Why does every Open World game revolves around "Killing"

Open World games such as GTA, Saints Row, Just Cause, etc. Have been around for long. In each of those games i mentioned why does the main objective always revolve around killing people with no foreseeable goal??
From my playthrough into those games, i got bored easily. I played GTA4 and returned it within an hour, got SR2 and played it for a couple of hours and now its collecting dust somewhere. Just cause has kinda pulled me into that genre but i couldn't continue the game, it was fun for the first few minutes, but it appeared to have a huge map with absolutely nothing to do other than killing.

I've never been a fan of open world games. Well, you may ask why, because i played most of them and felt that they're pointless, with no decent story, interesting setting or characters, something worth doing other than doing nothing but crime. I would also like to point out why do open world games have such a HUGE world that is dead with lack of rewarding for the exploration you do.
Until recently when i put Yakuza 3 into my PS3 system. I was greeted with the intro movie and got a bit excited, i played the game for a couple of hours, in the beginning it wasn't really good, until you leave Tokyo to Okinawa, the game takes a couple of hours for its true potential to kick in.

After 4 hours of playing the game, i got the ability of going to the town of Okinawa near the Protagonist's orphanage. I'm not sure i remember what my objective was going to the town, but i was blown away by the level of interaction and the diversity of the side missions i stopped caring for the story, spent some time in the town doing side missions and fighting baddies, after that, i continued the story and was blown away again by how deep the story and how interesting the characters are, and i'm not gonna forget how the game portrays the gritty side of Okinawa and tokyo.
All in all, Yakuza 3 addressed my concerns about open world games, with a solid story, interesting setting and characters, diverse missions that do not revolve around picking up a gun and laying people to rest. With all that, it still retains a very solid combat system that is very brutal too. And IMO i think its the only game that did open world right.

Lets get back to the main subject.
Lets move away from open world games a bit, here is what i aways think of: Why does the gaming industry or the AAA games are centered around guns and killing?? Why is murdering people such a cool thing to do?! With all those big budgets killing is now VERY detailed with gruesome ways. Why can't gaming be peaceful??
I might be seen a hypocrite but this is too much killing. I can't remember when we got a game that is peaceful and fun. Don't get me wrong, i enjoy games of all kind, but there should a balance.

So, thats it, i think i'm done.
I would also like to ask you what do you think of my first attempt in blogging?? I hope you liked it. :)

[fsfsxii]

I forgot to add Arkham City. Its another game that did open world right.

[Donnieboi]

Good blog. You might like Sleeping Dogs. Although later in the game there will be gunplay, but early on your an agent who fights with his fists in an open world game. Good story/plot in it too.

Also there are some simpsons open world games, that are not too violent while staying open world.

[NewMonday]

also Gravity Rush

[Bimkoblerutso]

I'm with you all the way, man, and good blog too.

I obviously like my fair share of violent games, but even from an artistic perspective, I feel like the industry's obsession with violence is stifling creativity far too often.

[Valenka]

There's no "right" or "wrong" way to do open world games. There's plenty of open-world games that don't revolve around "senseless" killing. You need to get out more and do your research.

Minecraft
Elder Scrolls
Fable
Driver
Harvest Moon
Legend of Zelda
Dragon Age
Need for Speed (MW, HP, Carbon)

To name a few.

[zeal0us]

There's plenty of peaceful games that doesn't revolve around killing. It's just you're looking in the wrong genre. The most popular open-world games(outside of MMOs) are the M-rated ones.

[TopDudeMan]

Yeah, I think most wind up like that because if you give someone the freedom to do whatever they want, that's what they'll do.

[bunfighterii]

I don't think they're focused on killing, you just have the freedom to do that if you want. I spent more time in GTAIV being a tourist than I did killing random people. I was happy to just drive safely around, or get on trains, and marvel at the world Rockstar made.

[fsfsxii]

Its not like Yakuza where when you're in the city you get distracted by the amount of awesome side quest. While in every other open world game, every body tried to clone GTA. I dunno why.

[YodaCracker]

You say GTA IV revolves around killing but you returned it within an hour. There's no killing in the first hour of the story and not for quite a while if I recall correctly.

[fsfsxii]

The first few things i did was killing and driving a car. Instantly turned off the console

[VicodinViking]

No one wants games where hippies hold hands and molest trees.

Killing is always going to be a mainstay and I see no reason why it should be lessened just to appeal to people who get offended or annoyed by it easily.

Games like GTA have far more appeal based on the amount of things you can do past the storyline, as opposed to playing a game that only has story and once you're done it, there's nothing else to do. Replayability is greater than wasting 60$ on something you'll only play 2-3 times and then never pick it up for a long time, if ever again.

Don't see too many people that would care to play games that were peaceful, those would be far too boring to waste your time with.

[VicodinViking]

The 4 disagrees must've been hippies who want to molest trees?

Killing games are here to stay, people. OP & the like are not the type of gamers companies give a crap about.

People want options in games, not restrictions. Removing an element that so many games utilize is a death sentence. We're better off ignoring the miniscule percentage of individuals who don't like violence or killing in a game anyway.

Disagree all you want, but these hippies and 'moral ALL the things' types are not going to be the bulk of sales. So appeasing to them is a colossal waste of time.

[plmkoh]

When you give GTAIV as an example of why there is too much killing. Look at where it's made and who they serve, and there's your answer.

[porkChop]

Where it's made? Let me guess, you're talking about America. Last time I checked all Rockstar North games are made in Scotland.

[JohnApocalypse]

Simpsons: Hit and Run doesnt

[snipab8t]

Awesome game from my childhood. Never did finish it though...

[KabalsHookblades]

Midnight Club, the originator of OPEN WORLD street racing.

[BillytheBarbarian]

If you kill people in GTA without doing missions that's on the player. Be a safer driver, stop at red lights, watch speed limits, and don't retaliate when someone tries to steal your car.

You can be a paramedic and help people. You can just be a cab driver if you choose.
It's all how you want to play.

[dark-hollow]

You mean like shenmue?

[-Gespenst-]

Totally agree, the in vogue open world game almost always involves violence. It's never about exploration, seeing the sights, immersing yourself in the world and mere discovery being the reward.

Why is it that when given an open world, developers and gamers incline towards the ability to reak havoc and kill people? Why do we want to simulate that? People say you have a choice in GTA, but you don't. First of all the core of the game is stealing vehicles and going on rampages, that's where the gameplay excels. Secondly, you invariably PLAY as a criminal, it's not your own character. Thirdly, the actual story of the game involves participating in crime. If you want to finish the game, you have to do a lot of killing. Sure you can opt not to do that stuff, but it's the fact that the game rewards you for it. If you want to get all the goodies in the game, you have to participate in the bad shit. Go ahead and only do the taxi missions or the paramedic missions, but the game isn't designed for those things to be central or to be maximally enjoyable. Before long the game lures you back in playing it how it was supposed to be played. You think you have a "choice" but that's BS. None of these games have actual "freedom" to do what you want and to play how you want, because ultimately the most care is put into designing the explosive, violent, and destructive shit.

Not enough games plop you in an open world to merely explore and meet interesting characters and unfold a narrative. This is why I'm looking forward to The Witness so much. That game almost epitomises why Indie games are the way forward. It's a complete paradigm shifter and it's definitely pushing games in a more sophisticated direction. Deadly Premonition too. Whatever about the visuals, I thought they were really nostalgic and had a really unique and memorable aesthetic. I've never seen such an eerie and convincing treeline either. Anyhow, the open world in that game was just magnificent. Such a believable and functional little town, with loads of great characters going about their daily lives. Man that game is overflowing with character. Not only that, but it makes you appreciate really mundane things- makes them enjoyable and immersive.

[-Gespenst-]

Violence-centric open worlds

GTA
GTA London
GTA 2
GTA 3
GTA Vice City
GTA San Andreas
GTA IV
GTA V
GTA Liberty City Stories
GTA Vice City Stories
GTA Chinatown Wars
True Crime: Streets of L.A.
True Crime: New York City
Sleeping Dogs
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed Liberation
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
Infamous
Infamous 2
Infamous Second Son
The Elder Scrolls: Arena
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Fallout 3
Fallout New Vegas
The Witcher
The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Saints Row I
Saints Row II
(I'm exempting III and IV because they're gigantic parodies)
Rage
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Red Dead Redemption
Mafia 1
Mafia 2
Farcry 2
Farcry 3
Just Cause
Just Cause 2
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Watchdogs

Now you might say "well obviously a game like Mafia etc. will be violent", but what I say to that is, why then do we continually pick violent subject matter? We not explore some other more interesting and edifying avenues? Especially given that most of these violent videogames aren't at all teaching us to abhor violence and conflict and crime.

Not violence-centric or simply non-violent at all

Shenmue
Deadly Premonition
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Beyond Good and Evil
Yakuza (Violent I know, but the violence is far from central)
The Witness
L.A. Noire (Tempted to put this in the other list but...)

[Godlovesgamers]

Hey, smarty-pants! You forgot...

Red Faction Guerilla
Burnout Paradise
Need For Speed Most Wanted
No More Hero's

Seriously though, you can drop the linguistic pretense anytime now, this is the comments section on a gaming site. I mean you don't call McDonalds to make a reservation and then show up in a three piece suit, do you?

You know, you might actually be a really cool person, but no one would ever know it with this pseudo-intellectual facade you put on. Although I don't agree with how "Ravenor" described you in the first part of his comment, I completely agree with the sentiment.

[-Gespenst-]

Noted.

Why can't we have some semi-intellectual debate in a comments section? Pretty arbitrary rule. Plus, it's a blog entry, the comments section is surely for repsonding to it, and such responses generally add to the debate or the discussion. I'd also add that the blog makes a very fine point that's certainly worth discussing.

[porkChop]

The Elder Scrolls games are not violence-focused. They're all about exploration.

You say that you haven't included Saint's Row 3 and 4 because they're parodies. I hope you realize that the entire GTA series is a parody on American culture through the eyes of the media.

The Witcher 1 and 2 are not open world games. Only the 3rd game is open world.

While there is violence in Watch Dogs, it isn't the games focus. Instead, the game seems to focus on the dangers of social media, and being "connected". It's about exploring the idea of power and responsibility. The hacking takes main stage, while the violence takes a backseat.

For "non-violent" games you're missing the entire Midnight Club franchise, NFS Most Wanted (1 & 2), NFS Rivals, NFS Undercover, NFS Carbon, NFS Underground 2, NFS World, NFS Hot Pursuit, Burnout Paradise, Gravity Rush, Minecraft, Driver 1 & 2, Driver San Francisco, Bully, the entire Zelda series, Test Drive Unlimited 1 & 2, and the Harvest Moon series.

[JanuStorm]

Sorry, but TES is not "about exploration" just because it has a big world to explore. The games are still filled with aggressive enemies scattered around it that force you to fight or flee at every turn. Yeah, what a peaceful experience it is "exploring" Morrowind when you're forced to fight a Cliff Racer every 10 steps.

[TheArtfulDodger]

Howeever, the whole point of TES is to submerge yourself into Medieval-Fantasy culture. The lore labelled around, the deities, the dragon quests, magic and hell the beautifully crafted horses all lead to a game much bigger than simple 'violence'.

Also watering down mission-based combat, deemed necessary in TES to blatant violence is a damn crime.

[DoctorJones]

If only there was an open world game based on picking flowers and running with rabbits. We could have amazing quests and missions like -

Arrange a Tea party

or

Deliver the flour to Baker Ben

or

Build a Greenhouse and grow some plants

The excitement might be a little too much for some though. But I imagine it would great for people who enjoy knitting.

[s45gr32]

Well I really can't answer why mainstream gaming and is obsessed with violence. Now there are a couple non violent indies like to the moon, dear Esther or gone home. As for mainstream games well Portal and that's the only peaceful mainstream game I could think of. Now, I wish open world games were filled to the brim with mini games, side missions and a non violent path. It would also be nice to have multiple endings and the story changing according to your actions....

[ifritAlkhemyst]

Burnout Paradise?

[MysticStrummer]

Most games in general feature lots of killing so it's no surprise that open world games follow that pattern.

[SchwoererBear]

Video games sometimes serve the purpose of allowing people to do things that are not posible in real life. People play COD and violent games because it appeals to primal instinct and you can carry out actions that are not acceptable in society. I love lots of genres but action games acan be the most fun thing, it's just the way it is

[isarai]

It's human nature, we're natural predators, the proof is in our history