Shoot-em-ups have always been pretty popular.
I mean, they're fast, exciting, and reward skill - it's easy to see the appeal.
I suppose they are pretty mindless,
though. Endless killing, blood and gore - and not much in the way of nuance.
Sensible Software were no stranger to shooters. They made their debut
with Parallax, 'a superbly presented, extremely playable shoot-'em-up'.[1]
The later Shoot-Em-Up Construction Kit even allowed players to make their own.
Sensible had a pretty good reputation on the 8-bit machines. They really hit it big on 16-bit
with Sensible Soccer, a super slick football game that was phenomenally popular. It cemented their
reputation as top-tier developers, and defined their signature top-down style with tiny sprites.
The follow-up was to be a war-themed shoot-em-up, initially titled "Lemmings with Weapons"[2],
but adopting the name 'Cannon Fodder' soon after development started.
It was to be classic Sensible: a quirky,
well-polished fusion of genres[3]; Something weird, something wonderful.
But they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
First, some quick historical context: A conflict occurred between 1914 and 1918,
generally referred to as World War I.
Many people died, and this was universally regarded as a bad thing. A poem was written - 'In
Flanders Fields' - that referenced red poppies growing on the graves of fallen soldiers.
The poppy became a potent symbol of remembrance in many Commonwealth
nations. The Royal British Legion, a charity supporting the armed forces and veterans,
adopted the poppy as a trademark and a symbol of their Poppy Appeal.
Alright, back to 1993. It's the 75th anniversary of the Armistice. Every year,
people wear the poppy in remembrance of the sacrifice made by the armed forces.
Sensible Software are applying the finishing touches to Cannon Fodder.
It is not a mindless shoot-em-up. It plays a lot
like one, but there's a poignancy to it. Your soldiers have names.
As they rank up, their skills improve and you grow increasingly attached to them.
But this is war, and it is seldom fair. A stray bullet or explosion can cruelly cut
down your most cherished soldier, and there's little you can do. Losses are inevitable.
At the end of each mission, there is a tribute to those 'Lost In Service'.
Sombre music plays as the names of the fallen parade slowly up the screen.
Alongside, two poppies drive home the message of remembrance.
Gravestones start to appear on the hillside as more recruits pile in, queuing for service.
Just a scattering at first, but as the missions stack up, the dead grow in number.
Cannon Fodder is a war game with nuance. There aren't too many like it.
In a CU Amiga preview, Sensible co-founder Jon Hare states 'Cannon Fodder's the game
we've always wanted to write - it makes you realise just how senseless war is.'[4]
In keeping with its anti-war sentiment, the poppy was chosen as the game's main title screen. Thus,
it was also the logical choice for the box art. An image that was simple, striking, and strong.
In thematic alignment, Sensible also planned
to release the game on the 11th of November - Remembrance day.
In the run-up to launch, a magazine called Amiga Power decides to feature
their exclusive Cannon Fodder review on their cover: with the image of the
poppy featured prominently, set beside the words 'TOTAL WAR'.[5]
Future Publishing, owners of Amiga Power, take out an advert promoting
their range of video game magazines in an issue of the Sunday Mirror.[6]
It features Games Master, SEGA Power, Super Play and Amiga Power,
with each bearing the cover of their next issue, due for imminent release.
So Amiga Power was prominently emblazoned with the poppy in a major UK newspaper.
Someone noticed and took umbrage with the use of the symbol. Shortly after,
The Daily Star - a major UK tabloid newspaper - caught wind of the controversy.
They ran an article with the headline 'POPPY GAME INSULT TO OUR WAR DEAD'[7],
and decried the use of such a sacred symbol for a trivial thing like a video game as 'Shameful'.
Quotes included MP Menzies Campbell, who said 'It is monstrous that the poppy
should be used in such a way'. Viscount Montgomery of Alamein,
son of the famed Field Marshall 'Monty', said 'It is very unfortunate that anyone should
see fit to detract from the poppy's place as a symbol of remembrance'.
It wasn't a great look. Sensible were going to have to make some changes.
Amiga Power didn't emerge unscathed, either.
The magazine received a letter from a solicitor acting on the
Royal British Legion's instructions[8] expressing concern over use of the poppy,
and making the following demands: A written apology; Removal of the poppy artwork;
Payment for all legal costs and a donation to the Poppy Appeal; And for all mentions of the
game to be omitted in the forthcoming issue - and all future publications.
Begrudgingly, and with the print deadline looming,
the Amiga Power cover was hastily changed, swapping the poppy for a screenshot instead[9].
The review of Cannon Fodder still went out, where it scored a respectable 94%.
The demand for AP to drop all coverage of it for all perpetuity must have been deemed
unreasonable. Amusingly, the contents page remained censored - presumably as a joke.
In the same issue, a news article detailed the unfolding drama,
reproducing the Daily Star article and explaining the redacted poppy.
One of AP's journalists, Stuart Campbell,
was livid at the change. The contents page contains a rather flippant comment from him:
It reads: 'Old Soldiers? I wish them all dead.'
Adolf Hitler is also credited in the imprint for 'Book-burning',
and the Royal British Legion are labelled 'Conscientious Objectors'.
This didn't go down well with the Daily Star,
who ran another article with the headline 'POPPY ROW MAG INSULTS OLD SOLDIERS'.[10]
There's a less-than-flattering description of Stuart,
and a quote garnered over what the Star describes as a 'confrontation'.
The spokesman for the Royal British Legion suggests that 'If it was
not for the old soldiers who stood up during the wars he might not be alive.'
Amiga Power's publishing director is apologetic - admitting 'that
including Campbell's comment in the magazine was "a regrettable mistake"',
and adding 'I would like to apologise to the Royal British Legion and anyone else who was offended.'
In any case, that was that.
Amiga Power suffered no more humiliation in the press, and the only further consequence
was a 'messily-scrawled threatening letter' to the magazine shortly after.[8]
Meanwhile, at Sensible they were scrambling to make the
required changes before Cannon Fodder's launch.
The cover art, naturally, had to be changed - the poppy was a no-go for retail shelves. Instead,
the Cannon Fodder box featured a green camouflage pattern with a concealed soldier.
A disclaimer was added at the start of the game:
'This game is not in any way endorsed by the ROYAL BRITISH LEGION.'.
This was a legal requirement[11], demanded to disassociate the game from anything official.
Additionally, the design of the poppies in game was changed - in
their original form they resembled the stylised twin-petal poppy used
by the Royal British Legion[12], as one was used as a reference.
Sensible's artist, Stoo Cambridge,
received instruction to redraw them from their publisher - so he went out,
picked a handful of poppies growing nearby and drew some (more realistic) replacements.[13].
In a later interview[14], Jon Hare revealed that 'the British Legion was most concerned with
rights issues: “Basically, they were annoyed that we had used their poppy. In the end,
they said ‘if you give us 500 quid, we’ll keep quiet’, and so we paid them off.”'.
Anyway, with the changes in place, and the involuntary donation made,
Sensible were in the clear.
So, after a short delay, in December 1993 the game released.
In reviews, Amiga Format described it as 'though provoking' and as 'possibly
the most anti-war game I've seen in a while'.[15]
Amiga Power described it as 'thoughtful' and 'addictive'.[9]
Amiga Computing hailed it as 'one of the most playable games you
will ever play' - 'A rootin' tootin' shoot-em-up of the highest order'.[16]
It was a critical hit and sold well - in excess of 100,000 copies[17].
Amiga Power ranked it at number 2 in their all-time Top 100 Games in 1994[8],
just behind Sensible Soccer. It's currently ranked as the 12th best Amiga game on lemonamiga.com[18]
If anything, the controversy probably helped.
Those who raised objection were operating on a surface-level impression of Cannon Fodder:
At a glance, it looks like just another mindless shooter. But it's not.
If anything, it's more fitting for the game to bear the poppy than for anyone who would
use it as a jingoistic bludgeon. It doesn't tell you how to feel - instead it shows you.
As Cannon Fodder's manual states[19]: 'Don’t try playing this at home, kids,
because war is not a game - war, as Cannon Fodder demonstrates in its own quirky little way, is a
senseless waste of human resources and lives. We hope that you never have to find out the hard way.
Thank you very much for watching, and until next time - farewell.