Is it me, or does it seem this whole World War 1 with mechs theme is catching on? Let me explain.
I often find myself scrolling on Facebook and getting advertisements for things all the time. Some are relevant, whereas other times Big Brother heard someone say “pumpkin spice candles”; now that’s all I am getting shown. Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin spice as a scent, but I leave the candle buying to my wife…I digress.
I was shown an ad for a new mobile game called Iron order 1919: Mech Warfare. It has everything you might imagine. Pickelhaube-wearing German soldiers in armor fighting British soldiers in their Brodie helmets as armored mechs storm across the trench-ridden battlefield. What is there not to like?
I haven’t played the game, but it got me thinking about this whole WW1 and mechs trend that I now find myself jumping on. WW1, in a lot of ways, was a forgotten war (not as bad as the Korean War, though we are finally getting a movie with Devotion) in the media world. You never saw many games nor movies, or shows on the topic. However, WW2, a sequel to the Great War in many ways, shaped the modern world so much that it often gets the spotlight.
But that sentiment seems to be changing. We have seen movies such as War Horse, 1917, and now the new All Quiet on the Western Front coming out. You also have Peter Jackson’s critically acclaimed They Shall Not Grow Old documentary. And game developers are also jumping in with Verdun and its series(Tannenberg and Isonzo). So I think we find ourselves in another cycle that often happens in the media world.
You know what I am talking about. There was that timespan where we got Oblivion, Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian. There’s a theme that happens for a time, and one we usually get is a series of war-related stories. The Great War was such a significant period it always bothered me that it never got the same treatment as Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. But I think that’s starting to change (mind you, I am only talking recently and not considering past films like Gallipoli, Lawrence of Arabia, and Paths of Glory, which are excellent in their own ways).
I think there’s a bit of a creative famine happening in the mainstream. We are suffering from too much content, and to cut through the noise, companies prefer an easy win with IP that already has an audience base because it’s not as risky (don’t get me started on Amazon’s treatment of Tolkien's work).
But one thing I am all for is exploring the Great War and the alternate histories that might have come about it. Why? Well, for me, at least, I want people to be curious about history. And also, learn and respect it because the world could look different than it is today. And that’s worth exploring, whether to scare us into vigilance or honor those who came before us.
In case you missed it, check out my latest book—A Designer With No Name: Prequel to The Kaiser's Machines.
Photo Credit: loboto
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