War Sensitivity

               I found the story of the origination of Anne-Marie Schleiner’s Velvet-Strike interesting.  The creator’s comprehension of realism in war-based video games started with the national tragedy of 9/11.  After such an overwhelming event, she began to analyze the shooter games Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Quake, and Spacewar.  However, no game seemed to depict the realistic nature of war-based combat like Counter-Strike, the 2000 Half-life mod.  In this video game, participants chose to play as either a band of terrorists or on the side of counter-terrorist commandos.  The Velvet-Strike creator argues that Counter-Strike weakens peoples’ awareness of which “side” people should fight for.  Basically, it decreases peoples’ sensitivity about the issue.  “If you are going to converge network shooter games and contemporary middle eastern politics into a game, (Counter-Strike), then you leave out a number of complexities such as economics, religions, families, food, children, women, refugee camps, flesh bodies and blood, smell, etc.”  This argument is virtually analogous with the discussion we had in class yesterday regarding the Taliban fighter ban.  While I agree that it has potential to desensitize individuals about the brutality of war, I feel as if it does not affect me.  I understand the difference between a game and reality.  However, I cannot speak for the every Counter-Strike player.  In addition, like the creator of Velvet-Strike, I enjoy playing war-based game for the intense strategic involvement and necessity of communication for success.  I understand that some people can get offended by the depiction of war, but I personally think that it is simply a matter of enhancing game play value when you tweak the options to play as “the bad guy”.  Nothing more… I think people are too sensitive about every move or idea introduced nowadays, and politics cause everything to be more fragile than it ever should be.

                I suppose I was just curious what people truly thought about this issue.  During class, we had to argue a particular side and it possibly did not represent what you honestly felt.  So, what do you think?  Are people too sensitive about these issues and should simply accept the game as a game?