War is hell and brings out the worst in people, look at the current war in Ukraine where Russia has committed heinous war crimes. However, most nations agree to some rules of war (even Russia, even if they don’t abide by it), and now International Red Cross thinks gamers should do a better job of following them too.
They’ve now launched a new campaign called “Play by the Rules.” It’s basically a sort of honor code of how someone transferred to a video game should be treated in an actual conflict, though this stuff will definitely set you up for failure online:
not thirsty: When an enemy is down and unable to respond, you can’t keep shooting at them.
Do not target non-violent NPCs: Robots that don’t fire for no reason are considered civilians and you can’t target or harm them.
Targeting of civil structures is prohibited: In any given game map, a house, school, or hospital is considered a safe area that you cannot harm. When fighting in these spaces, you must do everything you can to avoid damage.
Use a health pack on everyone: If you have an unused health kit that works for other people, you must give it to those who need it–friendly or enemy.
We think it’s a good idea to remind gamers of these rules, even though they’re 100% pointless in a video game – though few of us (hopefully) have to deal with real warfare.