I don't know how to respond to this really. I wouldn't be able to tell you if this game is over the line or not without playing it. Even if it is over the line I do not think that it should be regulated. I think market forces will take care of this. If he made it though and Wal-Mart did not want to sell it that also would be acceptable.

Point is that this is such a sensitive subject that if you touch it at all, somebody somewhere might say "Ouch!" no matter how you go about it. The "old guy" might be right that this may not be appropriate for a game. IMHO if I was charged with making a game about the Holocaust, I would make it so vile and repulsive that many of the horror games would shake in fear. I would make the player hate the vile evilness that occurred so much that they could not sit still to finish the game if they were sane. That is truly the only way to handle this.

When it comes to the Holocaust, there is no grey area. There is only what happened.

Actually, there are rape simulators available, but I don't think the intent of those games is educational.

Just saying, Skipper.

^i agree i am not sayin gwe knew about it before going over there....but once we where there and saw it we had to push home the fact...we and a few other nations did not want it to go unnotticed so its been a big media magnent

 Actually, now we have three good ideas.

 Seriously though, this entire thread is about the word "game." As we've all seen, the Holocaust, 9/11, the crucifixion, etc., are all fine subject matters for all sorts of media -- films, novels, songs, etc. Video games are simply another type of media, and they can be employed in all sorts of manners for any kind of subject.

Once upon a time -- before "graphic novels" -- comic books were a disrespected form of media, and I'm sure that the same close-minded types as found here would have balked at the idea of a comic book dealing with the Holocaust. But go ahead and read Maus, and then tell me whether or not comics can handle those sorts of adult matters. Video games can, too; they just need to be done well.

Posters should get 10 VGC$ every time they mention Maus, 15 VGC$ if it's used as an example of non-traditional media handling a delicate subject well.

I would have to point out that nearly all other mediums of so-called "edutainment" are not interactive. In this sense actually performing the deed yourself is something that would need to be researched and studied before claiming that is a good and appropriate material to make a game around. When you put yourself in a situation that must make a decision and perform an action, whether real or virtual, is something beyond simply watching it from a 3rd Person's perspective.

Everyone is responsible for themselves, or rather should be. I believe that people should be able to do anything so long as it doesn't harm someone else. Whether society dictates if that action is "appropriate" is another story for another time. But as a preview, if society believes that an interactive game about any idea is "too far out" then I believe there should be some weight to that in the decision to go forward with development. They shouldn't dictate what is produced and what is not, but they should have the ability to voice their opinion just as they are here.

BenKenobi88 and DKII are on the money here. Look at ALLLL the war games that are out there... the war games that are pretty much SHOOT EVERYTHING WHEEEE!!!!. But someone trying to treat the subject matter in a meaningful way is going about it wrong?

It's not like the game is having you be a Nazi running around exterminating Jews.

 Good idea.

You know, it seems pretty obvious to me that the video game industry is following in the same exact footsteps as the comic industry did just 30-40 years before it.  At first it was all superhero crap for the kids, and it tried to grow up, but the world wouldn't let it, so there were a lot of attempts at regulation "to protect the kids" because some of the kids who read Superman grew up and wanted to make their own comics that were different.

Also, you had directors making cheap cash-in movie adaptations of comics that sucked for decades, and finally we're starting to get some good comic movies, because we have new younger directors who actually respect the comic art form.  I give us another decade or so before we have gamer-directors making some real movies that respect the game art form. 

I'm definitely getting this game, and if I like it I'll let you all know, and then I'll definitely be even more interested in his other game about global warming.   

 Seriously.  War is hell.  So can't we have at least ONE game that treats war like hell instead of like a fucking Gatorade or Nike commercial?