Gibeau: "Totally open" to real-world war stories in games

EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau wouldn't shy away from a shooter which actively engaged with current, ongoing conflicts.

"As a studio exec, I wouldn't have any opposition to somebody saying, ‘No, I want to tell the real story as it unfolded.' I'd be totally open to hearing that pitch; it would certainly be a twist on what's out there in the marketplace," Gibeau told Kotaku.

"Medal of Honor frankly was ripped from the headlines more than a little and told the story of the SEALs that were helping us build the game. We had a concept about what it was like to be a Marine and being a part of very large events. It was really important for us to capture that emotional feeling of being swept up into things that are bigger than just one person."

The executive said that the "fidelity" of gaming experiences needs to improve before observers may begin to question whether footage is real or ripped from Battlefield, but narratively, that's already within gaming's grasp.

"I think you can do that now if you felt like that's the story you wanted to creatively pursue. I think it's possible to do in a lot of different categories, too, like sports or a modern crime story," he said.

As an aside, Gibeau said that following the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell in the US military, he didn't see any problems with introducing gay characters to military games.

"We've explored that concept in games like Mass Effect from BioWare. I don't see any reason why you couldn't pursue that storyline or that kind of character in a more realistic title if it made sense for the game that you're building," he said.