Scene Paris

"I find modern war games to be highly distasteful," says games designer Luc Bernard, the man behind the PS Minis title Mecho Wars. "They teach players to kill, but not understand anything about why they're killing." Bernard is hoping to change that with his next game, Imagination is the Only Escape.

Originally aimed at the Nintendo DS, the concept first surfaced back in 2008 but Bernard was unable to secure a publisher — hardly surprisingly when you consider the game tells the story of a young Jewish boy and his efforts to escape the Holocaust. It's a war game like no other; a game which looks to show war for what it really is — a terrible, tragic event which should never be celebrated, much less turned into some kind of entertainment.

"In today's games, you're fighting zombie Nazis or robot Nazis, which to me feels like a fairly crass attempt by the designers to distance themselves from the terrible atrocities committed by that regime," states Bernard. "You're taking a horrific moment in history and turning it into a toy, a plaything. I create a lot of games that are pure fantasy and have no basis in reality, but when it comes to real events, I would never take the approach that many modern developers do. You have to have respect for the past and the people involved when you're tackling real-life events, such as war and conflict."

Bernard is crowdfunding Imagination is the Only Escape and has been talking to a lot of platform holders about the chance of it being released on their system, should the campaign prove successful. Unsurprisingly, given its recent push to work with as many indies as possible, Sony is top of the list right now — which pleases Bernard immensely. "Working with Sony on Mecho Wars was great — I would say they are the best console manufacturer to work with. They were just fantastic. I can't mention much about Imagination yet, but Sony are looking at it and I hope they think it fits their platform."

Another reason Bernard is pleased is because he has a lot of adoration for Sony's portable console. "I just love the Vita," he says. "I think the Vita TV will be a huge hit. If Sony ever came knocking and said asked me to make an exclusive game, I would do it right away."

Although Bernard can't guarantee anything at present and admits that talks with Sony are at a very early stage, contributing to the crowdfunding campaign for Imagination is the Only Escape would certainly take the game a step closer to the Vita. Let us know what you think of Bernard's comments and if you're keen to see his unique vision hit Sony's handheld by posting a comment below.

[source indiegogo.com]