Game enemies and our world

I didn't really get into Half-Life until recently, after September 11th. So I am seeing the original game with a new perspective.

It's difficult to imagine that the original HL had the player killing U.S. Marines. I used to think that the only acceptable video game enemies are mutants, aliens from another planet, mercenaries, mobsters, or Nazi's. Now, I guess you can add pedophiles to the list of deplorable and acceptable things to slaughter in the virtual world, but Marines? They're not even mutated, like the ones from Doom.

Of course, this is impossible for HL2, so Valve invented Combines. It's acceptable to mutilate them because they're not even fully human.

You shouldn't be so fond of them given the fact that no real marine would be ordered to slaughter innocent civilians.

Are you saying it's wrong to kill Marines, but fine to kill
Nazi's? They are just portrayed as evil because of Hitler.
They were just fighting for what they believed in. I may have
read it wrong though...

In HL youre only killing people who are trying to kill you, and other civilians.

And what does this have to do with sept. 11?

I vote that every game should have you slaughtering little kids and pets... why? Because it's only a game.

I see your pont Satchmo, but really when there are games like GTA on the market, what makes killing marines so bad? It is a bit odd. HL is one of the only games I can think of that has you fighting US soldiers, and I understand what you mean about post 9/11 being a factor. I don't have a problem with it, but I can see how it might be very risky for a game company to use enemies like that. Parents probably have a big impact on how well a given title sells. I know mine were horrified by the marine-killing in half-life.

You're right, since September 11th the American military has truly been beyond reproach.

This brings up an interesting point.

Post sept 11 HL1 didn't get much/any flack for the US army used as an
enemy. But post sept 11, would that have been possible?

The marines weren't attacked (well... the pentagon, but I'm saying US
grunts were not the target of 9/11) on sept 11th, why would they be off
limits in a video game?

I can understand if the WTC were removed. Like in the movie
spider-man or the game Project Gotham Raceing. Becuase that image
is directly linked to the attack.

But now, would a game be able to do this? almost 5 years after
the fact, would valve have gotten away with it? Why would it be
any more wrong than 7 years ago? I dont think it would have
"slid" now adays. not only are the closed minded attacking video
games, but the US military/government has almost become untouchable.

I don't think there'd be any problem with it. Considering the
American military puts out their own free videgame where you can kill
terrorists and marines alike...

I don't think there'd be any problem with it. Considering the
American military puts out their own free videgame where you can kill
terrorists and marines alike...

I think you see your team as marines, the other as terrorists, regardless of which side you play.

unlike counter-strike.. in which you can play terrorists and kill marines... so much for your theory, huh?

oh... wow. That's weird. I never played AA. I just
assumed someone was going to have to play the terrorists. So ...
do the terrorists use marine weapons? Or do the Colts just appear
as AKs in AA?

In AA, each American gun has a Terrorist equivalent. Whatever
team you play on, it portrays your team as the americans, and the other
team as the terrorists, and the guns just have the same stats.
The whole game is just a s**tty recruitment tool anyways, and the
training is boring asall get out.

unlike counter-strike.. in which you can play terrorists and kill marines... so much for your theory, huh?

Thats not quite the same. If I'm not mistaken CS uses
close-but-not-quite-real names for wepons and player modles. You
also get to play as the good guys if you want.

Where as HL1, you were against the US army, not a counter-terrorist group. On top of that you didn't have a choice.

You're right, since September 11th the American military has truly been beyond reproach.

cough cough shooting an unarmed and injured man in a mosque, cough
whilst cowering on the floor, for no apparent reason cough and
getting away with it cough, killing someone abroad while drunk
and not being courtmartialed for it (big) cough, opening fire on an
italian car cough and not being punished for it etc.

I think difference between U.S. Marines and Nazi soldiers is that there is no systematic campaign endorsed by the soldiers to eliminate and torture civilians. True, Marines have committed atrocities, but at least it's not tolerated by the masses and endorsed by the government officially.

German soldiers could have refused orders to murder civilians, yet they just went along with it. If they truly believed what they were doing is the right thing to do, then I have nothing more to say.

But it's true that if Valve released HL2 with Marines being the enemy again, they might be black-listed by the FBI as a possible terrorist cell.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

I'm quite sure if Nazi soldiers disobeyed orders, they would have been reprimanded severely (probably shot). Many German officers at the time agreed with Hitler's policies.

HL2 didnt have marines because they werent in the story.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

HL2 didn't have Marines because the writer for the game didn't want to write them into the story. Instead, it's more acceptable to kill Combines, because they're really aliens inhabiting a human shell.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

The odds are that Marc Laidlaw was more concerned with writing a good story than keeping the game politically correct enough.

HL2 didn't have Marines because the writer for the game didn't
want to write them into the story. Instead, it's more acceptable to
kill Combines, because they're really aliens inhabiting a human
shell.

No offence, but thats just silly. HL2 and HL1 didn't water down
anything to make Mothers against Cool s**t [MACS] happy. I mean
look at some of the concept art for the two games, there is some stuff
like mr.friendly which is a big penis type thing that trys to mount the
player and the ant lion king looks like a huge ass.

mr.friendly which is a big penis type thing that trys to mount the
player and the ant lion king looks like a huge ass.

Your subconscious has revealed itself. :razz:

read about it in Raising the bar