How to imply emotional connections, should games? (Score 1)

To create an emotional connection, the game would have to make the player identify with the opponent somehow, which usually involves character development. This is usually reserved for major roles of allies or opponents, like the super villian. For Battlefield Vietnam, you could have families of civilians running around. Trying to huddle together and survive the battle. Or maybe have families huddled in rooms in the bombed out buildings. There would have to be some penalty for killing civilians. My main concern is it would be bad to de-sensitize people to the horrors of war. Somthing like "Oh, more Palistinian civilians killed in rocket attacks by Israeli forces... I played that mission, it's pretty much impossible not to hit the civilians while trying to kill the terrorist leader with the attack helicopter." In games like Battlefield Vietnam there isn't time to form the necessary emotional relation ships any way. 1) There is no lull time where the players develop relationships with eachother. 2) Even if there was time to form emotional bonds, when somone dies, they respawn 10 seconds later, so death and loss have no meaning. So in the end this game would have to include lots of lull time for players to bond, and to demonstrate that your opponents are themslves forming these bonds. Relation ships with civilians who have there own opinions, and fears would have to be exemplefied. Each player would have only one life, that way it actually mattered if someone died. Basically it sounds more like a RPG than a war game. An RPG where you don't gain levels, you only develop relation ships, and try to survive your tour. Games like Battlefield Vietnam should try and avoid the moral implications and stick to the aspects that make it a game, and as such enjoyable. It's not about the morals, it's about playing within a set of limited rules, and developing skills and strategies to try and do better. But I guess Battlefield Vietnam invites the morals into the game by basing it off of an event that has had a huge impact on this society.