Gore in video games and its end

Every once in a while I check out a gory website and read about the drug war or between Afghani police and the Taliban, etc. I watch an authentic violent video or pictures in order to acquaint myself with the harsh reality of the horror that is constantly ocurring in our world. I'm always struck with a sense of empathy, but I've gotta say that I'm at the point where I'd rather not see a dismemberament of any kind ever again. Although, I will say that seeing violence unedited and un-watered down does truthfully represent its perpetrators.

Most of us never see it except in movies and video games. Some of us see it on websites. I can imagine that almost all of us never see it with the naked eye but MAN is it happening all around us. I'm struck by a sense of gratitude for our servicemen and women who deal closely with that harsh reality. However, I don't want to invite it into my life except to get an accurate picture of some of the worst perpetrators of horrific violence among we humans. That may mean the beginning of the end of gory video games for me.

K, well I'm still fine. I like gore in my video games.

If gore is done tastefully it can be well done. Movies like anything from the SAW series except 1 (1 is actually quite mild) go overboard and are absoulte filth.

A game like Manhunt actually uses extreme violence as a technique in it's story and it's satire of video game violence.

They are hardly any games where I have actually been put off the violence, maybe because I haven't played the worst. Condemned put me off a bit but I didn't play any gory parts.

As long as people have the capacity to know the difference between what's real and what isn't, nothing will change. Thankfully most of us have at least one foot firmly planted in the real world, but there will always be crazies who can't or don't want to know the difference.

internet shows some harsh things.and reality is tuff but people will always point fingers at

gta

condemned

splatterhouse.

games are a icon of violence people point their fingers to and jack thompson is always the man on the case of it(he makes me lulz)

music:

marlyn manson

slipknot

linkin park(yea a guy used lyrics in a suicide note from the song *in the end* before doing a shooting or somthing)

almost any metal band out there.

society sucks and needs to point fingers at them selves not games. sad reality though

I watched a Youtube video of some Pakistani guy who was shot by some "security" forces right on the street. No trial, no nothin'. He's begging for his life and some guy decides to put a few bullets in him. He took several rounds through the legs, then lie there, sort of passing in and out of consciousness, as a huge pool of blood formed around him. Truly gruesome stuff.

But gore in video games is always so overdone it's downright cartoonish, so it doesn't really bother me.

Having seen both, I will say this: no amount of fictional violence can desensitize you to the sight of a combat, accident or murder victim. Fortunately our brain is able to distinguish between the two. As a general advice: if at any time a violent game/movie seems to upset you, don't dismiss the warning sign, stop playing/watching it immediately for a while, or entirely: you may be nearing your limitBlack_Knight_00

I wish I hadn't seen what I saw. I had the images pop into my head during conversations with others today, and it derailed my attention.

I'm not sure I completely agree about being desensitized. To a degree, I think I am desensitized. While I shudder at the site of people brutally bludgeoning other people to near death and then torturing them further, I wonder if I wouldn't be more sickened if I hadn't seen, for instance, the opening scene of Pan's Labyrinth.

There was a young man who played grand theft auto who, while being initially very cooperative and polite, grabbed a cop's gun and headshotted his way out of a police department. I think it's certain that this person was capable of violence before GTA, but I do wonder if violent video games exacerbate the tendencies of people already capable of violence. Nevertheless, it's a "chicken and egg" thing.

While I do regret the things I've seen, they have given me perspective. This sounds sappy, but I love seeing safe children and courtesy, kindness, and friggin' forgiveness. Forgiveness is one amazing concept.

I watched a Youtube video of some Pakistani guy who was shot by some "security" forces right on the street. No trial, no nothin'. He's begging for his life and some guy decides to put a few bullets in him. He took several rounds through the legs, then lie there, sort of passing in and out of consciousness, as a huge pool of blood formed around him. Truly gruesome stuff.

But gore in video games is always so overdone it's downright cartoonish, so it doesn't really bother me.

Jackc8

I saw one of two brothers taking a pilgrimage who were accused of being bandits and then beaten to death by a mob. They threw large stones at their faces while they were lying defenseless and exhausted on the ground. They picked up planks of wood and beat them in the body and face until the brothers were exhausted to the point where they could barely put their hands up to clutch their shattered mouths, shield themselves, or make gestures of mercy and peace.

They were young men and handsome. They were actually normal Muslims and educated in the Quran.

I'm not really bothered by gore in video games, but I might be at the point where I would just rather not see it. Behind that is a realization that there's enough of it around without making it up and presenting fictional violence.

I love it...of course i do like it better when a game or movie does it with style but i also love the cheap over the top gore of Mortal Kombat or Saw

I'm not really bothered by gore in video games, but I might be at the point where I would just rather not see it. Behind that is a realization that there's enough of it around without making it up and presenting fictional violence.

robitussin217

Yeah, I agree. That stuff just kind of builds up until you start becoming a bit repulsed by it. I think I'm nearing that point with movies, because it's presented far more realistically than in video games.

I guess it's just how sensitive you are to the fact that it's a human being and they're experiencing something truly horrible - it ceases to be entertaining.

Every once in a while I check out a gory website and read about the drug war or between Afghani police and the Taliban, etc. I watch an authentic violent video or pictures in order to acquaint myself with the harsh reality of the horror that is constantly ocurring in our world. I'm always struck with a sense of empathy, but I've gotta say that I'm at the point where I'd rather not see a dismemberament of any kind ever again. Although, I will say that seeing violence unedited and un-watered down does truthfully represent its perpetrators.

Most of us never see it except in movies and video games. Some of us see it on websites. I can imagine that almost all of us never see it with the naked eye but MAN is it happening all around us. I'm struck by a sense of gratitude for our servicemen and women who deal closely with that harsh reality. However, I don't want to invite it into my life except to get an accurate picture of some of the worst perpetrators of horrific violence among we humans. That may mean the beginning of the end of gory video games for me.

robitussin217

why would you watch that kind of unedited stuff?

and im perfectly fine too, i like some gore in my games.

I prefer peripheral, understated violence.

why would you watch that kind of unedited stuff?

and im perfectly fine too, i like some gore in my games.

Krelian-co

I watch it because I want to know what it is really like in the world. Hearing a news caster say "6 Afghani police officers were beheaded today when the Islamic extremists ambushed their vehicles" does almost nothing to represent the awful reality of the situation. For those of us fortunate enough to live in relative safety, we hear those words on the news and they pretty much just stay words, or at the most, something that happens "off screen" in some country.

This is all to say it's difficult for us, who live in safety, to put ourselves in others' shoes. How long do murdered people hang around in your mind? probably not long. Murdered people are little more than a concept. I don't recommend you watch and I say this rhetorically: See how long it takes to forget someone you see horrifically killed.

[QUOTE="Krelian-co"]

why would you watch that kind of unedited stuff?

and im perfectly fine too, i like some gore in my games.

robitussin217

I watch it because I want to know what it is really like in the world. Hearing a news caster say "6 Afghani police officers were beheaded today when the Islamic extremists ambushed their vehicles" does almost nothing to represent the awful reality of the situation. For those of us fortunate enough to live in relative safety, we hear those words on the news and they pretty much just stay words, or at the most, something that happens "off screen" in some country.

This is all to say it's difficult for us, who live in safety, to put ourselves in others' shoes. How long do murdered people hang around in your mind? probably not long. Murdered people are little more than a concept. I don't recommend you watch and I say this rhetorically: See how long it takes to forget someone you see horrifically killed.

sorry but i think you have an underlying situation, i dont understand why you would want to "stay in touch with the real world" by watching gory videos, to me just sounds like you enjoy them. Also i don't understand whats the benefit of it, i mean what's going to change by you watching those videos?

Having seen both, I will say this: no amount of fictional violence can desensitize you to the sight of a combat, accident or murder victim. Fortunately our brain is able to distinguish between the two. As a general advice: if at any time a violent game/movie seems to upset you, don't dismiss the warning sign, stop playing/watching it immediately for a while, or entirely: you may be nearing your limitBlack_Knight_00

This. Gaming hasn't reached a serious sense of realism yet and I hope it never does. I can spend hours shooting apart Necromorph limbs in Dead Space and never be bothered by it. I can shoot countless soldiers in Crysis and it'll never do a thing because even though there are blood spots and gun shot wounds it never equals what it's like in real life.

If you've ever seen a gunshot wound you know the wound is actually huge, and it's a grotesque site. It just doesn't compare to shooting something in a game and watching it fall over. The games that do have dismemberment still don't even begin to match the site of a severed limb in reality.

This goes for all manner of violence too. I can disembowel a centaur in God of War III and be entertained by it, yet a decapitated deer on the side of the road with it's innards spilled out was enough to make me not want to eat for the rest of the day.

sorry but i think you have an underlying situation, i dont understand why you would want to "stay in touch with the real world" by watching gory videos, to me just sounds like you enjoy them. Also i don't understand whats the benefit of it, i mean what's going to change by you watching those videos?

Krelian-co

It's an interesting accusation, but that's where it stops. "Staying in touch with the real world" is a reductionist way to summarize what I described.

I don't enjoy them, I enjoy whole, safe, happy people who also enjoy whole, safe, happy people. I'm interested in knowing about the violence of the world, but it's important to specify what that means and differentiate it from enjoyment.

I'm more aware by watching the videos. I know the difference between a newscaster saying someone was beaten on the gaza strip, and what a viscious mob looks like and how unmerciful it is. That's what changed. It also makes me want to do something about it more.

We are abstract humans, yes. We are able to imagine what a car bomb could mean for its victims. But, I'm sure, despite frequently hearing about it, many of us are little better than completely oblivious. It's much more difficult to be oblivious after seeing the effect of violence unedited.

I guess it's just how sensitive you are to the fact that it's a human being and they're experiencing something truly horrible - it ceases to be entertaining.

Jackc8

That's pretty insightful. I think you're exactly right. The obvious difference between fictional violence and real is that if you replay a game, there the person is again. If someone is murdered, they're gone, and if they were killed horribly that compounds the sense of loss and sorrow.

If one's view of humanity is such that people aren't significant or unique, then there really isn't much difference between killing one person and killing the next...extremely insensitive obviously.

[QUOTE="Krelian-co"]

sorry but i think you have an underlying situation, i dont understand why you would want to "stay in touch with the real world" by watching gory videos, to me just sounds like you enjoy them. Also i don't understand whats the benefit of it, i mean what's going to change by you watching those videos?

robitussin217

It's an interesting accusation, but that's where it stops. "Staying in touch with the real world" is a reductionist way to summarize what I described.

I don't enjoy them, I enjoy whole, safe, happy people who also enjoy whole, safe, happy people. I'm interested in knowing about the violence of the world, but it's important to specify what that means and differentiate it from enjoyment.

I'm more aware by watching the videos. I know the difference between a newscaster saying someone was beaten on the gaza strip, and what a viscious mob looks like and how unmerciful it is. That's what changed. It also makes me want to do something about it more.

We are abstract humans, yes. We are able to imagine what a car bomb could mean for its victims. But, I'm sure, despite frequently hearing about it, many of us are little better than completely oblivious. It's much more difficult to be oblivious after seeing the effect of violence unedited.

i'm sorry for the accusation, didn't mean to offend, i just think watching them would serve no other purpose other than entertainment of people who like that stuff, if it moves you to actually do something that benefit such victims, good.

Gore in video games is fine. You have to be 18 to buy M games here. If it gets in a kids hand it it was the parent's choice and the parent's right to regulate what their child sees or not. Video game companies make games that they hope people like to make money, not raise children. And by the way, those sites with RL death are the ones that might need to come to an end, not fictional media.

[QUOTE="robitussin217"]

[QUOTE="Krelian-co"]

sorry but i think you have an underlying situation, i dont understand why you would want to "stay in touch with the real world" by watching gory videos, to me just sounds like you enjoy them. Also i don't understand whats the benefit of it, i mean what's going to change by you watching those videos?

Krelian-co

It's an interesting accusation, but that's where it stops. "Staying in touch with the real world" is a reductionist way to summarize what I described.

I don't enjoy them, I enjoy whole, safe, happy people who also enjoy whole, safe, happy people. I'm interested in knowing about the violence of the world, but it's important to specify what that means and differentiate it from enjoyment.

I'm more aware by watching the videos. I know the difference between a newscaster saying someone was beaten on the gaza strip, and what a viscious mob looks like and how unmerciful it is. That's what changed. It also makes me want to do something about it more.

We are abstract humans, yes. We are able to imagine what a car bomb could mean for its victims. But, I'm sure, despite frequently hearing about it, many of us are little better than completely oblivious. It's much more difficult to be oblivious after seeing the effect of violence unedited.

i'm sorry for the accusation, didn't mean to offend, i just think watching them would serve no other purpose other than entertainment of people who like that stuff, if it moves you to actually do something that benefit such victims, good.

I don't think it's in anyway abnormal or demented to have curiousity as to what goes on around us in the world, especially when it's so taboo and abstract a concept. Most people never really get to see the harshness and brutality of RL violence, they only know it through the media, which is nothing compared to the reality. If you come to enjoy watching it, then I think there's a problem, but otherwise I'd say NOT being curious about it is more abnormal than the opposite.

I can understand gore in games, especially games going for a realistic depiction or some horror/survival angle.

Bulletstorm was kind of a parody of action games, so the over the top gore fit, especially in the comical way it was represented. In Operation Flashpoint, you have gore because they don't want to play down the harsh realism of war. In Manhunt, the game was about you being kidnapped and forced to survive and kill to survive, it just wouldn't have packed that same punch and the game would have suffered for it.

If you don't like gory games you don't have to play them, but I think as long as the gore is something that fits in the context of the game then it works well and shouldn't be censored.

I can distinguish between fake gore and real life horrors, and playing gory video games hasn't made me more apathetic of real life gore. lamprey263

This is also in response to Spyder because you guys are saying similar things.

I agree with both of you to an extent because I enjoyed gory video games for a long time. So, even if I've reached a phase of my life where I prefer to exclude fictional gore from my life, I certainly wouldn't judge people who still enjoy it. And, there's more to it than that because there is more to gory video games than just the gore. It's role playing and escapism. You guys have said it well, that it contributes to a setting.

However, a ghost of a point that's floating around in my head is that since there is so much horrible violence out there already, it seems wierd (couldn't think of a better adjective) that we would make up fictional violence for enjoyment. I wonder what combatants who have seen their friends blown up beside them think of games like Call of Duty. What do they think about violent war games for entertainment?

I think it's like someone else said already. It depends on how sensitive you are to it.

This is really more OT material or blog.

On topic, I think gore in games is usually pretty unrealistic.