Videogaming Distastefuls

As the industry matures, so does the subject matter...

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So then along comes America's 10 Most Wanted to cool down the fires of righteous indignation. Only if you used liquid oxygen as your coolant of choice, that is. This title had none of the pedigree or polish that America's Army possessed, being as it was a rather slapdash attempt to make a buck. Known in the US by the even more inflammatory title, Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror, this game put you in the shoes of an international bounty hunter, trusted with the job of tracking down the titular criminals and bringing them to justice, Walker: Texas Ranger style. Among the law-breakers on the FBI list that provides the basis for the game are such luminaries as Saddam and Bin Laden. While America's 10 Most Wanted is by all reports a sorry excuse for a game it has generated a lot of notoriety due to its controversial subject material. Again, the furore has been a lot stronger over here in Europe than it has been in the US. It seems as if there is a genuine and reasonably large market for these kinds of hunting games over there, although the swapping of deer for dictators and terrorists is an interesting development.

Games are very much about creating worlds where players can act out their fantasies, and for a significant section of the gaming public the opportunity to gun down Osama and get revenge for his insane crusade against the West is a very tempting one. And while the game was successfully released here in the UK its true home is back in the U.S.A. As the publishers managed to enlist the help of respected news organisations CNN and CBS to provide video footage and the narration of top anchorman Dan Rather it cannot be dismissed as a blip in the otherwise relatively politics-free world of gaming.

Both of these games have gained their reputations from their associations with the current direction of the United States' foreign policy. Hence they have been the centre of a lot more controversy outside of that country's borders. The subject material is found to be repugnant by many. The hunting and killing of international criminals - while offering an understandable fantasy to a section of the population that otherwise feels powerless to face down the fear that they feel - is creating a bridge between the real world and the gaming world that many feel decidedly uncomfortable with. America's Army suffers from a similar distrust of this erosion between real world and game world fantasies. The sinister undertones that emanate from its use as a recruitment tool to turn people into real killers opens up a new field of contention over the involvement of governments in games.

Yesterday there was a press release for a new game in the works that should unite gamers in disgust regardless of their political leanings or opinions on foreign affairs. Survivor is apparently still in the early stages of development but its subject material is already getting it a fair amount of coverage. The idea is to play as a survivor in a variety of various real disasters that have occurred during recent history. Now the idea of trying to escape from the perils of the Titanic sinking and hurricane Andrew are bad enough, but the game doesn't stop there for fear of offending. No, its levels will also include the atomic destruction of Hiroshima, the devastation of the very recent shopping mall fire in Paraguay which killed over 400 people and the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, which was the cause of tens of thousands of human lives being lost. But in the scenario which is guaranteed to cause the most controversy gamers will also be given the chance to re-enact the events of 9/11 as they try to escape from the stricken World Trade Centre.

This last inclusion will undoubtedly raise the hackles of many Americans in a similar fashion to the ire felt by many Europeans over the two previous titles. And while I personably think that Survivor, if it is ever released, will be regarded as one of the stupidest titles in the history of gaming, maybe it will lead to a change in attitude. One that is similar to the reaction against AA & AMW that saw some gamers begin to question the validity of the siege mentality which had let so many other tasteless games prosper over the years. Now it is the gamers themselves rather than the media which is finding some game ideas beyond the pale things could be changing in the future. For while a game that finds itself under the media spotlight will invariably sell a lot more copies due to the exposure, if the game is being heckled by its supposed customer base the very opposite could well happen.

Maybe it is a sign of the gaming scene reaching a new level of maturity where it begins to police itself. Or maybe, in the case of America's Most Wanted and America's Army, it is just a sign of the frustration that many feel about the Bush administration and its foreign policy, coupled with a minor dose of racism. Or maybe it is just a storm in a tea-cup that never has much of an impact beyond the readers of websites and forums the world over. Either way, there is a feeling that some changes are afoot. Real games, not the cheesy flash titles which amuse mom'n'pop as they cruise the net looking for a political candidate to vote for, are becoming more politically charged. I would like to see this develop into games that touch on or even get their main inspiration from a mature view of the forces that shape both our daily lives and the world around us. I certainly hope it veers away from the sensationalist kind of drivel that is Survivor before the industry hands the mainstream media another stick with which to beat all us gamers over the head with.

By Sam Gibson