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When Does Gore Get In the Way of Gameplay?

Posted by Soulskill on from the when-i-need-to-break-out-the-windex dept.

Wired is running a story inspired by the level of gore in the recent Wolverine game that wonders: how much is too much? It mentions a study we discussed in February which indicated that violence tended to interest gamers less than other characteristics. "... the longer you play a 'twitch' action game, the less you notice the cultural content — the gushing blood, the shrieks of agony. You're too busy focusing on the gameplay. I noticed this with Wolverine. For the first hour, I found the deranged bloodshed both shocking and exciting; it made me feel like I 'was' Logan, the grunting, killing-machine character from Marvel Comics' X-Men universe. But as I became more expert, the cultural shell of the game boiled away. In a sort of staring-into-the-cascading-numbers-of-the-Matrix way, I found myself looking past the visible aspects of the game and savoring the underlying, invisible mechanics of play. ... The game became pure physics and algorithms: Vectors, speed and collision detection. The gore had become mostly irrelevant."

7 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. can't you turn Gore off? by mcfatboy93 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hated an inconvenient truth. all i want him to do is shut up.

    but really in most violent video games can't you turn the blood and gore off?

    --
    Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
    1. Re:can't you turn Gore off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Turning off the blood isn't enough. There should also be an option to replace all guns with walkie-talkies.

  2. When he comes in bitching and moaning... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...about all the energy your souped-up overclocked PC is using.

  3. For God's sake by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 2, Funny

    I thought Tipper got over this during the PMRC fiasco.

  4. Oh, That's Easy! by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 4, Funny

    When he shows up at my house and makes me turn off my Xbox because it's carbon footprint is too large.

  5. You can't blame Al Gore! by SlappyBastard · · Score: 3, Funny

    All those violent games are full of explosions!! Explosions that emit tons of greenhouses gases. Do the frakkin math! If there are 700,000,000 explosions in video games today (a conservative number) and each explosion emits 300 tons of CO2 . . . JESUS H CHRIST!!! We're all dead. Now. By 2 pm if we don't stop it. NOW!!

    --
    I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
  6. Re:When you stop noticing it, it's too much. by CraftyJack · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you really want to shock somebody, put a scotch bonnet in their chocolate cake.

    Um, we're talking about food, right? Right?