Comments for Video Games and Hollywood Butcher History. So? at http://www.ancient-warfare.com/cms , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.ancient-warfare.com/cms Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:57:37 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.ancient-warfare.com/cms/magazine/michael-hafer/256-video-games-and-hollywood-butcher-history-so.html#comment-227 Apologies for the "[i]provocative[/i]" title? Nonsense! It is in keeping with the topic. "Historic Sweep. Explosive Passions." So said the the NY Times in their review of the mini-series Masada. Hollywood loves hyperbole. So be provocative, and wake the historians from their slumber. One topic you might want to consider is Playability Vs. Accuracy. This has always been the challenge for game designers (video, board or miniature). Avalon Hill always favored playability and their 1965 game of the Battle of the Bulge was a fast and fun game that revealed little about the actual battle. SPI, which always emphasized historic accuracy, responded with a Bulge game that was so bogged down with rules for Road Movement and Traffic Jams that the game was essentially unplayable. Now perhaps SPI's approach was correct (the ability or inability to move was critical to the outcome of the battle) but you are not going to sell many games (nor stay in business long) if the games are not fun to play. Eventually both of these companies were able to balance playability with accuracy resulting in some excellent games (Bitter Woods and Wacht am Rhein). Now in a game like God of War I doubt seriously that the designers were at all concerned with accuracy. But for games like Rome Total War, or those from HPS Simulation, this question of Playability Vs. Accuracy is of more central concern. Of course, console game systems rarely feature what we might consider "true war games" (the old PS1 game Panzer General a notable exception) but perhaps that will change now that the PS3 and X-Box360 boast graphics and processing power equal or superior to any PC currently on the market. Convincing Sony and Microsoft to publish war games for their respective systems is an entirely different struggle and not one likely to be one by war game fans any time soon. Perhaps you can stir that up too. ;) - David Reinke Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:44:54 +0100 http://www.ancient-warfare.com/cms/magazine/michael-hafer/256-video-games-and-hollywood-butcher-history-so.html#comment-226 Sounds great. Looking forward tot it. - Dirk van Gorp Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:30:19 +0100 http://www.ancient-warfare.com/cms/magazine/michael-hafer/256-video-games-and-hollywood-butcher-history-so.html#comment-225 I am truly sorry for the needlessly provocative headline! 8) - Michael Hafer Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:46:40 +0100