Arma 3 Devs. Arrest in Greece

I wanted to take the opportunity that was given to me, in light of the recent arrest of 2 BI Devs in Greece. A lot of people throw their lives in the pit for a career in the game developing world. Some lose entire fortunes, houses family etc. It is not unheard that people willingly dedicate so much of their life for the sake of that passion they have for games.

But where do we cross the line? Where do we say this went far enough? We don't tend to weep or even care when someone's made some bad decisions and ended up broke or fired from a company because of that bad decision, mainly because that particular decision affected only that certain individual, but when a country's or nation's laws are violated in an extend where it's national security is threatened it's a completely different ball game.

Greece finds it's self in an extremely uncomfortable and difficult position with the current economic crisis that ravages the country and it's safe to say that Greece is found in the spotlight of every major media in all countries, even though there are countries that are in the exact same position (some maybe even worse), or countries that without reason or logic (see Germany who owes much more money than Greece) are considered in their best economic state.

Without wanting to dive further into politics, given the current situation that Greece is in right now, it acts as an excuse for everyone to purposefully accuse it for every action the country takes right or wrong.

Which brings me to the current topic. After the news hit on Gamespot that the 2 Devs were arrested for illegally taking photos of a military base in Limnos island, Greece, the hateful and offensive comments about Greece and the arrest of the 2 individuals, were in an all time high. It saddens me that so many people around the world cannot think, logically and objectively and also lack the very basic principles of right and wrong. From the hundreds of comments only a handful of people were able to objectively assess the situation and say what those 2 Devs did was plain wrong.

There is a point were passion and dedication becomes a threat and we need to acknowledge this as soon as possible. There is no good reason or better, there isn't any reason were 2 strangers sneaking in a military camp and taking photos of a country's weapons and base structures illegally, will then be considered justified. Bohemia Interactive said they wanted to make Arma III as realistic as possible, but is that enough excuse for two people to sneak in a military base of a foreign country and start documenting? The answer is NO. Not only is this unprofessional, but is also dangerous in a national scale.

It doesn't matter if the country's base that you just took photos is the smallest and most insignificant country on earth. From the time you chose not to ask for permission and trespass in somebody else's land then you should be able to accept the consequences, and being arrested should at least been expected.

This incident should be an example to all game developers, that there is a thin line where dedication and passion becomes obssesion and we should all be aware of it. As long as our decisions affect us and only us we are free to choose and act as we want. But when our actions puts in potential danger a whole country then we need to reconsider that action.

I have no doubt that this was all a misunderstanding and bad decision making from the part of the BI devs as i'm sure that the matter will be solved quickly and end well for both parties. Maybe the overwhelming zeal clouded their judgment, but it is no excuse whatsoever for what they did, and more importantly it's not right.

What i want you to take from this article is that people look up to games now as never before, and having people supporting the actions of those 2 developers and saying that what they did was right and they shouldn't get arrested is a byproduct from the bad influences games may have on us. Companies need to get straight with people about what's right and what's wrong and not supporting any false actions that were taken from their part, spreading that way a bad example towards the outside world.

I hope everyone will understand why this was wrong and why those 2 people needed to be arrested and i hope all ends well.