Hear me out before you jump to conclusions.
I'm not a vidya gamer anymore, and I haven't been for many years, but I was really into Halo as a teenager. But I've been thinking about something. A World War II first-person shooter from a new perspective. That is to say, the perspective of the Germans. Now, World War II games from the perspective of the Germans already exist, but they are generally strategy games or a so watered down (like being from the point of view of a lowly Wehrmacht soldier with no political connotations), so the real shock of playing as a Nazi is diminished.
Generally speaking, any video games that feature the Nazis as playable characters try to avoid as much personal connection to the characters and the faction as possible, so as not to appear pro-Nazi. This is why there are hardly any first-person shooters from the German perspective, and furthermore, in the few instances in which a German is the protagonist, it is always made clear that they don't agree with the Nazi cause are really just following orders or just fight because they were drafted.
So here's my idea. A World War II first-person shooter from the point of view of a Nazi (I'm thinking either high-ranking Wehrmacht or some SS commando) that is unapologetic about the fact that the protagonist is, indeed, a Nazi. Now, the point here isn't to glorify or justify the Nazis, but rather to acknowledge that yes, this German soldier is a Nazi and that is part of his character, and he isn't going to be whitewashed by being portrayed as "simply following orders", because the reality is that at the time, the German people were incredibly loyal to the Nazi cause. This game isn't going to justify or condone Nazism, but it isn't going to make excuses for it either. It's just going to show what is.
Now this brings up the big white elephant in the room and what makes these types of ideas so controversial: Nazi racial policy. Obviously, this game can't include concentration camps or levels where the protagonist helps clear out a ghetto of Jews. However, for this game to make no reference to Nazi racial policy whatsoever would reduce a lot of the shock value that would make this game truly unique. And indeed, if the protagonist is an actual Nazi, then surely some of sort of reference to these policies would be manifested in his character, although indirectly.
Another big thing I think this game should include would be a way for the player to humanize and sympathize with the protagonist. Now, since this probably can't be done by trying to justify Nazism, it will have to be done through the vilification of the enemy faction, that is to say, make the player hate the Allied powers. Perhaps the protagonist will have some sort of personal connection to an Allied war crime? This can be done for both the Soviets and Western Allies.
All in all, this game would be hugely controversial and be a massive culture shock to Westerners. However, I think that if this game is made well, with exception game mechanics, breathtaking graphics, and a good story line, the controversy and culture shock would help make this game be massively popular. Everyone likes new ideas, and they will buy this game because its something that's never been done and because it is such an affront to their cultural sensibilities.
This also opens new possibilities. If we're gonna do the Nazis, then Imperial Japan is next.
