Violence Doesn’t Make a Good Video Game

Brad Webster from Capsule Computers wrote

The statement seems obvious at first glance. Of course you don’t need violence to have a successful video game, what is this guy on about? Well the fact is in today’s industry it’s pretty damn hard to go without it.

[masterabbott]

I'm going to stick with Barbie's Horse Adventures

[Laike]

Does Katamari Damacy count as "violent"? A lot of people consider it a shining example of non violent game place but rolling up people in a giant ball and most likely being smothered seems a little violent.

Either which way, we need more games like Spec Ops The Line. Games that actually question the violence.

[futurefrog]

Violence is a lose term but I agree.

[koga88]

While violence doesn't make a game good, the easiest reference the guy uses is the latest Medal of Honor title which lets face it, was absolutely terrible in almost every aspect. Along those lines there are also a number of games which feature no violence whatsoever but also become absolutely boring experiences for the sake of "art." For every great game that features no violence there are also great games that are steeped in violence. Dead Space for example is a very brutal game but one that is a blast to play.

[LinkageAX]

Another quality article from these guys; I think they're the next big thing in gaming "Journalism".

[Fishy Fingers]

So is it a coincidence that vast majority of popular titles contain violent themes? Of course not. So while I believe a good games doesn't need to be violent in nature what so ever, most gamers are looking for an escape from the humdrum of normal life. They want to do something they can't, which usually translates to shooting something in the face.

[caseh]

Take a look at EA forums for Fight Night Champion and the number of people complaining its too difficult to cut/injure your opponent and tell me graphic violence isn't important. :)

[bunfighterii]

Good article- games don't need to be violent to be good is obvious, but why are there so many violent games and why are they so popular?

There's no point denying human beings are violent creatures though- it permeates so much of every culture we can't escape it. We're entertained by it, we're shocked by it, we want to constantly hear about it in the news, we celebrate it, we abhor it- we can't escape it. Violence is everywhere- or at least simulated violence. Not many people can abide real life violence, but we love violent stories, fictions, games, movies, novels, paintings, drawings etc.

Why? I dunno...

[ZacE]

That's the thing that a few people have commented on already, it's obviously not needed but it has an appeal. An appeal that obviously is shared amongst some of the most popular games in recent history. It's really an issue of psychology and why we are attracted to such things. Having done a Psychology of Play class (though it didn't go very deep), I can only bring up the old selling point that video games enable us to do things that we would ordinarily never do. Does that mean we secretly want to commit violence in our daily lives? Not necessarily. But it's a new experience, an outlet for our frustrations, etc. It's all psychological.

[Ryder49]

Interesting article.