Virtual Vets Flesh Out D-Day - Little footage exists of the bloody action behind enemy lines during the D-Day invasion. So what's a modern documentary maker to do? By John Gaudiosi. [Movies & Music]

I just came across this story on Wired about a History channel special supplementing a World War II documentary with vivid, full color footage from the game Brothers in Arms. In light of the comparative lack of D-Day footage and the overuse of the material that is available, the History Channel opted to use this game as a way to recreate those fateful days.

While most viewed this presentational form as a positive, with good response from WWII veterans themselves, this kind of recreation brings up interesting questions of authenticity and the value of 'the real.' Gearbox Software, the maker of the game, said that it took interviews and photos of the veterans and recreated them in-game as the 18-20 year olds they would have been in the war. Creating 'retroactive documentary' in this form is a bit troubling to me. As the graphical capabilities of computer games creep closer and closer to true photorealism, what is the value of authentic documentary footage when a near indistinguishable likeness can be created from a computer game engine? Also, when these simulations are photoreal, the unscrupulous can pass them off as authentic footage.

While some blurring of the lines between film, games and reality is inevitable with the advance of technology, I believe examples like this highlight the need for some standard of authenticity to be implemented across media products. This need not apply across the board, but more and more there is a need to verify the identity and authenticity of true source materials.

-L. Worthington