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Bangladeshi Liberation War Gets FPS Treatment
Thanks to The Daily Star for its story discussing the creation of Bangladesh's first domestically-created 3D videogame, based on their 1971 War of Independence, in which "you are a freedom fighter and your mission is to liberate your motherland by fighting the Pakistani occupation." The locally important game setting is explained: "The game works with the unique objective of the gamer as a student, farmer or an adolescent freedom fighter who either has to capture a flag from a Pakistani camp or dominate a Pakistani-occupied area in an environment digitally created in close resemblance with three historically-true battlefield -- Akhaura, Chittagong and Rajshahi." The title is hailed as "the first 'First person shooting game' made in Bangladesh", and the game CD also has educational elements, since it "will also feature historical background to the battlefields in 1971, essays, photographs and a chronological account of the War of Liberation."
It does naturally lead one to hope that any future conflicts between Bangladesh and Pakistan (or more probably Pakistan and India) could be fought out using this game rather than guns, tanks and missiles.
as a gamer, i never have considered a game whether its "moral" or "immoral" or have historical importance to play.
when i play Battlefield: Vietnam, I have never not joined the Vietkong or the NVA thinking that I don't want to kill Americans. I'll just indiscrimitely shoot anyone not on my team.
perhaps the Bandlgadeshi Liberation developers might develope the game like America's Army, where you always play as the "US Army" and the opponent are always the "OpFor".
-- ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space!
did Germany condemn any Wolfenstein game(s)?
Uh...Germany didn't bother condemning them. They just outright banned them
It should be noted, though, that Germany has rather strict laws regarding what can and can't be shown in games. Additionally, most Nazi imagery is illegal in Germany, regardless of context or medium.
-PainKilleR-[CE]
At least this serves fairly well as an example of why video games should be considered speech. Bias aside, this is, on some level, a historical account. If one considers The Killer Angels to be speech, I see no reason why this (or a U.S. equivalent) shouldn't get similar protections.
> Additionally, most Nazi imagery is illegal in Germany, regardless of context or medium.
Nazi imagery is not illegal regardless of the context or the medium. It is illegal without appropriate historical context/annotation.
The German government deemed that a game for leisure doesn't provide the appropriate historical context, no matter how many soldiers and Nazis you may kill in it. There are ample German documentations and educational material all containing Nazi imagery. It is the single most important part in German history curricula. However, you'll probably have a hard time finding "Der Ewige Jude" uncut
"Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"