 "Photo: Photo courtesy www.joystiq.com")
How soon is too soon?
A recently announced video game entitled "Six Days in Fallujah" announced April 6 details an account of the battle, following the story of three dozen marines in detail.
Konami, the game's publisher, thinks the time is right for a game about the Iraq War, which is as yet ongoing. Some argue that the game is too soon, and that it will dishonor the memory of those lost in the battle.
Dan Rosenthal, a Florida National Guardsman, is one of those people concerned.
"I have worries that Konami…cannot give the game the level of respect that it deserves," Rosenthal said. "I have major doubts that a company like Konami understands it [the war] enough to honor the memories of the soldiers around the world who have fought and died in Iraq."
Rosenthal also questions whether or not a war game founded in realism can even be fun at all.
Who wants to play a game where you sit around doing nothing, punctuated by raiding the wrong house and tearing apart the home of an irate Iraqi family?" Rosenthal said.
While marines directly involved in the conflict were consulted in the making of the game, developer Atomic Games went to the other side for input as well.
Atomic Games recently announced it collaborated with insurgents in the making of the game. Peter Tamte, President of developer Atomic Games, felt the dialogue with insurgents and also the Iraqi civilians living in Fallujah was critical to the realism of the game.
"I think all of us are curious to know why they were there," Tamte said. "they went there knowing that they were going to die, many of them knew that they were going to die, and they went there to die. And I think that that's a perspective that we should all understand."
The goal of the game's storytelling is simple and clear to Tamte, who plans to release the game at an unspecified date next year.
"It is really about the stories of the Marines who were in Fallujah."
Editor's Note: As of publication, both Konami and Atomic Games have cancelled the game.
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