My AAR that became a blog entry

[The Avon Lady]

If we're talking about SH3, I think he meant "war on error". :P

[jumpy]

Originally Posted by The Avon Lady

If we're talking about SH3, I think he meant "war on error". :P

:rotfl: nice

[WargamerScott]

Originally Posted by oRGy

Right.

uh, in response to the original poster, what I'd see as still missing from computer games such as SH3 is any sense of what motivates social history, or questions about ethics. Instead everything is treated as a purely technical simulation, with the aim being to 'thrill' the audience.

After all, in SH3 you're playing the skipper of a U-boot for a regime that prosecuted a war that killed 60 million people, nearly wiped out a whole race of people, and so on. How you could relate the nature of the Nazi regime to the mode of thought demanded as a 'player' is something that interests me. Haven't got any answers yet, though.

That's an excellent point (and the first one to actually deal with my essay's intent---albeit the political bantering was amusing ). I, too, don't know how you could tackle that aspect short of a story-driven game, like the old text-based Infocom games. In fact, if I remember correctly, Infocom's excellent A Mind Forever Voyaging did try to tackle ethics within a matrix-like simulator. It has always been one of my favorite games.

The issue with wargames is that, like real war, the assumption is built in that you are there to fight, not debate the politics of fighting. I think a truly socially-responsible simulator would need to have a much broader focus. I definitely think it could be done and in a way that would keep the game interesting. It 's just that right now game producers are less interested in message, than in eye candy. Of course, that might be a good thing. Just think of all the acrimony that my simple reference to the WAR ON TERROR ( )created! Imagine if game producers started playing with ethics and political-ethics like you suggest! Then we could have real WARgames!

Of course, I think it is inevitable. Somebody, soon, will start to realize the great forum that entertainment gaming provides. Heck, what am I saying? Both the US Army and Navy have already started down that road!

Thanks for your reply!