Spanish developers spark controversy with RTS war game

Video games often deal with historical events like invasions or wars and many times they take some liberties with the story. Some titles including Wolfenstein or Blazing Angels have thrown a little sci-fi or horror into the mix, but these games have been generally well received despite the fact that they haven’t been completely based on what historians have told us.

Now there’s a historical game that has started some controversy in Spain. Shadows of War was created by the Spanish developers at Legend Studios and it is based on the Spanish 1936–1939 war, which erupted after rightist forces loyal to Francisco Franco staged a coup against the elected Republican government. The game is an RTS and it lets players choose which side they take in the conflict and gives them the possibility of changing the course of some of the events in the war and their outcomes.  The liberties the game takes with history have drawn criticism among the community as a trivialization of the events that occurred during the war.  Shadows of War will be released for PC only, at a date yet to be announced.

This war and Spain’s past have always been a difficult subject among its people due to the fact that many of them suffered through it and, for many, those times bring painful memories. On top of that a law was passed recently that would ban monuments to Franco and seek compensation for the victims of the civil war sparking a national debate.

I guess the subject of war will always be controversial but maybe the people should realize that these video games in no way are meant as something disrespectful. They are created so that people can relive history in a more immersive way that through history text books. Wars are events that have shaped and defined history and as such they should be learned and studied and in my opinion video games that recreate such events can offer important contributions to this learning, more importantly for the younger generations.

This controversy will most likely die down in a couple of months. I believe something similar might have happened in Germany with the release of some World War era game and now the games that deal with that period are common. On thing that is for sure is that this debate will not stop people from playing the game, in fact it will only help the game’s sales.

Read [Guardian Unlimited] Also read [International Herald Tribune]