When Does Gore Get In the Way of Gameplay?

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."

Comments

can't you turn Gore off?

[mcfatboy93]

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?

Re:can't you turn Gore off?

[MikeBabcock]

The best feature of Soldier of Fortune was the gore. You aim for the shoulder and blow the guy's arm off and he can't shoot you anymore, voila. You can tell, just by looking, whether you hit the guy critically or not. If his neck is spurting blood, you know you don't need to put another bullet in him.

The game's big selling feature was accurate weapons and dismemberment, so if you don't like those things, play something else.

Silent Hill 2

[bhunachchicken]

For me, gore doesn't add anything at all, save for when it's used sparingly, to the point where it is so unexpected that it shocks. However, if ever there was an example of a game which didn't need gore to shock and terrify then, for me, nothing can beat Silent Hill 2. Such were the psychological shocks that there were points when I would be playing this alone, at night, and decide I'm better off playing something a little more fluffy to wipe the images from my mind. Sure, it had gore, but it was delivered to compliment the terror I was already experiencing from the suggests the game was making.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[Walzmyn]

I don't think this phenomenon of the gore melting out of mind has anything to do with the gore. It's a natural function of playing a game. You can play a "pretty game" (The one that comes to mind is that flat mario brothers game). After an hour even the prettiness melts away and you are just focused on the gameplay.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[Opportunist]

It's the "Psycho" effect. No horror you can see can be worse than the horror your mind makes up itself. Suspense is often much more terrifying than a shocking display.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[MadMatr07]

I agree, games with no visible damage to a character really takes me out of the experience and makes me think "Yep you are playing a video game." However, games such as Left 4 Dead are so great in my opinion because weapons have the effects you would expect them to and that immerses you in the game so much more.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[jellomizer]

However, /my/ argument is the opposite. When I shoot someone in the forehead, I expect some blood (at least). I'm sorry, but when a game model simply falls down after a headshot it makes the gameplay cartoonish.

I guess the question how much blood and gore would happen in real life from these things. I mean some of these games it would seem to me that you don't need to shoot them as they would die from hyper tension in a few minutes. As the human body isn't really design to explode when it suffers an injury even a big one. Even if you get shot in an artery you will have a little stream of blood squirting up a few feet. Not a splatter of blood that consists of gallons of blood.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[einar2]

Actually, you learn this in a hospital. If you hit the artery of the patient you can repaint the ceiling. There is enough pressure to squirt up to the ceiling.

Exactly

[somersault]

If you're properly focused on a game you don't really notice the extras. For example when playing guitar hero my friends occasionally point out something that's happening with the band in the background (even when they're playing), but I don't notice anything but the notes (even when I'm not playing). Those that focus on stuff like blood flying around probably aren't actually focused on beating the game. Still, it's better to have some gore than none at all otherwise how will you know that you've scored a hit? Likewise for realistic graphics, it does add to the immersion to have realistic lighting even if you're not paying much attention to it, and sometimes it is nice just to kick back and admire the scenery (the sunrise and sunsets in GTA IV were pretty awesome).

Oh, That's Easy!

[RobotRunAmok]

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

When

[SirLurksAlot]

the developers decide to write a "screenwiper" package that wipes the blood and guts off of the user's screen so they can see well enough to shoot?

When you stop noticing it, it's too much.

[EWAdams]

You eat vindaloo, you know it's going to be hot. You expect it, you get used to it.

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

Hitchcock knew this perfectly well. A whole movie of rising tension, and then suddenly, WHAM, a shocker image.

Same for gore in video games.

Gore is semi-irrelevent but still has a place...

[Pvt_Ryan]

Gore is pretty much irrelevent however I do think it has a place. For example I like the Hitman series. In the 1st one there was bullet holes/decals on the bodies I liked this as it allowed me to see where I hit as opposed to yes i hit or no i missed. I was rather annoyed at the future hitman installments removing this, for me it was all about the perfect head shot in the 1st one, right between the eyes.

I did think the manhunt series was boring mainly due to the limited number of death animations and the excessive gore.

I do prefer games that have some gore over those that have none, for example when a rpg shell blows someone to pieces it is more realistic than them just falling over. It's all about the realism the game creates the more realistic the more I enjoy the game (assuming the gameplay is there).

Gore is Necessary

[Psyborgue]

Without it, a game comes off as a cartoon. I don't notice it so much when it's there and have never found it a bother, but when it's not there, it's noticeable. If you shoot somebody in the head with a shotgun and they just fall down without a drop of blood, something is wrong. It's just plain not realistic.

You can't blame Al Gore!

[SlappyBastard]

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!!