It seems that developers in this day and age must rely on such pitiable tactics as shock value and controversy in order to move units. We have seen evidence of this marketing tool most recently with games such as Resident Evil 5 and its faux racism controversy, and then the Pocket God iPhone application that caused quite a stir. The most recent offender to pop up stems from Scottish developer, T-Enterprise.
In their upcoming Rendition: Guantanamo, the storyline is set in a near-future version of Guantanamo where mercenaries have seized control. What's more, scientists are experimenting on the prisoners held inside. Is this a blatant attempt at creating a buzz for the game so that more consumers will pick it up or is it simple exploitation of the events going on at the infamous prison? Torture is currently a hot topic here in America, especially with President Obama's intention of shutting down Guantanamo in the coming year.
In order to keep Rendition: Guantanamo from "crossing any lines," the team has been sure to follow guidelines that straddle the line between superfluous and necessary, according to Director of T-Enterprise, Zarrar Chishti:
"There are certain rules we can't break after meeting politicians so we are not making the game too extreme. We have had a lot of hate mail about this, mainly from America...But no US or British soldiers get killed in [the game]. The only ones being killed are mercenaries. We have set it in January 2010 because that's when we think the camp will be closed. We are making a statement. We did not want Guantanamo to be forgotten."
Failing this plan, T-Enterprise has brought former detainee and British Muslim Moazzam Begg onboard as a consultant in order to make the game more authentic and true to its location and environment that will be depicted. As Begg claims that he was a victim of torture, he has brought on to "verify" and bring authenticity and realism to the game.
Those seem like absolutely rigid rules to me! Of course, I'm joking, but in all seriousness, this title reeks of shovelware that would receive little or no attention if it weren't for the name-dropping and exploitation of the occurences in the age that we live in. Early screenshots of the game suggest Nintendo 64-level graphics at best, and the developmental team have produced little or nothing of true value to the gaming populace - if we were denied Six Days in Fallujah then perhaps this exploitive game will be pooh-poohed as well.
Thanks to Deadline Scotland.
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