Current Events > In video games, is killing Nazis a political statement by the devs?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Killing Nazis is a public service.

While it could be argued that WWII games are political by nature of being about WWII, most of them don't actually make any sort of statement about the evils of Nazism

I think by its very nature it would be making the political statement: "it's okay to kill nazi scum". The reason it seems apolitical is because reasonable society has collectively decided that nazi lives don't matter.

which is a good thing

killing nazis is satisfying af

Kim_Seong-a posted...

I think by its very nature it would be making the political statement: "it's okay to kill nazi scum". The reason it seems apolitical is because reasonable society has collectively decided that nazi lives don't matter.

which is a good thing

Until the new Wolfenstein came out and Trumpism made all the Neo-Nazis feel justified in complaining about the depiction of killing Nazis.

It's a political statement that I approve of.

in a roundabout way because in video games where you slaughter enemies en masse the developers don't want you to sympathize with them. so they are saying yes, nazis are unsympathetic scum and killing them shouldn't give you pause. so it was more they were stumbling into a good message than anything

honestly it was a safe bet because weirdos reacting negatively towards it is a comparatively recent phenomena when you consider how long they've been a standard game bad guy. a whole generation of teenagers were blowing away 20000000 nazis on random ww2 themed PS2 shooters before some freak or another told them they should be feeling bad for them instead and they bought it

MarcyWarcy posted...

in a roundabout way because in video games where you slaughter enemies en masse the developers don't want you to sympathize with them. so they are saying yes, nazis are unsympathetic scum and killing them shouldn't give you pause. so it was more they were stumbling into a good message than anything

honestly it was a safe bet because weirdos reacting negatively towards it is a comparatively recent phenomena when you consider how long they've been a standard game bad guy. a whole generation of teenagers were blowing away 20000000 nazis on random ww2 themed PS2 shooters before some freak or another told them they should be feeling bad for them instead and they bought it

well most WWII games don't actually involve killing card carrying members of the Nazi party but the average German soldier

Depends. If you're making a WW2 games from the perspective of the Allies forces, making Nazi enemies wouldn't be a political statement.

If your game really hams up and emphasises killing Nazis, that is a political statement.

I'd say it's a political statement, but it's a damn good one.

it shouldn't be, since media tends to focus on more "safe" enemies, like zombies, nazis, terrorists, skeletons, etc., but now we have people who think it is, that it's an attack on others for "different opinions".

Kradek posted...

Until the new Wolfenstein came out and Trumpism made all the Neo-Nazis feel justified in complaining about the depiction of killing Nazis.

They were mad that Trump's slogan was turned into an anti-Nazi slogan weird that they had a problem with "Make America Nazi Free Again." Almost like it's telling us something about them.

Sure it's political. Politics is still politics even when a big majority agrees.

creativerealms posted...

They were mad that Trump's slogan was turned into an anti-Nazi slogan weird that they had a problem with "Make America Nazi Free Again." Almost like it's telling us something about them.

It was accompanied with a clip of B.J. punching a Nazi. Shit was beyond based.

The fact that we learn he's half Jewish in that game makes it even better

If it was 10-15 years ago, not at all. Now? It's going to be a statement, whether the developer wants it to or not; so many Nazi sympathizers are feeling more comfortable speaking open & freely.

DrizztLink posted...

Killing Nazis is a public service.

As is killing KKK members and Confederates.

Remember when the second Wolfenstein came out and people got pissy that it included both Nazis and kkk as bad guys

I think it is, but Im not a fan of seeing Nazis in a video game, even if it means getting to kill them.

The Nazi menace is something too raw and real for me. Videogames are meant to be a happy medium for entertainment, and while I dont have a problem per se of incorporating national components to your story and making enemies that take on real life issues, something doesnt sit right with me about knowing that when Im fighting Nazis, theres respawn option.

I know its irrational, but I have a photo of my wifes late grandfather in my basement taken when he was liberated from Auschwitz. I just cant help but think its a little strange to finding enjoyment in confronting that threat given that there was no respawn button there either. I actually feel similar about killing Islamic terrorists in a COD game too.

Nazis are like the most ideal bad guys you can have. At no point is the player going to second guess their violenc or wonder if they are in the wrong because killing Nazis is never wrong. You use them when you need something smarter than a zombie but feel just as good to do violence on.

If any of that offends you, then you need to get therapy right now because you should absolutely not be sympathizing with video game Nazis and you definitely shouldn't see it as a personal attack.

Compsognathus posted...

Nazis are like the most ideal bad guys you can have. At no point is the player going to second guess their violenc or wonder if they are in the wrong because killing Nazis is never wrong. You use them when you need something smarter than a zombie but feel just as good to do violence on.

If any of that offends you, then you need to get therapy right now because you should absolutely not be sympathizing with video game Nazis and you definitely shouldn't see it as a personal attack.

I didnt say I see it as a personal attack and I dont sympathize with them at all. I said I dont find enjoyment participating in that time period. Videogames are supposed to be about enjoyment. I study that time period, I read diary entries and watch documentaries, and I thank god every day I was not alive to live in it. So why the hell would I want to experience it in the same medium that I use to watch a plumber grow to the size of a house by eating a mushroom?

When I watch Schindlers List or Saving Private Ryan, Im not watching those movies with the same mindset as say Star Wars or Lord Of the Rings. But when I play games, its the same mindset, whether Im playing Madden, Mario, Halo, or Mass Effect. I dont even hate the digital representation of the Dallas Cowboys as much as I do in real life. But that Nazi symbol, I hate it as much as I can hate anything in my entire life. Not a feeling I want to engage in when gaming.

FlyEaglesFly24 posted...

Videogames are supposed to be about enjoyment

And killing Nazis is enjoyable

It could be. It could also be they just need some quick generic bad guys and Nazis is who they picked. There isn't a one size fits all answer.

Yeah, the devs probably are making a political statement, but its one that a lot of people dont mind.

I think you should be able to kill ALL characters in video games, unless there is no killing at all. My memories a bit fuzzy, but Im pretty sure you could kill kids in the first two Fallout games.

Sometimes I wish we could play as the villains in videogames. Would be interesting to paly as the Nazis during the blitzkrieg or the invasion of Russia. Maybe even trying to survive operation overlord. Of course that's only in multiplayer but it would be interesting to be on the other end of the down fall of the Nazis.

Of course this was all before I realized that Nazis still exist and are prevalent in American politics, disguised as the Republicans party.

K-kinda? They've been video game enemies for so long, you don't really notice the nazi aspect. They're there primarily to be shot at. Political association is acknowledged, but not relevant. You'd need a WW2 setting and some deliberate nazis torturing civilians sort of thing, some hitler dialogue, really remind the people what's up.

It wasnt back when Nazis were accepted to be the universal villains.

But now that modern conservatism resembles them so much, things have changed.

Killing Nazis became "political" when BioShock Infinite came out. A sizable number of people identified with the Founders for some ungodly reason and called it a white people killing sim. Two years later, 2015 happened and it's been downhill ever since.

Lorenzo_2003 posted...

Yeah, the devs probably are making a political statement, but its one that a lot of people dont mind.

I think you should be able to kill ALL characters in video games, unless there is no killing at all. My memories a bit fuzzy, but Im pretty sure you could kill kids in the first two Fallout games.

Maybe the first 2 Fallout games, which I didn't play, however in later Bethseda games with kids they are immortal.

For awhile Bethseda games just didn't have kids at all lol. There's no kids in Morrowind or Oblivion, for example. They legit just don't exist except a child ghost as part of a quest in Morrowind.

I mean yes but not really? Its just a slice of story pie. If your game involves WW2 they're great villains.