Hey guys, this might be a bit dated of a topic, but has anyone heard of the game Six Days in Fallujah? Apparently, it was being developed by Atomic Games (I'm not sure if it still is) and it was going to be published by Konami. Apparently it was about the Iraq war, and it was supposed to be a "survival horror game". However, it spurred a lot of controversy, as some people believed that this is profiteering off of a war, and Konami decided against publishing it. Your thoughts?

But all the endless WWII FPS aren't profiteering off of a war? If the game was set in WWII, Korea, or Vietam I bet nobody would care. People are upset because the conflict is still fresh. But of course since the target market is people that were actually there I can see them not wanting to see it again.

Well its perhaps partly that and also the fact it was first pushed as a
'realistic' war simulation, i.e. to show ppl what its like to be in an actual battle today.
Only later did it come out that the players would have 'regenerating health' etc
:)

I have to admit, most of the games that I've played are based off of some conflict or the other. Take Call of Duty 4. The game did have levels in the Middle East, right? I guess the public doesn't want a game that makes a direct reference to Iraq just yet. There's a bunch of games out there on the Gulf War to. Question is, should this game have been published, or not?


(The edit was me adding in the last two sentences.)

Maybe the game sucked, and they cut their losses while using the controversy to make them look responsible, rather than incompetent.

The subject has come up before (link). Here's my comment from before:

Quote:
I think canceling the game sets a negative precedent regarding potential development arcs for video games in general. In as much as video games are poised to takeover from cinema as the primary form of mass produced art, kowtowing to the censors is not a good thing. I have no idea about the artistic merits of the game, I simply see ignorant and fearful people complaining about content they haven't seen (and therefore can only imagine) and getting the game scrapped.

Here's what Gamespot had to say about the game before controversy killed it:
Six Days in Fallujah First Look

Quote:
...
With a focus on urban combat, and all of the complications that fighting in close quarters and among civilians brings with it, the developers at Atomic Games have created a new game engine to power the action in Six Days. The hallmark of the new engine is destruction; everything from individual bricks to entire buildings will be candidates for destruction in the game, a fact that opens up entirely new avenues of strategy when taking to the streets in the hunt for insurgents. In one gameplay video, a Marine squad was stationed outside of a building that was filled with enemy insurgents. Instead of attacking through the front door and risking casualties, the Marines blew a hole in the side of the building, stormed inside, and forced the enemies out into the street, where another pack of Marines were waiting to pick them off.
...
Graphically, the Atomic engine seems to have captured the Iraqi architecture and dusty climate well, and little touches, such as the sound of the weapon reports themselves, sounded authentic to us. On the other hand, the destruction effects seem a bit too Lego-like and blocky for our tastes--here's hoping that the Atomic engine evolves in the coming months with more particle effects and a greater sense of "randomness" in how structure damage is conveyed.
...
Having produced training tools for the Marine corps before beginning development of Six Days in Fallujah, there's little doubt that Atomic games has both the pedigree and experience needed for an accurate re-creation of the events in Fallujah back in late 2004. Here's hoping that the team manages to strike a balance between the need for making a historically factual account with the equally important requirement of making a game that's fun to play.

Here's IGN's take: Six Days in Fallujah First Look: Bringing the Iraq War home.

It definitely is an interesting case, cause if this game were published, then that means that people are allowed to create games about pretty much anything. I mean, Thing is, like jtagge75 said, the conflict is still fresh, and to some extent, still happening, so people would object to such a game being published. Definitely an interesting issue. To whoever posted a reply, thanks for your input. Anymore input is welcome!

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23367
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23391