Resistance Fall Of Man is a game where mankind is struggling in a losing war against parasitic alien invaders. It takes place in an alternate 1951 where WWII never occurred and America stands ready with a powerful and highly advanced military after twenty years of isolationist development. In this game, Asia, Europe and England have been simply devoured by a race of hostile creatures (presumably alien in origin) known as the Chimera. America, after losing contact with British forces, attempts to establish a beachhead in Great Britain. You play a member of this US Expedition force in it's first encounter with the Chimera.
Evidently, some of this alternate-reality based science-fiction action takes place in Manchester Cathedral. Apparently, guns are involved. Apparently the Manchester of the real world is a city in the midst of violent crime. And apparently this fact has religious and political leaders declaring that creators of mass-market media (games, movies and maybe even books) should not be allowed to set their fictional works in Manchester. Apparently it shows a lack of respect.
This may well be true.
However, did setting Godzilla in New York show a lack of respect to the hundreds who die in violent crime each year? Did setting Halo 2 in a war battered Africa show a lack of respect for those who now struggle with genocide, famine and poverty? Did setting any of the Medal of Honor games in real villages, towns and buildings show a lack of compassion for those who died, fought or gave their lives in WWII?
Resistance Fall Of Man is not only fictional but it takes place in a past that never happened. Further, the enemies being 'slaughtered' aren't even human. They don't exist in this universe in any form. The reason Manchester Cathedral was chosen as a setting was to no doubt illustrate the sense of apocalyptic scale, isolation and hopelessness the game authors wanted to explore. As long as no actual images of Manchester Cathedral were used in the game (all images were computer generated) it is unclear whether The city of Manchester or The Church Of England has anything to say about the game.
Officials in Manchester point out that the nature and frequency of violent crimes and gun violence in their city demand special respect from those who create violent media. The question then becomes, how much respect are they due and how much cooperation can they coerce from those in the media? Should I back off stories and images I find interesting because they cause others distress and emotional pain? There are times when I would actually say yes - voluntarily. Should those people be able to coerce that reaction from me, then ask for money? I hope the answer to that is 'no' and that the answer seems obvious. Otherwise, I might think seriously about not expressing myself in any interesting and challenging ways at all.
Who would want that?
