Red Cross Continues To Want To Pretend That Video Game Wars Are IRL Wars

I think I can state the following without controversy: video games are, by and large, a path for escaping the real world for the sake of entertainment. The idea is that the real world can be a place that we want to get away from, diving into some fantasy world where the same rules don't apply, our mundane tasks don't exist, and we can do things digitally that we would never even consider doing in real life. I, for instance, have not even one single time stomped a turtle to death only to pick up its carcass-shell to be thrown at one of my enemies. And yet I'm a fan of the Super Mario Bros. series of games.

The same goes for wargames. Sure, there is value for some in games of war being as realistic as possible. But that isn't the case for everyone. And, yet, for years now, with several examples, the Red Cross has attempted to inject the IRL rules of war into video games. The idea I suppose is to educate the public about the actualities of real life war in an attempt to force them to realize that IRL war is not a game. But that's fairly silly. We know it's not a game. That's why we spent $60 on a video game instead of signing up for the Marines.

But the Red Cross isn't going to give this up. Recently it partnered with several streamers on Twitch to get them to play a bunch of war games under fairly strict rules prohibiting their committing any war crimes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has partnered up with a bunch of Twitch streamers to encourage gamers to not commit war crimes in popular shooters like Call of Duty. The ICRC hopes that its event, Play by the Rules," will educate players on the statutes of actual war. The organization has even created its own Fortnite mode to help communicate what those rules are.

Every day, people play games set in conflict zones right from their couch. But right now, armed conflicts are more prevalent than ever," the ICRC website said. And to the people suffering from their effects, this conflict is not a game. It destroys lives and leaves communities devastated. Therefore, we're challenging you to play FPS by the real Rules of War, to show everyone that even wars have rules-rules which protect humanity on battlefields IRL."

Look, this is all... fine I guess? In fact, I can see it being mildly interesting for someone who has watched gamers, or played war games myself, conduct themselves in a manner completely outside of those rules, if only to see what these war games look and feel like when you try to adhere to IRL rules of war. Those rules have been whittled down to incorporate the following:

1. No thirsting (don't shoot downed/unresponsive enemies)
2. No targeting non-violent NPCs
3. No targeting civilian buildings
4. Use med kits on everyone

Those are certainly rules I want to be followed in IRL wars, even though they rarely are. One need only look at the conflict in Ukraine to know that to be the case.

But as laudable as this IRL rules are, they simply don't always make sense in a video game setting. Half the fun of these games is, again, doing things you'd never do in real life. Breaking the rules, intentionally or not. Gibbing out a downed enemy to rub it in. Emptying a clip without regard for NPC civilians because all you care about is taking down your human competition.

At some level, the Red Cross has to understand that engaging in all of that in a video game isn't a war crime; it's simply entertainment. And no amount of finger-wagging is going to change that.