The Main Arma 3 Island Changes Names in Light of Recent Events
Over the last few months we’ve reported extensively about two Arma 3 developers and their unfortunate detention in Greece pending resolution of alleged espionage charges. Hot on the heels of Bohemia Interactive‘s Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar being released on bail comes some unexpected news from the Arma 3 camp.
Bohemia Interactive has decided that it will no longer name the main island in Arma 3 ”Limnos”, after the Greek island of Lemnos which was the inspiration for the setting. Instead, the Arma 3 island will bear the name “Altis” to avoid any possible confusion regarding the game’s fictional setting.
Project Lead Joris-Jan van’t Land had this to say about the “new” Arma 3 island:
“As part of the creative process, our virtual environments are often rooted in real-life locations and, during development, they evolve and grow along with our design. The resulting fictional environment is often close to its inspiration, but it’s never exactly the same – nor would we want it to be. For us, ‘Altis’ echoes the Mediterranean heart of our island, but differentiates it from any undesired real-life connotations.”
It seems the team just “doesn’t feel passionate” about using the original name for the main Arma 3 island anymore, and is it hard to see why? You may feel one way or the other about the charges leveled against the two Arma developers but maybe it is just safer to remove any references that might be misconstrued at a later date. While the Arma 3 island is getting the change in name, the map will stay at the current 350 square kilometer size. Bohemia Interactive also pointed out once again that the features of the island were all developed using information already available in the public and commercial domains.
What do you think? Is the name change a good idea or is it an unnecessary step on behalf of Bohemia Interactive?
