Andy Mcnab, ex-SAS soldier turned novelist, has suggested that the emotions evoked by players in Battlefield 3 will be “the same” as if they were witnessing these events first hand. He went on to state that “the emotion of wanting to progress (in the game) is the same emotion as people in the battlefield”. Along with being an adviser to the games development by offering advice on squad tactics and battlefield mechanics, is also co-authoring the Battlefield novel titled Battlefield 3: The Russian.
“On the battlefield everybody who’s normal is scared – anybody who says they aren’t is lying,” said McNab in an interview with GamerZines, “so that brings everything down to a more realistic level in that real context.
“That emotion is still there when you’re playing the game. If these guys (DICE) get it right everybody becomes emotionally involved. A player doesn’t want to fuck up, they want to get to the next level, and the emotion of wanting to progress is the same emotion as people in the battlefield.
“We’re all human. We all have emotions but they come out at different levels and with different motivations. A gamer will be as much into it as somebody on the battlefield, only in a different way. There’s no illusion that he’s on the battlefield; he’s not wet, cold and hungry, he’s at home being entertained. But the emotions are the same. The heartbeats are up.”
I for one think that it is impossible to bring the true emotions of war to those who have never before experienced it. It is extremely hard to bring something as strong as emotion through media and into the minds of the viewer. What do you guys think? Be sure to leave a comment below telling us about how you feel towards Mcnab’s statements.
