Meanwhile, his other company Destineer — those jerks who inflicted John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland on me — is putting out a shooter for the Wii called Marines: Modern Urban Combat for the Wii this November. Tamte says it's a "family-friendly" first-person shooters where players take the role of a four-person Marine rifle team out to stop a civil war in Beirut instigated by Syrian and Iranian government factions.

Yeah, "family-friendly," he said.

Unlike Six Days, Modern Urban Combat's story is totally fictional, though the gameplay design is grounded in real Marine training programs.

As for the fate of Six Days, Marine Corps Times reports:

Tamte said the company remains committed to creating that game and continues to seek new partners.

Wii combat game features Marines [Marine Corps Times via Gamasutra]

P.S. Yes, Modern Urban Combat lets players use the Wii Zapper as an option.

With no publisher support for the game, Atomic were always going to be facing an uphill battle to secure funding for their operations. A battle that doesn't seem to be going too well, as we heard late last week that there had been some layoffs at the studio (though Atomic refused to clarify just how many).

Now Industrygamers say that, according to a source of theirs, the studio is basically done for. Out of an original 75 developers, "less than a dozen are left", and those remaining are basically there to finish things off. "They are trying to downplay the extent of these layoffs", the source says, "but the reality is that Atomic is pretty much dead."

We have contacted the studio and will update if the developer comments.

So much for people trying to make a game about a thing that actually happened, huh?

Rumor: Atomic Games at Death's Door? [Industrygamers]

It's been a bumpy ride for Atomic. In May they had a high-profile title in development and a publishing agreement with Konami. Unfortunately the backlash caused by the sensitive subject matter of Six Days in Fallujah, a title that would replicate a real-world battle only a few years in the past, caused Konami to pull its support. Development on the project continues, but without major funding, cuts had to be made.

Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of Six Days in Fallujah, as well as low videogame sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for Six Days in Fallujah. This has caused us to reduce the size of our studio today.

In the words of Marine officer Chesty Puller, "We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem." Development at Atomic will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer.

Atomic Games employed 75 people up until this week. Their official announcement does not mention specifically how many were let go, but we suspect the number to be rather substantial.

We're contacting the company to see if any further information is available.

Update: We contacted Atomic Games directly, but the company was not prepared to share details on the extent of the layoffs, the number of employees affected, or how the layoffs will factor in to the ultimate fate of Six Days in Fallujah. We were told that more information will be released at a later date.

The movie, 6 Days in Call of Duty 4, was created by machinima artists J. Joshua Diltz and Joseph Delappe using both a static and roaming ground cameras for the capture. It's essentially nine minutes of a multiplayer match with nothing but the visuals, the sound of the game and music that I don't immediately recognize. They've created the project in "homage to the lives, both military and civilian, lost during the Second War of Fallujah."

I actually got in touch with Diltz because I remember asking a question about Six Days in Fallujah at the conference during the Q&A. Damned if I can remember what I asked, but apparently, it left an impression.

Diltz emails:

The idea for 6 Day originated from the conference. Your question I think actually sparked the concept that Joseph DeLappe conceived. Joseph was curious what six days in a military themed shooter would look like through a static camera. He wanted to see what effects combat would have in a virtual space, particularly how many deaths would occur and how many bodies would be left on the screen after 6 days of game sessions.

I developed the point of view camera concept and also the console panel. I thought it was interesting to see what the conflict looked like from the ground perspective and how it correlated with real life events. The scrolling command console keeps the piece grounded in the virtual world. I found it quite intriguing that all the action on screen was visible in the scrolling data. It certainly separated the visuals which mirror real conflict from the data that was creating the illusion behind the scenes.

Joseph will be showing a more somber version of movie in a gallery installation at the Beijing Biennale. That piece will include only the static camera which is visible in the larger pane of movie.

You can download the video for yourself here.

Thanks for the link, Professor Lowood!

The usual suspects line up in favor of the game, with Atomic Games' boss Peter Tamte and retired Marine Captain Read Omohundro explaining that the game is meant to inform in an interactive format, presenting a unique view on war in such a way that will help communicate that war is not a game.

Karen Meredith is a member of Gold Star Families Speak Out, a group made up of families of soldiers who died in Iraq. According to the NPR report, this group "succeeded in getting the Japanese game publisher Konami to pull its support from the game." Meredith appears to be the sole speaker against the game in the NPR report.

Meredith's son Lieutenant Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq, and her argument is that a game is no way to take on such a serious subject.

"Because it's a game; because there can be different enemies; because Ken did not get that opportunity to reset and start over in the battle where he was killed..."

Meredith finds herself more comfortable with movies and books based on the war, as opposed to video games, especially one that Konami initially marketed as an entertaining look at the horrors of war.

Developer Susana Ruiz, creator of the browser-based Darfur is Dying, touches on one of the key reasons why those outside of the game industry view a title like Six Days in Fallujah with such disdain.

"Game makers haven't quite demonstrated this willingness and accountability to serve as sort of arbitrators or commentators or interpreters of the human condition or of the cultural psyche around these very important moments in history"

It's something I touched on in my feature on the subject, earlier this year, and it's an issue that won't be overcome until the game industry actually produces a game that does just that.

Gamers Can Experience Battle Of Fallujah [NPR - Thanks Zonrith]

The Fox talk show gathered together Atomic Games president Peter Tamte, game advisor Capt. Read Omohundro (retired), and Tracy Miller, a woman whose son was killed during the battle Six Days in Fallujah is based on. All three are very well-composed, reacting to questions with measured, logical answers. Tamte is on point, explaining that the game was meant as a way to educate as much as a way to entertain, and Captain Read neatly deflects co-host Gretchen Carlson's attempt at a confrontational question, "Are you actually gonna say that this is a way to honor the men who died that day?"

Perhaps the most impressive performance, however, comes from Tracy Miller, who maintains a smile throughout the whole proceeding, despite Carlson's seeming attempts to illicit sadness. "Tracy...my condolences to you...you lost your son in this battle. I could never put myself in your position." Miller rolls right through it. In fact, despite being on the show as someone opposed to the game, she suggests that if this is a realistic game, she and other parents who lost their children might want the memory of their children remembered.

So yes, not much of a debate really. More like a reasoned discussion between three people, which while nice to see, makes for uninteresting morning television. Poor Gretchen.

But that doesn't mean the project is dead.

Developers Atomic Games still see promise in the project, and are still shopping the game around to prospective publishers, boss Peter Tamte telling Newsweek ""We have a lot of people who are interested in the project...But I'll feel better when we sign something and the checks start coming."

The Newsweek piece is also worth reading to get the full rundown on Atomic's treatment of the more sensitive aspects of the game, including lessons learned and the finer details of the developer's collaboration with members of the US armed forces.

The Battle Over the Battle of Fallujah [Newsweek]

Six Days In Fallujah, which was announced and then abandoned by its publisher last month, was a game both hyped by its developer for its potential to be a game-documentary and scrutinized by game critics who questioned some of its Gears of War influences. To the public it became a flashpoint, a warning of video games perhaps going too far.

Is a game like Six Days in Fallujah even necessary? Coming out in favor, obviously, is Fallujah developer Atomic Games' President Peter Tamte. "Our point is that videogames are interactive, and they're the medium of choice for an entire generation," he told Kotaku this week. "Therefore, we should use this medium to deal with relevant issues while they're still relevant."

What obstacles are keeping the industry from tackling the sensitive subject of real-world warfare? And what divides the experts?

The Question of Fun

"It's not a great start that the Creative Director at Atomic Games is on the one hand talking about trying to "present the horrors of war" and on the other hand make 'entertainment'". - Dan Rosenthal, Iraqi War Veteran

When approaching a game that realistically depicts a modern combat situation, one criticism that often arises is the subject of fun. Can a realistic military shooter be fun? According to Ian Bogost, that's the wrong question to ask. "We use the word fun as a placeholder, when we don't even really know what we mean when we look for some sort of enjoyment in a serious experience," he said. Fun and entertainment aren't mutually exclusive, especially when it comes to entertainment based on real-world military conflicts.

As Bogost explains, fun isn't the key word in this situation. "It may not be possible to make a realistic war game that is fun - war is not fun - but it is possible to create an experience that is informative, appealing, and startling in a positive way."

Bogost cites the example of Blackhawk Down, the film adaptation of Mark Bowden's novel about military forces attempting to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid during the Battle of Mogadishu. It isn't the sort of movie you walk away from feeling good or happy, but it was a positively engaging experience for many film-goers. It wasn't fun, but it was fulfilling and by extension, entertaining.

Handling Sensitive Material

Retired U.S. Army Colonel John Antal is an author and a game developer, but he also spent 30 years of his life serving in the U.S. Army. From his unique perspective as a game industry insider who has led Soldiers from the level of a platoon to a regiment, Antal has his doubts that the industry could handle such a sensitive subject with the reverence it requires.

"There is a vital and very important role for video games and interactive entertainment in recording historic events," Antal admits, "But when you are talking about headlines - real situations involving real people - you really have to treat the subject with great reverence or it will fail. There are few interactive entertainment companies that even come close to being able to handle that properly."

The current war is perhaps more sensitive and politicized that any previous conflict. Every day, critical information of tactical importance is being transmitted. Horrifying images of soldiers wounded and killed in action began to circulate within days of the conflict starting. Antal compares this to World War II, where the first images of a dead U.S. soldier didn't appear until very late in the war. Just because we have easier access to information than ever before doesn't necessarily mean we should use it.

As for Atomic Games admittedly working with Iraqi insurgents on the development of Six Days in Fallujah? The former Army colonel was quite clear on his opinion of that matter.

"If you're working with the enemy, that's called treason. The jihadist killing our people today would love to get a larger audience to perpetrate their hate. If you think that reporters and filmmakers and interactive entertainment developers are not part of this world and their actions have no consequences, then you're wrong. There will be no virtual world in a real world run by the Taliban."

The Problem of Public Perception

If the distinction between fun and entertainment confuses the games industry, one can only imagine what it does to the general public, a large portion of which still see video games as light entertainment. Take the reaction of former Colonel Tim Collins, a decorated Iraqi war veteran who spoke up during the early days following the announcement of Six Days in Fallujah:

"It's much too soon to start making video games about a war that's still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history. It's particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game."

In a time where movies, documentaries, and books pertaining to the war have already been release, often to critical acclaim, the news of a video game covering those same subjects is referred to as "flippant" and "insensitive".

According to Bogost, reactions like this are part of an ongoing media literacy problem. People are just not willing to accept the fact that video games, like any other entertainment medium, are capable of handling a serious subject with the respect it deserves. Based off of media coverage of a game which only tangible assets were a handful of screenshots and a short video clip, a large portion of society was ready to dismiss Six Days in Fallujah.

Conflicting statements between publisher Konami and developer Atomic Games certainly didn't help the matter. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Atomic President Peter Tamte is quoted saying, "For us, games are not just toys", while in the same article Konami states that "At the end of the day, it's just a game."

"We have to insist that there's not a subject that's off limits and there aren't things that we can't do," Bogost said. "We can do it more or less effectively, but there is no sensibility that we have to account for."

Some might say that's dangerous thinking, including John Antal. "Every author, every filmmaker, every interactive entertainment developer creating a product is responsible for what it does and its after effects. Aristotle wouldn't agree with that."

Extreme statements aside, Bogost has hopes that the situation is slowly changing, citing a most unexpected catalyst - Nintendo's Wii Fit. Not only does the peripheral attract a whole new audience to the gaming market, it also affects them on a deeply personal level. The key to changing public perception lies in letting people know that games can be about much more than simply sitting on the couch, shooting at aliens. As silly as it may seem to "hardcore" gamers, Wii Fit does just that. It's ironic to think that Nintendo's focus on a wider audience

The Final Fate of Six Days In Fallujah

As for Six Days in Fallujah, developer Atomic Games remains quiet on the subject of finding a new publishers, instructing those interested to "stay tuned" for further developments. While some remain firmly opposed to the project, others believe it's a game that needs to see to see release, as Ian Bogost puts it, "if only to be another example of how to do things well or poorly."

In their official statement, Atomic Games expresses surprise over the cancellation, driving home just how abrupt a decision this was on the part of publisher Konami.

We were informed on Thursday night that Konami had decided to pull out of Six Days in Fallujah. This caught us by surprise. Development of the game had been progressing very well and on schedule. We would very much like the opportunity to complete the game.

I pressed Atomic further, asking if other publishers were sniffing about and what their plans for the title were, only to be told that no further information was available at this time. They did offer a hopeful "stay tuned" to the end of their communication, so perhaps there is still hope that the game will come to fruition.

Be sure to check out yesterday's story on the cancellation for more information.

While Konami may have dropped its plans to publish the "game-amentary" in the face of public backlash, it's quite unlikely that developer Atomic Games and its sister company Destineer will do the same. Despite the emails, phone calls, and bad press generated by the video game adaptation of the Second Battle of Fallujah, Destineer has been behind the title since 2005, and that's not the sort of time investment you throw away lightly.

According to a timeline published over at One Last Continue, Destineer originally filed for the word mark "Six Days in Fallujah" on February 4th, 2005 - less than two months after the actual battle ended. Later that year the company purchased Atomic Games, who were then working on Close Combat: Red Phoenix, and would eventually be revealed as the developer behind Six Days.

In November of 2005 the trademark for Six Days in Fallujah was published for opposition, a step in the trade marking process which allows other entities to contend the application in case it conflicts with another product. Then in January of this year Destineer filed for the trademark again, as their original filing expired this February and they wouldn't have anything to show for it until April.

Then came April, when Konami proudly announced Six Days in Fallujah, sparking controversy among the general public and military veterans as well. The uproar grew even louder when it was revealed that insurgents that fought against U.S. Marines during the battle were consulted and likely compensated for their work on the game. Konami declined to comment on the nature of their business arrangement with said insurgents, but the fact that the term "business arrangements" was used in their response tends to indicate that compensation was provided for the insurgents work.

UPDATE: After posting this story, Atomic Games contacted us with a message from president Peter Tamte, informing us that the insurgents were in no way compensated for their contributions to the development of Six Days in Fallujah.

Amidst a storm of angry emails and phone calls, Konami finally decided to pull the plug on Six Days in Fallujah today, a day before the second trademark filing is published for opposition. We contacted Konami for comment, but as of this writing have yet to receive a response.

Does this mark the end of the Six Days saga? Not quite. Calls from Kotaku to Atomic Games were fielded by public relations officials from sister company Destineer, informing us that an official statement regarding the fate of the game would be issued within the next day or so. Destineer's handling of calls about the game had us thinking that perhaps the company plans on publishing the title themselves, though we've just received word from Destineer that no plans of that nature have been discussed.

We'll know for sure shortly, but we're relatively certain this isn't the last we've heard on Atomic Games' Six Days in Fallujah.

"After seeing the reaction to the videogame in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it" a Konami spokesperson told Japanese news site Asahi.

Whether this means the game has been scrapped entirely, or whether developers Atomic Games can shop it around to another publisher that has the balls to release it, is unknown.

Under criticism, Konami ditches realistic "Fallujah" videogame [Asahi, via VG247]

Between scads of game demos to play, a mandatory social hour and the opening speeches, it almost feels like a mini Game Developers Conference. Only, it's all Konami all the time.

This year's offerings included a lot of lesser-known and possibly mundane DS games, a few Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network titles that might be worth attention, and tantalizing glimpses of games yet to come.

Here's what we came away with:
Insurgents Contributed To Development Of Six Days In Fallujah
Saw Preview: Condemned or Dragon's Lair?
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – A Makeover Not A Remake
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment Preview: Fails To Spark Interest
Ant Nation DS Preview: Baby's First Strategy Game
Konami Warns Of Zombie Apocalypse On XBLA, PSN

Konami officially announced the development of the already controversial game today, revealing that the title is in development for the usual current-generation suspects - the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. An odd oversight, considering we've posted four different stories on the game since the first reveal, but when your concept makes this much noise I suppose it is easy for the little details to get lost.

The game was made with contributions from the insurgents that fought Marines during the second battle of Fallujah (otherwise known as Operation Phantom Fury), according to Atomic Games' President Peter Tamte.

"It's important for us to say that there are actually three communities that are very affected by the battle for Fallujah," Tamte said. "Certainly the Marines, certainly the Iraqi civilians within Fallujah, and the insurgents as well. We are actually getting contributions from all three of those communities so that we can get the kind of insight we're trying to get."

Tamte wouldn't say exactly what "contributions" Atomic Games received, nor would he state whether or not anyone on the development team had spoken to insurgents. He did say the insurgents were "involved in the creation of the game," and that the developer knows that people "would just like this to be a recreation and we can't recreate [Operation Phantom Fury] without getting the perspectives of all the people who were involved."

"We recreate the events as factually and as accurately as we possibly can," Creative Director Juan Benito said added.

Atomic Games seems to be very aware that their game raises some questions and concerns for pretty much everyone – even people who probably won't play the game. Benito said, "There will be a broad range of reactions and opinions on the experience itself. And for some, they may have fun. People I think will have their own individual reactions to it and those will be across the board. And that's what we want. We want people to experience something that's going to challenge them, that's going to make them think and provide an unprecedented level of insight into a great military significance."

While Atomic Games say talked to all sides involved for their game, the story will be focused on the surviving marines, Tamte said.

"What we're trying to do is recreate the stories of the Marines that we've spoken with and that are involved in the creation," he said. "And we're telling those stories of those particular Marines."

There was no playable version of the game available to press during the event, instead we were shown a short snippet of pre-alpha gameplay footage that provided some insight into what we can expect from Six Days:

In this footage, solders take positions in a street littered with burnt-out cars and debris. A man - obviously of Middle Eastern ethnicity – comes running out of a house, hands in the air. The NPC chatter says something like "He's unarmed – wait…" The man ducks behind a car and pops back out with an RPG. Immediately the NPC soldiers open fire as more armed people pour out of surrounding houses.

Like any other war game we're used to seeing, the main character takes a couple of hits and the screen begins to gray as he loses health. The soldier ducks behind a car and slowly the screen regains color. A heads-up display menu appears onscreen, letting the player (and we're aware now of being a player because of the HUD) choose an explosive. Then it's back to this-is-a-documentary mode as the HUD disappears and the soldier approaches a wall to the right of the street where the firefight still rages. He sets the charge and the wall caves in when it blows. The soldier then steps into what appears to be a house and shoots the first man he sees, gaining access into a room beyond which looks out onto the street where the insurgents are still shooting at the soldiers. From inside the house, the lone soldier flanks and then gets behind the insurgents, shooting three in the back.

Then the demo ends.

After presenting the demo to journalists, Tamte spoke for a few minutes about the mechanics of the game – such as the engine they had to build from the ground up to handle the sheer amount of destructible environments the game hopes to include. He also talked about how insurgents and Iraqi citizens contributed to the game's development, referred to the game as "a communications tool" and then closed with a statement that he echoed later in our interview:

"As we've watched the dialog that's taken place about the game, there is definitely one point that we want people to understand about the game," he said. "And that is, it's not about the politics of whether the US should have been there or not. It is really about the stories of the Marines who were in Fallujah and the question, the debate about [the politics], that is something for the politicians to worry about. We're focused now on what actually happened on the ground."

Which brings us right back to the big question that nobody – not even the developer – can really seem to answer: What is Six Days trying to accomplish beyond provoking a reaction? Is it a game, a communications tool, or propaganda?

While there are no definitive answers as yet, it seems significant that the developer calls the game a communications tool but is asking gamers to pay money for it. And it bothers me in a way I can't quite explain that the Marines that were in Operation Phantom Fury will be in the game as NPCs you can interact with; like the licensed characters you see in sports or movie games.

Here's the worst part, though: we cannot say without playing the game what would make Six Days in Fallujah better. Would it be better to have total realism if Atomic Games had spoken directly to insurgents, included scenes where you could watch the Marines killed in action die exactly how they were killed in real life (even if it were from friendly fire) and showed the use of white phosphorus during the operation? Or would it be better to have it be "just a video game" with regenerating health, HUDs and a certain casual – if tactless – distance from the events via unrealistic depictions of the battle?

The irony here is, once those questions are answered and all can weigh in on those complex issues, the game will already be out and any damage may already be done.

It's only a concept and screenshots at this stage, but Six Days in Fallujah already has promulgated opinions that the game caters to a cavalier pro-war attitude, or can be used as antiwar propaganda. The subject matter concerns Operation Phantom Fury of November 2004, an operation described as the heaviest urban combat U.S. troops had faced since Vietnam. More than 100 U.S. and allied Iraqi fighters were killed, another 500 were wounded.

G4TV went to three members of the U.S. military on active duty, at least one having done three tours in Iraq. They were all described as interested gamers. Here are some of the reactions they gave to G4TV.

Sgt. Kevin Smith, U.S. Army: "Let it be made, and hopefully it will bolster support for military veterans by giving civilians insight into what this war was actually like for them. ... You can't just lob a frag down the street or launch a RPG at a couple of guys if you have to reload. There are restrictions on what types of weapons you can use and when. Depending on what the Rules of Engagement were for the Marines in Fallujah, and if Atomic Games has consequences for violating them, I think some gamers might find it a little frustrating."

Gunnery Sgt. John Mundy, U.S. Marine Corps: "You will have your group of idiots that try to be the terrorists and kill Americans and shout obscenities through the TV, damning American military personnel. But hey, those individuals can make fools of themselves all because of the protection that we military people give them each day. ... If someone doesn't agree with the game, they can spend their money elsewhere."

Sgt. Casey J. McGeorge, U.S. Army: "As a combat veteran and as a gamer, I have no problem whatsoever with the game...As long as it's made as realistically as possibly, I believe that this could be a good thing for both combat veterans and for the war in general."

Mundy's comments are particularly striking. As he and all of us are no doubt aware, online gaming can be a carnival of unlimited, deliberate tastelessness. Six Days in Fallujah would provide those worms with some ripe fruit, indeed.

It's not to say the game shouldn't be made, but I still come back to a feeling I haven't been able to shake about World War II sims - I know people who were in the real thing, and it wasn't entertainment for them.

Soldiers Respond to 'Six Days in Fallujah' Controversy [G4TV]

Set against the backdrop of the Second Battle of Fallujah, Six Days in Fallujah has gamers grapple with the weighty issues of war and difficult decisions it entails.

Not even out, the game is already sending mixed signals. While the developer says, "For us, games are not just toys," Konami states, "At the end of the day, it's just a game." Konami's VP of marketing, Anthony Crouts told The Wall Street Journal, "We're not trying to make social commentary. We're not pro-war. We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience."

Hence the quandary. Some of those directly touched by the Iraq War appear extremely sensitive. Former Colonel Tim Collins, a decorated Iraq War vet, stated, "It's much too soon to start making video games about a war that's still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history. It's particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game."

From a gamer's point of view, another Iraq War vet, Dan Rosenthal, who served in the U.S. Infantry, is critical of the desire to make a "realistic" war game. According to Rosenthal, "A 'realistic' war game is not going to be fun — who wants to play a game where you sit around doing nothing, punctuated by raiding the wrong house and tearing apart the home of an irate Iraqi family, or sitting around on a convoy until your vehicle gets hit by an IED and your character dies, with no clear enemy in sight? Who wants to play that?"

Continuing, Rosenthal adds, "I have worries that Konami, whose war game track record includes Boot Camp, Top Gun, Rush'n Attack/Green Beret, and of course, the wonderfully inaccurate Metal Gear series, cannot give the game the level of respect that it deserves." The Iraq War, he continues, is an extremely complex issue, and the Middle East is an extremely complex location." The war in Iraq is an incredibly complex topic; the Middle East is an incredibly complex location.

"I have major doubts that a company like Konami understands it enough to honor the memories of the soldiers around the world who have fought and died in Iraq," Rosenthal says. "It's not a great start that the Creative Director at Atomic Games is on the one hand talking about trying to "present the horrors of war" and on the other hand make 'entertainment'."

That's not to say Rosenthal is against making video games or even hoping to censor this Konami title. He's not. One of the things he thinks Call of Duty 4 did really well was using war as a backdrop. "It didn't reference the actual Iraq war, and didn't need to get into the politics behind it, and Infinity Ward was able to tell a story without getting bogged down," he says. This isn't possible in Six Days. "The game isn't set in some unnamed country, it's in Iraq, and it's not some 'unnamed city', it's Fallujah," he adds. "There's no way for them to avoid that they chose to place this game in a location where 20,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, reportedly over 6,000 civilians were killed, and over 150,000 displaced. Who is going to tell those stories?"

"One thing I'd like to make clear is that this is NOT an issue of censorship," Rosenthal says. "I will fight to the death to defend Konami's right to make this game... At the same time, I strongly protest their decision to actually do it. I think it is foolish, I think it's inappropriate, and I don't have very high hopes that they're going to do a good job of it. I'd love to be proven wrong."

All valid points from Rosenthal. Certainly it's only fair that whose connected to the actual War voice their support is disapproval of this game. Though, to also be fair to both Konami and Atomic Games, we haven't seen the game yet. All we've got is a few screens and miscommunication in a newspaper article. While we obviously don't have experience in the Iraq War and our relationship with it is largely indirect, let's wait until the game's out.

Gamer War Vet Fears That Six Days in Fallujah Will Dishonor Those Who Served in Iraq [GamePolitics]

According to the Wall Street Journal's report on the Atomic Games developed title, Six Days in Fallujah will be a commentary-free "game-amentary" that deals with the complex issues of war and the difficult decisions one must make, all set against the replicated backdrop of the Second Battle of Fallujah.

While Atomic Games—responsible for titles like the Close Combat series—say "for us, games are not just toys," the Konami marketing folks seem to see it slightly differently, telling the Journal "At the end of the day, it's just a game."

"We're not trying to make social commentary. We're not pro-war. We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience," Konami's VP of marketing, Anthony Crouts, tells the Wall Street Journal.

Atomic Games president Peter Tamte says to the Los Angeles Times that the developer's goal was to bring to Six Days in Fallujah "the horrors of war in a game that is also entertaining." The team is reported to have consulted with some three dozen or so Iraq War vets who were in Fallujah.

Looks like the new issue of GamePro has additional details, should you be a subscriber.

Iraq, the Videogame [Wall Street Journal]
Konami announces Six Days in Fallujah, based on 2004 Iraq battle [LA Times]