Chalk Talk - War, what is it good for?
Today's Chalk Talk we discuss military shooters. Are games like Call of Duty and Battle field unjust portrayals of tragic events, Or no big deal?
In this weeks Chalk Talk we delved into modern-day military shooters. Game critics have argued that the way they morph soldiers into "unfeeling automatons capable of killing thousands without the slightest twinge of sorrow". Others have argued that these are simply games, not too unlike a game that transforms you into an assassin of old, or a thug lifestyle gangster, which do not dictate our behavior and are simply forms of escapism. Here is what GameSpotters had to say.
danny_dm_moore: It is getting increasingly difficult to tell these games apart and for these titles to carve out their own niche in such a crowded market place, but one game from 2009 dared to try something different, to take a risk and tell the story of one of the most brutal battles of the modern era, it was called Six Days in Fallujah and to say it was controversial is a bit of an understatement. read more.
SuperMassive20: Escapism is a huge part of the gaming concept, whether you actively seek it or whether you just enjoy it. But are we seeking escapism and being delivered something more sinister, are we actually being fed propaganda in modern shooters? read more.
DraugenCP: Violence continues to be a part of our society, a daily reality that we all have to deal with. Whether it is war, shoot-outs or general crime, violence enters our living rooms in one way or another every time we turn on the TV. read more.
Starshine_M2A2: War, for all of its awful characteristics, has proven throughout human expression that it is at the centre of all forms of games. I like to think of it as beginning with chess a battlefield on a small scale with knights, castles and frontline pawns each attempting to strategically capture the opposing side's leaders read more.
Gelugon_baat: Perhaps the game-makers can highlight plenty of interviews with identity-obscured consultants to present themselves as being serious in making their modern combat shooters, and I have no reason to doubt this, nor the beliefs of their consultants. I am not one to pour so much scorn readily. read more.
Peanut Gallery
In addtion to the fantastic blogs on GameSpot we also took a quick Community Poll via Facebook and Twitter to find out what others had to say on the subject.
More Chalk
A very special thanks to everyone who contributed to this week's Chalk Talk! To read all of the entrants, you can check out this link here.
Extra Credit
Sometimes a good blog is simply a good blog, and these GameSpot members deserve recognition for their efforts and contributions:
- Bad Endings or Bad Fans? By: JBStone1981
- Is The Puzzle Genre Secretly Dead? By: -INKling-
- Five Reasons why the Elder Scrolls Online will re-define the MMO genre. By: Scorchstar
Last Week on Chalk Talk: Play like a girl
Next Week's Assignment:
With the Wii U's release date on the horizon, whispers of release dates from others have grown louder and steadily more convincing. But despite these exciting new rumors one can't help but ask, do we really even need a new console? While in the past one could argue that new hardware did fundamentally change our gaming experience it would seem that we've grown accustomed to such leaps.
What say you GameSpot, are we in desperate need of the next generation of consoles? Or do we simply need more inspired artists? Need some inspiration? Consider these points; are graphics still a major focus for the average gamer, just how important is the gameplay? Or could new consoles offer better implementation of the services currently available?
Write up your blog, mark as editorial and post here it in the official submission thread.
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