Iraqi Veteran and Videogames

[Elphaba]

Army of Dude is a milblog (military blog) by Alex Horton, an Iraqi army veteran. Apparently a new videogame is coming out called. Six Days of Fallujah

According to Alex,

So imagine my excitement over the announcement of a videogame based on actual events in the Battle of Fallujah. Six Days of Fallujah, a third person tactical shooter (more Full Spectrum Warrior than Call of Duty) is set to release next year, with the narrative lifted from the experiences, pictures and diaries from the Marines in the battle.

Battle of Fallujah will be the first major game released while the war in Iraq still rages. But it got me thinking - what other games could have been released so far?

These are what he came up with: Army of Dude

Elphaba

[Dravin]

I wonder if computer games had been around in the 1940s if we'd have seen WW2 games shortly after. We do have WW2 games with the experiences of veterans* in them now, so I'd say the main difference here is time. I could actually see say a North Africa campaign game before the war was completed.

* I'm thinking of Silent Hunter 3 who IIRC hired a former Uboater for technical support and included interviews of him on the game DVD.

[Churchmouse]

I'll never understand why anyone that has been in a war would want to play war games on a screen. This also goes for those that recreate Civil War battles.

[Hemidakota]

I wonder if computer games had been around in the 1940s if we'd have seen WW2 games shortly after. We do have WW2 games with the experiences of veterans* in them now, so I'd say the main difference here is time. I could actually see say a North Africa campaign game before the war was completed.

* I'm thinking of Silent Hunter 3 who IIRC hired a former Uboater for technical support and included interviews of him on the game DVD.

After playing Call of Duty, getting off the landing craft to the beachhead with Omaha Beach, my heart sank and cried for those who lost there lives for the price of freedom. Playing some video games on true stories, does help us to remember the price they paid.

[talisyn]

I'll never understand why anyone that has been in a war would want to play war games on a screen. This also goes for those that recreate Civil War battles.

Omgosh my brother has a hard enough time with his flashbacks >< TY for the head's up Elphaba, I'll warn him away from this one.

[Dravin]

After playing Call of Duty, getting off the landing craft to the beachhead with Omaha Beach, my heart sank and cried for those who lost there lives for the price of freedom. Playing some video games on true stories, does help us to remember the price they paid.

Yeah, I get what you're saying. Sometimes games can have an emotional impact. What got me in the original CoD was the start of the Soviet campaign, don't know if it was factually accurate put it did portray the tough situation the Soviet soldiers found themselves in.

I've also been know to cry in fiction novels:

[spoiler Alert]

For instance in the Tom Clancy novel Without Remorse one large part of the story revolved around a LDS POW in an unofficial camp, the ups and downs he goes through but in the end he gets transfered to an official camp. The thing that really got me was when he started morse coding to the guy in the cell next to him, who upon recognizing the first guy was LDS started tapping out "Come, Come Ye Saints." to him.

[/spoiler Alert]

Don't know if that's actually germane to the discussion, but I suffer from chronic running off of the fingers so...

[Hemidakota]

Yea, I remember the Soviet Union Campaign when they just threw bodies into the fray without being armed and was not allowed retreat. Or the amount of SU troops lost by there own hands of artillary and bombing in taking Berlin.

[Guest HEthePrimate]

*sigh* I'm not coordinated enough to play video games. Except things like miniature golf, and even that I'm not terribly good at. But it can be kinda fun.

HEP

[Churchmouse]

*sigh* I'm not coordinated enough to play video games. Except things like miniature golf, and even that I'm not terribly good at. But it can be kinda fun.

HEP

Noone gets blown away playing minature golf. Unless they're playing near a post office:)

[Hemidakota]

It will be interesting how we are now entering into the 3-D realm when playing these type of games. :)

[Aesa]

What a load of BS.

(Bad Science)

All I got to say.

[NeuroTypical]

I wonder if computer games had been around in the 1940s if we'd have seen WW2 games shortly after.

I would have to say yes. My dad was in the battle of the bulge in WWII, and he was very much into watching every WWII movie he could about it - mainly so he could swear and talk about how unrealistic everything was. He even had a battle of the bulge tactical board game. They've been making WW2 war movies since before the thing ended, and they haven't stopped yet. Computer games are a natural progression of this pheneomenon.

Anyone else remember the recurring WWII themes we'd see in Bugs Bunny cartoons from the '40's and '50's? You can find them on youtube - search "Looney Tunes WW2". Funny to see how cavalierly they'd toss around racial stereotypes back then.

LM

[Dravin]

Yeah, that's pretty much the conclusion I reached LM.

Funny to see how cavalierly they'd toss around racial stereotypes back then.

Propaganda. I wonder what would happen if the US government started utilizing Cartoon Network for propaganda in either this conflict or the next.