Culturebox: Shooting Gallery

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gaming Shooting Gallery Why aren't there any civilians in military video games? By Michael Thomsen Posted Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, at 6:53 AM ET When I was a boy, I remember playing Mega Man and realizing something was wrong. While I had a long and luxurious health meter, my enemies could usually be killed with one or two shots. They were restrained by hopeless AI, slow movement, and limited shooting patterns. They'd been designed to be killed, not to fight fairly. Today's shooters retain this design principle. Their purpose is not to recreate violent dilemmas, but to give players every possible accommodation in killing what surrounds them. The upcoming Battlefield 3, a shooting game whose dysphoric realism borrows from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, falls into this tradition. Its visuals are remarkable, among the most convincingly detailed war environments ever created in a video game. Yet there is one thing that's curiously absent: civilians. To continue reading, click here. Michael Thomsen has written about video games, books, feline diabetes, transsexual weddings, Madagascar, Four Loko, and wearing toenail polish. He lives in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Gabby Giffords To Give First TV Interview Since Shooting Assessing the NFL's 9/11 Pageantry A Defense of Rap Rock. Yes, a Defense of Rap Rock.	Advertisement
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