Homefront is a game that takes place ten minutes into the future, where America has been invaded by a united Korea. With a story that treads a thin line between fiction and reality, this is a game that's sure to court controversy. Kaos Studios general manager Dave Votypka, however, isn't very worried about the backlash.
"It seems inevitable that there will be some that may not agree with the events in the game, or don’t believe them. The thing that should be remembered here is that this is a work of fiction," he explains. "It’s not a prediction, there is no political statement being made, and it’s not a condemnation of any current day situation, country, or person; it’s simply a ‘what-if’ scenario.
"The North Korean government has been publically vehement toward the West since the Korean War, so we’re not inventing anything new in this regard. It’s simply a stepping stone that a fictional scenario has been extrapolated from, and it has not been designed to cast the Korean public in a negative light.
"The game focuses on a military occupation: professional soldiers following orders that come from within a fictional alliance (the Greater Korean Republic) that is made up of Korea, Japan, and numerous other south-east Asian countries."
I think it's rather bold stuff and I'm glad that Kaos isn't concerned about people deciding to get offended. One has to wonder how this is going to go down in North Korea, though.
Contest:
11:00 AM on 12.08.2010 | 
ten minutes into the future
ten minutes
minutes
O__O
The Japanese, Chinese and Koreans have bad blood all throughout history. Korea was invaded by everyone. Japan invaded China. These people are not exactly prime targets of alliances. But for the sake of this game, I guess I'll just pretend I don't know that.
Kim Jong Il: Who made that?! I made that! Lil' Kim! Numbah One!
It would be rather pathetic if the reason this is controversial is because it is a video game vs. a book.
Dave Votypka - "It’s simply a stepping stone that a fictional scenario has been extrapolated from, and it has not been designed to cast the Korean public in a negative light."
He does seem a little concerned. This reads a little bit like a disclaimer. ;)
Oh, well then I guess I'll give that a look up then.
Apologies, Jim.
I find this offensive and I will be writing a strongly worded letter to Kaos studios to demand the Koreans now be referred to as 'Opposing Force.'
Oh wait...wrong game.
Well, I've officially lost interest. Seriously, when are more than a handful of developers going to man up enough to have a point of view? Not that all games have to be political, but I'm sick of developers choosing a premise like this and then going out of their way to say absolutely nothing.
I recall a Medal of Honor (2010) dev saying that game was meant to "honor" the troops in Afghanistan, not to examine any of the reasons that they are over there fighting, which seems contradictory to me. How do you honor the troops by wholly divorcing the war from its context? Aren't the troops then just totally generic protagonists? Why even bother setting it in Afghanistan, then, other than to exploit some vague sense of patriotism? They might as well be in space fighting necromorphs.
On a somewhat related noted, a game where Space Marines hunt the Taliban would be pretty cool.
But it does look like something fresh(er) for a change.
Wow, that was a hard one to figure out.
this game does sound awesome.
PS"ten minutes into the future?" shouldnt that say "17 years in the future?"
.....
No kidding! If it's controversial, you're just gonna have more people looking at the game.
In regards to the story I think I watched a video of the game where Korea took over China or Japan through economic means.
I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. In fact, I also know what YOU'RE talking about: counterfactuals (this isn't a counterfactual, by the way, because it does not ask "what if" some aspect of history were altered--it's just fiction).
I'm not sure it's possible for me to "not know what I'm talking about" when I voice my opinion that I find the game's premise boring and pointless if they have no message other than: "What would happen if Korea invaded America, herpaderp?" Whether or not you agree with me is another question.
But surely we can agree that saying something "is a work of fiction" or, as you put it, "a fucking story," doesn't mean it can't also have a point of view or some kind of message. In fact, the best works of fiction are generally those that have a point.
I think that people who want videogames that include "Space Marines fighting the Taliban" is an untapped market.
You could become rich beyond your wildest dreams if you produce it.
If you want to make a fictional story, in a 'what if' game, then why not be a little more creative? Mainly, i think, because a lot of gamers won't play anything that isn't 'real'. I know this because many of them are friends of mine.
I always enjoyed that C&C had the GDI and NOD. It was close enough to a reality that it was believable. But, both armies really were fictional. Or, Killzone with its ISA and Helghast. Admittedly, all of these armies are based on real world factions [ISA "fuck yeah"]. But, at least the developers showed some creativity.
My personal opinion is that this will just be another 'realistic' war game and thats probably a shame. Everybody wants a slice of the [multi-million dollar] COD pie at the minute.
The industry needs some fresh air in script and location. I spent a reeeeally good time playing as the russian character in Metro 2033, so much that I bought the book inmediately. Or, if you want to exploit the "what if" scenario take a look at Singularity. Two examples of great shooters that have an unique story, script and location and are completely out of the mainstream.
"Prepare for unforeseen consequences" >.>