This War of Mine Hands On - War is Changing in Video Games

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roseofbattle	1 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 14:00
	This War of Mine Hands On - War is Changing in Video Games 11 Bit Studios' This War of Mine tells a story about war not often seen in video games. Read Full Article

Objectable	2 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 16:21
	I have two responses: "War. War never changes." "War has changed. The age of deterrence has become the age of control. All in the name of averting catastrophe from weapons of mass destruction. And he who controls the battlefield, controls history. War has changed. When the battlefield is under total control, war... becomes routine."

King Whurdler	3 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 19:48
	See, I should be *really* excited for this, but... I'm not. I can't really put my finger on what it is, but while this sounded really interesting at first, now it sounds kind of 'meh.' It could be because I look at it, and I find myself questioning if it will actually be insightful. Honestly, it's starting to look very broad in it's approach, to the point where it even seems... a little disconnected, and a little bit too 'gamey.' As if it's just going to tell me that war sucks, and then that'll be it. Also, it'll boil down what should be complex issues to basic resource management. 'Oh, this guy is depressed, so I have to wait five turns until he's stable again.' See what I mean? And, while a 'disconnected' approach can sometimes work (12 Years a Slave), I don't see it panning out well here. No, when it comes to sad games set during wartime, I'm still going with Valiant Hearts.

Silentpony	4 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 20:43
	Looks like Limbo had a love child with Hotel Rowanda. And I'm not saying there isn't an audience for miserably depressing ultra-realistic games with the incredibly groundbreaking theme of gasp War Is Bad, but I certainly wouldn't want to meet any of them. They'd probably spend 30mins crying about how people die if they don't eat food, or that bullets hurt. This games looks to be that very specific type of original that, in hindsight, is not being particularly original or interesting at all. I remember at the end of the war chapter in Cokner's Bad Fur Day where Conker and the General are on a boat and the General is repeating, voice quavering with emotion, 'The horror. The Horror!' This War of Mine seems to be that one 5 second scene stretched into a full length game without the benefit of wise-cracking squirrels or evil Nazi teddy-bears. So basically, a bazillion times worse!

nathan-dts	5 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 21:02
	"While they're in a rut, they'll refuse to help out." As a depressive, I sometimes physically can't do things like leave my bed even though I might want to. It's not a refusal to do things, it's a physical impossibility. I feel like an asshole for pointing that out, but the phrase used bugged me. Even though the author had no ill intentions, it still perpetuates mental health myths.

shogunblade	6 POSTED: 15 Jun 2014 23:32
	nathan-dts: "While they're in a rut, they'll refuse to help out." As a depressive, I sometimes physically can't do things like leave my bed even though I might want to. It's not a refusal to do things, it's a physical impossibility. I feel like an asshole for pointing that out, but the phrase used bugged me. Even though the author had no ill intentions, it still perpetuates mental health myths. For some reason though, reading it the way the author wrote it makes me want to play this game more, just to try to do everything I can to help. I'd do the same for somebody who is a depressive (and speaking as one myself). But I do agree, it is a myth, one that I'm glad was pointed out.

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