Video Game Depicts A Now Infamous Location

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Osama bin Laden, once the world's most wanted man, has been immortalized—not by members of the militant Islamist group Al Qaeda, but by a video game developer. Three days ago an independent developer called Fletch released a videogame level for the game Counter Strike - Source. The level depicts bin Laden's Abbottabad, Pakistan compound. The level has already been downloaded by almost 12,000 people. This level uses the images from bin Laden's last known hiding spot where he lived before the U.S. military swooped in. The Abbottabad compound is used as a map and background for different Counter Strike - Source scenarios. There is already a lot of interest in similar videogames that even allow players to represent bin Laden's security guards or U.S. Navy SEALs.

After almost ten years at large following the attacks on the United States, Osama bin Laden was killed and later buried at sea. The whole world watched as the news broke about the tactical raid that will surely mark the Obama presidency and the historical relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden as well as some of his relatives ...
... and associates were killed in a raid performed by Navy SEAL Team Six. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used information derived from Guantanamo Bay prisoner interrogations, surveillance and common sense to determine that bin Laden was using the Abbottabad mansion as a hideout.

Counter Strike - Source is a video game that was created as a spin-off series to the original Counter Strike. Counter Strike - Source features attacks between counter-terrorists and terrorists. It is one of the many military inspired games that depict extreme violence. There are many proponents of these kinds of video games, judging from the billion dollar videogame industry. There are however many people that oppose these kinds of games because of the violent images that are displayed, often to children. Although there are age minimums for purchasing many of the violent games, children are still sometimes exposed to it.

After the announcement of Osama bin Laden's death, many Americans rallied together outside the White House and at Ground Zero, where the World Trade Towers once stood. Citizens of the Unites States were filled with a lot of different emotions. Relatives of those who passed away on September 11, 2001and of those who passed or are currently serving in the military seemed to feel a sense of relief and victory. Many people waved American flags and reflected on those who serve in the U.S. military. I can't say that I expected as much jubilation as I saw on the faces of people on my television.

What I absolutely did not expect is that less than a week after the raid that lead to bin Laden's death, a developer would use his hideout as the backdrop for a video game. I didn't realize how much these war games capitalized on current events to increase relevance and appeal. Maybe another developer will release a level where we see bin Laden's body thrown in a watery grave. That's not an image that I will be lining up to see.