"A veteran shared a story about how killing enemy soldiers is sometimes more frightening than the thought of getting killed - realizing your enemy is not an inferior being, but a person who's serving the same purpose as you."

Many games explore the life of a soldier through action and gunplay. Camila Gormaz, creator of modern military RPG Long Gone Days, set out to do more than that, focusing on the emotional toll that war has on soldiers. Through the narrative, characters, and unique systems she has created for the game, players can experience the mental effects of being in combat, all designed based on experiences of real veterans.

Soldiers' Stories

Long Gone Days' main character, Rourke, is a sniper that becomes a deserter after finding out the truth about an operation he was a part of. Despite trying to run from the war, though, he soon finds himself drawn back into it, joining other soldiers and civilians in combat.
This story isn't just the result of fiction Gormaz came up with, but of hours and days spent researching the real-life effects of war on soldiers.

"During the development of the story, I took a lot of inspiration from movies, series and books, but it was really important to research from real sources as well, because fictional media tends to exaggerate things. It was really important to study war history, to understand the reasons why and how an army could start a war." says Gormaz.

This research involved delving in...