem with war games that are based off current conflicts, when WAR is always the same, death and destruction and who is being destroyed is irrelevant. If you can't handle a particular game because it has IEDs then again, don't play it.