In Sabres of Infinity they were war crime ( the Grenadiers killing the Antari partisans, deserting at Blogia, etc ) even though the subjects you wanna write about are probably darker, I thought it worked well and that it wasn’t too much. As for rape, if you could just write something like : After their victory, your fellow soldiers are probably going try and steal whatever they can and for some worse case… they’re going to try and rape. It would work well because it’s directly said, so you get to write about it and it’s not too much ( like a detailed scene about it ). Hope my suggestions help you 
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@Eiwynn
Thank you for the advice! I will definitely keep it in mind. But just to bring some clarity to this issue and why it somehow keeps coming back to this (even though it’s going to be so incredibly difficult to balance the nuances) is exactly because it’s so difficult to write and I feel it is something that must be talked about in stories and games like these.
And for sure, the fictional storyverse is going to be so difficult to anchor, especially if I still want to maintain a deep semblance of realism.
- Hahaha yes this is a huge concern. Not much point in writing something that can’t get published.
- WW2 is a very popular trope, so I’m definitely tempted. But I’ll have to think this through. Muskets don’t inspire me too much (the tactics were very sad, so I’ll shy away from it for now)
- Ah yes. This is great advice!
- And this was definitely something I was angling towards. So many times we grow up with stereotypes and rivalries and have this insatiable hatred for others, but the moment you get to know them you realize hey! actually we’ve the same problems and love for ice cream!
@MAppolo
Thank you for your kind words!
Modern meaning pre 2000s or like 2010s kind of mordern? Yep, I definitely agree on the technical aspects. Going too deep would be intensely dry (I know cause I’ve slept through many of those lectures myself hahaha) But yes it would be fun to experiment with simple recall exercises (how to load/ready a rifle) to field signals and squad tactics.
Great ideas there. I was actually debating about how to depict the war. Should it be a nation vs nation / guerrilla / civil war / rebellion etc. And it’s really quite difficult to settle on one and go into depth with it. But I will eventually plan out the story arc (i hope!)
@Ronald_Raven
Awesome scene idea. I’ll definitely take note of it! Sounds very zombie apocalyptic where you can only choose to save so many people
@Jake8517
Chemical Weapons! Another great idea. I’ll keep that in mind!
@kaiser2003
Well, yes and no I guess. It could always be one of those gun blazing (them bad, we good) rambo-esque kind of stories. So yes it would be interesting to experiment with but I will definitely use a fictional world because using real world examples would be way too contentious. Besides, it would be disrespectful.
Yep. That’s great advice. I would say that my ethics lessons in army weren’t the most helpful, but it does put certain things into context and I think it’s something I would want to try, and see whether I can do justice to such a serious topic. Ultimately, I hope to create some kind of thought process or conversation and I think it’s definitely important to have.
WW2, I think there was the Marine Raider story which had the MC lead a platoon to attack a japanese island. Also, great scene idea! Will keep it in mind 
@iRgrunt
Well, being an NCO is a terribly tough job. And I might consider it - it also makes the relationships much more personal, but the tactical scope is a lot smaller - i.e. leading 7-8 men instead of 28-32 men
@AmericanShakespeare
Great suggestion! I’ll def go for the fictional countries route. Especially because I want to be respectful. Wow those are great ideas I’ll definitely take note of them! Damn! I watched that movie when I was in service. That was pretty impactful, the way they showed the issues that people in the service face on a day to day basis.
Shady government contractors. I like that. And “extra curricular activities” hahaha. Rescue and recon sound rly commando/special force style haha. I suppose that could work too. Thanks for the great ideas!!!
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@avidreader
Hahahaha you really cracked me up with those suggestions! But yes, it’s so true it’s funny. Death by powerpoint - and terrible slides at that!
“911 what is your emergency.”
“We’re getting artied to shits out here!! Air support on coordinates Alpha 1432!! I repeat! Alpha 1432!!!”
“Do you know it is an offense to make prank calls to this number?”
@Perillix
The Vietnam war is quite a touchy subject, and I’ll probably steer away from actual wars and draw inspiration from time periods instead. But yes that’s a great idea wrt choosing the idealogy.
@idonotlikeusernames
I wouldn’t call myself a gentleman but yeah I was a commissioned officer in a past life. But yes I’m also a young college guy who’s also a tech intern. Life has it’s way of throwing you into places you never expect to be in huh. hahaha.
Well, the question about playing as an enlistee is that your role is often very specific, and you have little to no agency as your orders come from your NCOs and Officers so even though, yes you could make micro level decisions, it’s very difficult to make any real difference.
Playing the NCO would be something I would consider, but then again it’s also a question of the relationships and tactical considerations. Would you want to lead 7-8 men or 28-32 men. What are the different gameplay options you get with that in terms of scenarios and flexibility etc.
The Korean war would be a great inspiration - Just, the aspects of civil war and fighting your own people is something I would definitely be interested to explore.
@Jacic
Definitely agree with that. But at the same time, it would be exactly for these reasons that I would want to try to create a bit of conversation and reflection on the topic. It’s too easy to just brush these off and not think about it. Not that I hope it would happen to anyone, no. It is a horrible and utterly disgusting act. But I think there must be some kind of conversation and discussion so that people are cognizant that this is the harsh reality, and how we must fight it and condemn it all the more.
Hmm, what’s MASH? But yeah, I will definitely be careful with this. I understand that I’m playing with fire.
This is a great idea!!! I definitely see what kind of scenes this could open up and it would interesting to pick the brains of a recruit going through that phase. Thank you!
@readher
Colonial era stuff would be interesting. Especially to put things into perspective.
@Guillaume_Gilbert
Didn’t get to read that but yes, those sound like easy enough scenes to write. As always, it’s a huge challenge to balance the grittiness and reality of it and divorce the emotions that often come with these issues. As a human myself, personal bias would definitely seep in and I will be very very mindful of these as well!
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Hey, if it’s set in WW1, you could include the famous Christmas truce, where every body stopped fighting to play football. 
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WW2 might cause issues with some platforms like Google Play.
Some countries like Germany are sensitive about these things and they usually censor anything related to Nazis and things like that.
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True that. Not my place to judge of course but going from officer to student and intern sounds a bit anti-climactic to me personally.
In some games making a small difference or sometimes even a big one despite being in a position of relative powerlessness can be the challenge, plus if you’re going to set it in the us or South Korean army during that war there is the possibility of becoming an officer anyway. The Americans used to call officers who began as enlisted “Mustangs” did I get that right @cascat07
But write what you know I guess, if you want to go with the mc being an officer that’s totally fine lots of games do that for the exact same reason of relative agency that you mention.
You can keep the wars and countries fictional of course, still I would like that cold-war era feeling. If you go for civil war I assume the mc will be an officer in the armed forces of the regime/government, or at least will start out that way.
Gosh, you young kids, I’m starting to feel really old. MASH is a film and series about US army doctors during the Korean war. When I was growing up it was still on frequent reruns on our TV stations.
Lots of decolonisations happening if you’re going to set it in a 1960’s and 70’s analogue, with all the cold war shenanigans of the super-powers sponsoring one side or the other when many new and unstable regimes after the withdrawal of the former colonial powers frequently devolved into infighting and civil war.
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Why do we necessarily have to place as officer? Get the empowering but it should be maybe it’s more interested in playing as the enlisted. Remind you if you are in a grunt infantry culture of enlistmen it’s definitely not something that’s anyway inclusive in the sense of when it comes to gender and sexuality. Very much along drag of it culture feet. So go with twenty minutes in future setting where those stereotypes would be less. Also culturally many women don’t join the infantry abd the ones that do and make it would be exceptional because they have something prove. Literally seeing it happen right now.
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Would a veteran enlisted be foolish enough to get entangled into a mess the way a freshly made officer would?
He wants the ability to take the MC through the futility of command not to shut down the shenanigans before hilarity ensue. 
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Yeah agreed. Although they’ve lowered standards now. So it’s gonna rise in volume because it’s more accessible for them now.
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You had me at Marine Raider good Sir. Lol make the grass grow green, in Chesty Puller’s name, amen
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New imperialism era. With how much warfare was changing to industrial it’s such a great topic. And all the nations being colonized even America with its own empire. The romanticism of war compared to the reality of conquering these people you were raised believe are cannibal tribesmen and you’re country was civilising. Or the underused perspective 9f the conquered by strange people from far away lands.
I would steer clear of rape, and probably anything describing gore in loving detail.
I also feel like one of the problems you will encounter is keeping the protagonist sympathetic, or at least relatable, forcing the player into a choice where they would rather walk away from the game than choose.
I think the details used should further the story. For example, a type of gun that has the capacity to break through your standard-issue armor, or a biological weapon that has a horrifying effect on the affected. Describing things without context would, I think, put off players who don’t have a very detailed knowledge of the war, as it would come off as unnecessary information. I think the information should be worked in as unobtrusively as possible.
I would like to see the harm war does to the civilians. I know the game would be focused on the officer’s life, but it would be nice to see what the war has done to the battlefield, to the civilians who suffer casualties and lose their entire way of life due to the war.
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Samurai of Hyuga went through all of that save for ultra nationalism I think. Basically as reasonable as any other dark theme.
I want a fictional one, since our country is fictional.
Not as something mandatory, maybe as like extra things you unlock in the stat page or some basic info when selecting gear. I’d prefer not to stop the action to learn about what kind of plane any enemy fighter is flying.
hmmm… that’s your job 
Though I rather not be forced to feel horrible about anything I do.
Oh don’t tempt me.
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Just replayed your demo til ch 4, man you got a good thing going! Can’t wait for more
“How far is too far?”
If you ask me, nothing is ‘too far’ as long as you don’t glorify bad decisions/behavior, and rate your story/game appropriately. 
“WW2 or modern?”
Don’t mind either.
“How technical should it be? Would you want to see a ton of historical details?”
That’s be cool…in moderation. So no, not a ton. xD
“What kind of scenes do you imagine/ want to see!”
I want to have dialog options that would suggest my player has gone somewhat insane due to all the things they had to/or just did etc…I’m imagining something tragic…but also, at the begging…funny? All is well and good and then the whole cheery not-at-war army setting drops down big time…my idea anyhow. ^^
- the funny to tragic drop i’m randomly imagining lol. xD Obviously, if you were to use this idea, it would look different.
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Also, please leave a link to the demo, since one of the comments suggest you have one. ^^
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You could set the game in the Vietnam War. For there were tons of tough decisions to make when the enemy looked like normal citizens.
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@Avery_Moore
Hahaha yeah that would be really nice! I love that story!
@Frogs
Mhmm that is a fair consideration. Fictional settings would be great I guess! Maybe just borrow the weapons and tactics from real life
Hey! I went from leading operations and storming objectives with flash bangs and smoke grenades to staring at a computer screen from 9 to 6… how much more exciting could it possibly get? Well, to be fair it was part of a two year mandatory conscription, so I didn’t have too much of a choice! It’s kind of like a right of passage for us guys!
That’s a fair point I guess. I didn’t think of it that way. I’ll definitely have to sit down and think long and hard about this (cue frantic scribbling, scrounging up of paper balls and dramatic music) but yes, there’s definitely a stigma against officers who just go through officer school instead of the traditional route.
Mhmm yes! It would definitely give the MC and the reader some kind of basic understanding of how war works. Can’t expect you to handle a rifle from the get go really. And yes, the cold-war era would be exciting. All this political intrigue and proxy battles.
Hahaha yes. I take that as a compliment! 
@Rogar
For sure. It’s just, difficult for girls in the army simply because the existing structure doesn’t really support them? I mean, imagine having a period out in the forest cut off from any running water or shelter. It would be horrible. Hmm, my issue with being just an enlistee is that you lose that sense of ability to make decisions - you’re often getting ordered around by your NCO or Officer, which could make for rather boring gameplay. But yes, feel free to change my mind!!!
@Eiwynn
So true. Fresh officers are often the most dangerous!!! They think they can conquer the world hahaha I’ve been there, done that.
@iRgrunt
Not sure how it is like in other countries, but back home it’s really difficult for girls to go into the Infantry. I mean imagine shitting eating sleeping swearing and training with a bunch of guys for days on end. Men aren’t the most forgiving either, they will give you a ton of stick for any mistake you make. It’s definitely not for everyone, and mad respect to the girls in the army who stick through it and perform.
@Kingkunta
That’s a very interesting perspective!! Being conquered by people from a faraway land… hmm I really like it! I’ll think about it. 
@EclecticEccentric
Sounds like a good idea. But I think it’s exactly why people steer clear of it that we should have a conversation about it and agree on why it’s a bad thing.
Hmmm what do you mean by this?
This is great advice. Thank you!!! Appreciate it Sometimes you tend to forget, esp after doing so much research hahaha.
This is great! Thanks for that
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@Dark_Stalker
Oooh I didn’t get to play through that. What was it like!
Fair enough, but what I meant was kind of like where does it draw inspiration from - like WW2 esque weapons could be like MP4s and Thompsons, while modern could be like AKs and M4s
Hahaha makes sense. But surely you would want to know the difference in horsepower of two slightly different planes! Hahaha
hahaha x:
@dusktodawn
I think you posted this on the wrong page!!
@Tanja.K
Yeah that’s sensible advice! I would have to be very mindful about that for sure.
Sound a bit like the full metal jacket guy. Heh that was a intense and really dark movie though. For sure! There’s a lot of funny endearing moments, even in the midst of hell hahaha.
Also, sorry to burst your bubble but no demo yet 
@Countryreb94
This is such a tough decision but I would prefer not to set it in a specific war, but rather a certain era so the equipment and tactics are similar but the countries are fictional so as to not make it political!
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I doubt it’s only been done in 1 instance, since it’s a pretty real thing that happens during war…doubt it’s copyrighted. o.o
Do what you think works best though! 
Looking forward to the demo. ^^