Konami/marines making Iraq War game
Just Fallouja think you are?
Konami has decided to turn the Iraq conflict of 2004 into a videogame, inspired and directed by real US Marines.
They will retell, in gritty fashion, the November battle of the town of Fallouja (sometimes written Fallujah), which left 38 US troops and 1200 insurgents dead.
"The soldiers wanted to tell their stories through a game because that's what they grew up playing," Konami's John Choon told the LA Times.
Mike Ergo, a former-Marine that served in Fallouja, added: "Videogames can communicate the intensity and the gravity of war to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be watching the History Channel or reading about this in the classroom.
"In an age when everyone's always online or playing games, people's imaginations aren't what they were, sadly. For this group, books may not convey the same level of intensity and chaos of war that a game can."
Six Days in Fallouja will be a third-person, tactical, squad-based affair and launch sometime next year. There's no intel on platforms, but PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 look likely - judging by the LA Times likening the visuals and gameplay to Call of Duty and Medal of Honour.
The aim of the game will be to boss a team of four around Fallouja and wipe out the insurgents within.
"For us, the challenge was how do you present the horrors of war in a game that is also entertaining, but also gives people insight into a historical situation in a way that only a videogame can provide?" explained Peter Tamte president of developer Atomic Games.
"Our goal is to give people that insight, of what it's like to be a Marine during that event, what it's like to be a civilian in the city and what it's like to be an insurgent.
Juan Benito, creative spark at Atomic Games, added: "You can have entertainment that's not just about violence, or just about Care Bears and rainbows. It's about having a challenge, then formulating a plan to overcome that challenge. Overcoming that difficulty is a big part of the fun."
Whether Konami will look to release the game outside of the US in unknown. But both publisher and developer are keen to present gamers with the tough choices and experiences facing a soldier during combat.
"Our opportunity for giving people insight goes up dramatically when we can present the dilemmas and the choices that faced these soldiers. It's a chance to really give them a better understanding and empathy," added Peter Tamte.
"What interested us were the soldiers' stories. Some of these soldiers came right out of high school. They went from boys to men in the span of two weeks," concluded Konami marketeer Anthoy Crouts.