"Red Cross: War crimes in video games should be punished"

Vordar

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Copied from the Yahoo! homepage. It's an interesting concept, but there isn't any real place for it in a game yet. If Battlefield was more of an open world shooter, where things you do carried weight and made a difference from one day to another, then possibly. By all means though, TKing should be punished! The first SOCOM game had a hostage game play where the seals had to rescue 3-5 hostages. If the opposing forces killed them, then the Seals won by default, but if the Seals took out the hostages, then the opposing forces won. I would love to see this game play style again, even more so if your rank were to be reduced for such actions.

Yahoo!
"Chris Morris 14 hours ago
Plugged In Politics

While you typically play a hero in military shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, some of your actions aren't exactly heroic. You've likely partaken in more than a few actions that international law would frown upon, to put it mildly.

If so, the Red Cross wants a fitting in-game punishment for your crimes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling on game publishers to penalize players who violate real-world international war conventions. But before you start complaining about "censorship" or "overreaction," the Red Cross wants to make it clear that they're not looking for these moments to ripped out of games.

"We're not asking for censorship, we don't want to take any elements out of the games," said spokesperson Bernard Barrett. "We're not trying to make games boring or preachy, but we?re hoping that the ones that offer a realistic portrayal of a modern battlefield can incorporate some sort of reward or penalties depending on whether they follow the basic rules of armed conflict."

The Red Cross in concerned that some game situations can trivialize violations of the Geneva Convention. And it worries that in doing so, it could open the door for those actions to be considered acceptable on the battlefield.

Among the areas of concern: Torture sequences, shooting civilians and killing prisoners.

Barrett also noted that the agency's concern was focused on games that mimic contemporary armed conflicts, though he stopped short of naming the obvious candidates: Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Medal of Honor. Other genres, like fantasy games, weren't a focus, he added.

While the request might take some of the spontaneity out of modern action games, it could potentially give them bragging rights in the ongoing fight over which games is more true-to-life.

"It?s just making it more realistic, the same way the military has rules on the battlefield, then gamers have the same rules," says Barrett.

Of course, previous studies have yet to determine a causal link between in-game and real-world violence, which could derail the Red Cross's argument. Observers are keeping a close eye on a study by the CDC, however, as the issue continues to simmer on the political radar."
 
Would probably fit ARMA a bit better than arcade shooters. However I keep thinking about that kid his parents let him play CoD as long as he followed the Geneva convention. His parents are clearly idiots and shouldn't let him play if its going to hinge on some concept that this is going to do or prove anything.
 
I think the Red Cross is on the to the right idea here. The overall problem though isn't video games (duh) - it is a lack of teaching context, history and consequences

However I keep thinking about that kid his parents let him play CoD as long as he followed the Geneva convention. His parents are clearly idiots and shouldn't let him play if its going to hinge on some concept that this is going to do or prove anything.

I disagree that the parents are simply idiots, and here is why. As a parent you can either choose one or two things to make a big deal about (inconsistant), be legalistic about everything (often called idiots as well) OR take this approach: Everything is an opportunity to learn. I could do two things: 1. "Here is all the rules in the Geneva convention, here is a list of all the things you will NOT do while playing CoD (or other games). or 2. "I'm fine if you play that game, but here is the challenge. Go research and learn about the Geneva convention. Get the context, learn the rules. Then apply that when you play. You won't get it perfect and it might frustrate you - but that is what I want you to do before spending all this time in the game."

Is that what those parents did? Hell I don't know. But blanket statements about decisions parents make being "stupid" "idiots" or "hate their kids" often lack any analysis of what the parents were actually trying to accomplish. - rant over. =)
 
All that was accomplished was he learned the Geneva Convention which hardly applies well in CoD WaW in multiplayer (single player would have been a better scope). It was a chore with a reward a basic part of parenting and a compromise on a situation a parent was not so sure about. The real situation is this. He would have played it at his friends house like he always did if he was not allowed to play it at home. Any parent would be foolish to believe otherwise and to believe keeping them in the house would be the solution. So a creative solution was in place.

However at the end of the day the kid can still grow up to be a war criminal. If the Geneva Convention applied better to the game then the solution would be awesome but the game isn't a sandbox and doesn't have a wide scope of war either. At the end of the day the lesson could have been anything. Sure they chose war because the game is about war. It would seem to some that this teaches some form of behavior control but as with all things it isn't that simple. There really aren't many right answers but thinking this would lead to further positive development is silly. This just gives him an in on future compromises. Kids learn at an early age they can get something for doing something and use it to their advantage. I would say people control themselves but that would be a lie.

I mean lets get the kid to honor lets say federal laws while playing GTA. Now that would be something or in other words nothing since you wouldn't be able to play the game for shit. GTA 4 gave you some choices in your path, most of them wrong though.
 
is t bagging in the geneva convention?

I believe that would be covered under collecting and honorably interring. Plenty of interpretation to be done but the Red Cross spells it out a bit more detailed in Rule 113 of their IHL. Geneva Conventions seem to offer more protection to those still alive or alive when captured than those dead.
 
I know in Americas Army if you shot your drill instructor the next scene was you in prison.
 
Wow, can't even play a video game anymore. Is it okay if I raise my voice while I ponder about this...
 
BF2:pR you took massive ticket loss(punishment) for killing unarmed Local Nationals.EVEN if they were throwing rocks at you potentially killing you. Though, depending on what game mode you played on, you gained vital intelligence on your main objective for capturing Local Nationals, hostile or passive!
 
First of all, the Geneva Convention like the UN is largely irrelevant to the modern battlefield. It is really only relevant to conventional warfare which we will probably never see again. It's an amusing idea but I don't think there is an upside for anyone. Gamers will be pissed, and the Red Cross is not going to see any improvement on the battlefield. Most enemies today do not even qualify for protecion under the Geneva Convention. It would be funny as a lark.
 
yea, it seems that convention is sort of like "unwritten book of codes to fight by", yet it is established. Humans are humans, that will NOT change. Some are good, some are bad(no matter the faction they swear loyalty to). I agree mac, we will probably never see "conventional" warfare again....guess they need to revise it
 
yea, it seems that convention is sort of like "unwritten book of codes to fight by", yet it is established. Humans are humans, that will NOT change. Some are good, some are bad(no matter the faction they swear loyalty to). I agree mac, we will probably never see "conventional" warfare again....guess they need to revise it


As my friend e3xit (who some of you might have played with) said. They tell you killing someone with an E Tool is unacceptable. But when your down to a damned shovel you have to do what you have to do.
 
Shit they showed us how to best use an E-tool for killing, and to sit on when you have to take a shit in a cathole out in the field.
 
As my friend e3xit (who some of you might have played with) said. They tell you killing someone with an E Tool is unacceptable. But when your down to a damned shovel you have to do what you have to do.

I'm not so sure that's true. There are a lot of misconceptions about what is and isn't legal according to the Geneva Conventions.
The biggest myth going around in the military is that you can't shoot a dismount with a 50 cal

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 4
 
Clearly the next step after making war crimes in video games illegal they should go after the movie industry.
 
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