The reason video games feature stabbing, shooting and starting fires: it’s more fun than talking

The reason so many mainstream games are so violent isn't because of lack of imagination – it's just that, for now, it's the most effective way to create a compelling, competitive experience for the player.

There will come a time when people will look upon the limited options of modern mainstream gaming and be baffled by the appeal of it – much in the same way as we look back on the games of a few decades ago and wonder why anybody would want to hammer their keyboard into bits just to make Daley Thompson run the 100m, or just what the hell was going on in Jet Set Willy. The children growing up on Minecraft or any of its myriad creativity-driven descendants are not going to be satisfied with games that offer a succession of corridors full of mindless bad guys to be shot in the head.

The idea that mainstream games should expand beyond merely being about shooting, stabbing or jumping on people has gained popular traction in recent times, and this is a good thing. Games should expand the array of options available to the player as technology improves and we should be encouraging heightened expectations over complacency.