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Support, criticism greet Fallujah video game

A video game based on a real battle in Iraq is drawing volleys of criticism — and it won’t even be released until next year.

But it was Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, at Camp Pendleton, Calif., who came up with the idea for a historically accurate video game based on their experiences fighting in Fallujah in November 2004.

“They want to tell their story. Video games are their medium,” said Peter Tamte, president of Atomic Games, the developer of “Six Days in Fallujah.”

The game combines elements of a documentary film to recreate some of the Iraq war’s bloodiest fights. “Six Days in Fallujah” is scheduled to be released “sometime within the first two to three quarters of 2010,” said Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. spokesman Brandon Cox. Konami is publisher of the game, which is in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC.

Tamte said his North Carolina-based company developed relationships with Marines at Pendleton before they deployed to Iraq, after working with them on a tactical decision-making simulation training system, which resembles a video game. He said he has talked with many troops who were involved in the Fallujah operations, “and at this point, they do not believe their story has been told.”

Dozens of Marines, along with some soldiers and Navy corpsmen, were involved in making the game to ensure accuracy, Tamte said. Wounded troops also shared their expertise, he said.

Some troops will share their stories in documentary clips threaded into the game. “And we are presenting players with real dilemmas that Marines faced in Fallujah,” Tamte said.

Real Marines are being incorporated into game play, too, so that you might be in a firefight alongside some of the Marines you just saw in the documentary clip.

But before anybody has fired a shot in the game’s battles, “Six Days in Fallujah” is facing controversy.

Gold Star Families Speak Out, an organization of families with loved ones who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, say they are outraged that a video game will graphically recreate the Fallujah battle. They are part of the larger Military Families Speak Out, which opposes the war in Iraq.

Gold Star mother Tracy Miller said she was “stunned” when she heard about the video game. Her son, sniper Cpl. Nicholas L. “Nick” Ziolkowski, was killed by a sniper Nov. 14, 2004, in Fallujah.

“This is not a game. His life wasn’t a game, and the fact that he died wasn’t a game.

“I think [the game] trivializes it. And so many of these games dull sensibilities to violence,” she said.

“For every Gold Star parent, no matter how we feel about the war, what we want is that our kids be remembered. I haven’t seen this game, but I suspect they’re not going to be remembering our kids or even what happened historically.”

Reserve Sgt. Mike Ergo, among those consulting on the project, said he disagrees.

“This game can help convey the reality of war,” he said.

And Tamte argues that the game’s developers have taken great care to ensure historical accuracy.

“We certainly understand the concern. They’re looking at ‘Six Days in Fallujah’ from the lens of how films and other media have treated war.”

And, he added, “There’s a big difference in seeing someone on a movie screen solve a dilemma, and you being presented with a dilemma and solving it yourself. You understand it a far deeper way than if you saw it on a movie screen,” Tamte said.

The game will not recreate the death of any real Marines, Tamte said. But, he added without going into details, the human cost of the battle will be clearly communicated to players. And when he describes the game, he doesn’t use the word “fun.”

“Our job is to create a compelling experience,” he said.

The game developers had “unprecedented access to information like after-action reports and satellite maps” and other information, he said.

Along with the more than three dozen Marines, soldiers and Navy corpsmen who have already worked on the project, another two dozen troops are expected to be involved, Tamte said.

“I hope this helped the people who participated in this get some catharsis,” said Dr. Michael Brody, a psychiatrist who is chairman of the media committee of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. But, he warned, “they don’t have control over that end result.”

In addition to Marines who served with 3/1, some Marines who served in 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., also have lent their expertise.

That includes Ergo, who left active duty in 2005.

“Everyone I know plays video games and identifies with them. It’s definitely a medium that speaks to us,” Ergo said.

He said he volunteers as a consultant on some of the technical aspects. “I’m helping make sure I can bring the game as much credibility as I can,” he said.

“It’s hard to capture the story by just telling it,” he said, “to paint the picture of things like jumping from roof to roof. The video game brings the sights and sounds.”

For example, details about how Marines position themselves in squads and teams, and how an M-16 works, might not be noticed by someone in the public. But someone with military experience might be turned off by inaccuracies.

“Mike shared stories of how different firefights happened, and [that] helps provide a sense of realism,” Cox said.

“One of the reasons I’m really supportive of this game is that in addition to the negative aspects, it’s where my Marines were at our best,” Ergo said. “We’d trained and trained. And we used our training to defeat the enemy. We were professional. We did our job well, and this game will help recognize that fact.”

That, Tamte said, is the point of this video game.

“We tend to make heroes of people who fought in wars decades ago, and that’s appropriate,” Tamte said. “Fallujah is one of the most historical battles in American history. People involved in that battle are walking around today, and their story deserves to be told.”

Players might see, for example, a video clip of a Marine describing his feelings as they entered the city, information he had, and what tactics the enemy was expected to use.

“Then you as a player might be leading a fire team into Fallujah, and that Marine you saw in the documentary might be leading a fire team or part of a fire team beside you. Or you might encounter a character who gives you important information and who, in some cases, may help you achieve an objective,” Tamte said.

Ergo said video games have been one way that he and other Marines decompressed after battle. He played a video game based on Desert Storm with his comrades in December and January after they’d fought in Fallujah that November.

He said he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Iraq, and he got counseling through VA. He said he now helps other returning vets with a peer support group.

“The goal is to relive the experience less, and start to remember more,” Ergo said. “You do that in a variety of ways, and peer counseling is one.”

Miller said she was opposed to war since long before her son was born. But he loved playing video games, she acknowledged.

“And Nick probably would have wanted to play this one,” she said.

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