Warren Spector believes games are too vielent & gory

[shawnmck]

http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/14/the-...-says-spector/

I agree & disagree to an extent...
I agree that some games are way too violent for kids to play...However I disagree because I am an adult & feel that I should be allowed to play whatever I want (when it comes to violence & gore...& within reason).
The problem is, if people like Warren Spector got their way, they would force their views on everybody....which I just don't agree with.

Let them determine whats appropriate for kids & minors, but don't tell me (an adult) what I should & should not play.
That is just arrogant behavior, because he feels like he knows whats best for me & everyone else.
I'm not some kid or irresponsible adult with a mental issue.

[Elbozo]

Oh boy, i hope he doesn't turn into another Jack Thompson...

(It's ironic though, that it is said by the man behind Deus Ex - where you could easily gib 5 to 10 enemies with a good rocket shot )

Personally, i don't mind gore at all. I don't like it... in 3d! I think the best gore effects to this day were done on detailed 2d sprites! Just think about how monsters died in Doom or Blood... How lovely was the gratuitous gore in splatterhouse games... The horrifying scenes of violence and torture in Diablo 1+2... Sometimes those were more disturbing then the "technology is still not there yet" effects we could see in games like Solider of Fortune and such... But that's just me. I like gore, and if i had a child, i would think twice wether it's appropriate for him/her and then decide, instead of going by what someone says.

[Thelionheart]

Heh, I just started playing Painkiller for the first time. I'm guessing he'd hate that game so much.

[Executioneer]

for me, Gore effects are the finishing touch in every kill i make, and it makes me kill more and more. ok, ragdolling monsters and sending them flying is cool, but leaving a trail of blood feels almost like a signature. and as you said, adults have a right to choose what they like knowing they have to deal with the consequences themselves. and they are capable of doing that. if anything, gore introduces some realism as well which i find it quite appealing.

[Roros]

I'm in a funny spot with gore. I often find it unneccesary and have even turned it off on occasion even though it doesn't "offend" me or make me cringe in any way. I think it just makes the game seem a bit juvenile depending on how it's done. Age of Conan is the first game that comes to mind as having gore and nudity for the sake of trying to come off as mature and grownup, while it just ends up achieving the opposite.

I actually liked it in Vanquish and Supreme Commander how everything was robots. I didn't feel it made the combat less satisfying, and I could indulge in a headshot or nailing 200 guys with a nuke without having to ask myself if the enjoyment had anything to do with the gore and murder.

[durruti]

i don't think this is about general display of blood, gore & stuff at the current level of graphical detail on its own. it's more about showing off the pain inflicted, the close-up's, slow-mo's, x-ray shots of bones breaking and what-not - in this state-of-the-art realistic way without actually showing the expressions of pain, shock etc. pp. (could be some uncanny valey right there). i can't tell if it disturbs me more on a level of "but who'd wanna/enjoy see(ing) that?!" (see reports of cheering & applause in the e3 audience after watching presentations including/made up of "ultraviolence") or if i'd dismiss it for getting in the way of gameplay as i've yet to play a game with these "features" (dunno if max payne 1 & 2 count).

[yerkyerk]

Originally Posted by Elbozo

I think the best gore effects to this day were done on detailed 2d sprites! Just think about how monsters died in Doom or Blood... How lovely was the gratuitous gore in splatterhouse games... The horrifying scenes of violence and torture in Diablo 1+2... Sometimes those were more disturbing then the "technology is still not there yet" effects we could see in games like Solider of Fortune and such... But that's just me.

Heh, I agree. 2D gore for some reason appeals much more to me (another example would be Carmageddon) than 3D gore. Still, I think gore shows you a real impact. In TQ, I laid down tons of enemies. It just didn't feel like I made much of an impact. Having gore in TQ would've made my character feel much more powerful, even though technically nothing changed. One of the reasons I didn't like Supreme Commander was because there was no gore.

I never had a problem with gore, even when I was young I played those 2D gore games. I do think that some kids are unable to handle that kind of stuff, but I even think most kids are fine. What's the guy's argument for not using gore anyway? He's very vague about the supposed problems it's gonna cause.

[KondaImmortal]

I'm legally a minor, but gore doesn't really do anything to a game for me. But if it was missing something would feel wrong. Now he says that gore is a problem with games? No. Content is what's wrong with games. Like CoD forcing their racist views and ideas that you should run around and pointlessly shoot people you know nothing about to get new weapons. It's ok if you are shooting monsters but when it is people it just gives the wrong idea to these impressionable public masses of minors that don't know a good game when they see it.

[Shoganai]

It is more about the desensitization of violence. When you grow up with something and see it everyday you aren't as repulsed by it. His concern is that when you have young people playing ultra violent games, they grow "numb" to the violence.

Technically, this is already being handled by the ESRB... and violent games shouldn't be sold to minors. If he wants to actually go in and clean up all violence from video games, then he needs to look at parallel entertainment sources as well (movies, TV, books, etc....). Picking and choosing one platform isn't going to do anything.

As for the "ultra-violence" in video games... I find it unnecessary for the most part... but then again, I'm an old-school gamer. I grew up with games that didn't need to be ultra-violent or sell-sex in order to be good. I think it's too easy today for a developer to purposely throw in those two ingredients and then try to push a game on the public (which many will slop up). Lollipop Chainsaw is a really good example :P

[KondaImmortal]

Shoganai, I agree with everything you just said. Desensitization was exactly the word I was looking for.