Whenever you mindlessly send you're massive troop formation in RTS or sending a squad of units into enemy city in civilization - do you really care about that unit? Is it just a mindless bunch of pixels? Do sims fell pain?(ok that was random). Do you care about some random squad getting anihilated just because you told it to go in front of main force? Are Real Time Strategy games are more violent that First Person Shooters? Killing millions by order VS killing hundreds by ttrigger of a gun.

So what you think?



P.S. Infantry rush FTW!

I once in a while actually try to feel pity for a ai character when I play games to make it more interesting. For example in Call of Duty 1, in the training part, a character talks to you (presumably your friend). Throughout the rest of the US campaign you and him are in the battles that makeup the game. I made sure he didn't die and saved him from some fights (stupid AI). Made me really sad when he died =\.

@ion: That is quite sad you know. Feeling sorry about a few lines of code and a 3d model.

C'mon, games should be something relaxing, not slamming down your humor and making you feel pity.

If there is a game with interesting plot, and there is a chance to get used to character it is possible (like in a book or a movie) to feel sorry for that one. Propably it's even producer/screenplay writer plan to make feel that.

In RTS or other massive killing game ... hmm, I do not have time for thinking about pity ...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(#Alex# @ Jun 21 2007, 04:51 AM) [snapback]295418[/snapback]</div>Amen!!

Games are just that: Games. I think if you get in an emotional turmoil even remotely close to the emotional turmoil assosiated with violence, from playing games, then you really need to take a break from everything, not just games. Ask yourself: "Why don't this game come with a warning saying NO PIXELS OR 3D MODELS WAS INJURED DURING THE PRODUCTION OF THIS GAME". The answer is pretty obvious.

yeah i sometimes think how i nuked the whole city in civilisation or remove the whole part of planet sufrace in alfa centauri.

the most i was aware when i was playing space empires 3 - it has a population killed count - so when you killed billions you have to ask you self "what did i become", or "if someone gave me such power would i really do it".

but then it's just game. although if i had such an empire at my disposal.... >:)

If anyone must to draw parallells between games and real life, then at least think of games as "non-violent violence in a safe environment". Just like crashing a F1 car on your PC won't get you injured unless you headbutt the monitor for additional effects, "killing" "someone" in a game is totally harmless as long as you are aware it's only, as #Alex# just said, some lines of code making sounds and graphics. There is nothing that forces you to ask yourself "Oh God! What have I become?".

I think I had this conversation with someone a while ago. I agree what some of you said: a game is a game after all. Of course, there are some subtle small lines all the time about what a game should talk about, but they are only games, for relaxing like bob-santan said.

When I was a little girl I was actually pretty violent and a little bully. I was very small but had a very bad temper. When another child messed with me a fight would start and, believe me, it was not a typical fight one would expect from a girl. I really punched and kicked. I had to learn to control my temper but two things helped me a lot in this process: 1. karate and 2.games. For some reason I always felt that games with violent content made me feel more relaxed and less violent. It was like everything came out at that very moment.

Another different example: I'd love to go to Portugal, I have many portuguese friends and wish them all well. I love Portuguese literature, it's a very rich beautiful one AND I even have some Portuguese blood. However, I know many Brazilians, including myself, that find it specially amusing to destroy the Portuguese empire in Civilization. It just is. And even funnier when you use the Aztecs, the Incas or the Mayas - even tough they've never been near here, our native peoples aren't in Civilization, sadly. It's a game.

Wehn you kill one, you are standing before him (usually) or have to face his death, he's "live" to you. When you have to kill millions out of an office, commanding other people to cause these deaths, the ordered deaths are too far away from you to be able to think too much about them.
But a death is still always a death. And every death you cause is one guilt more than lays down on your conscience.

has anyone seen the part of Stargate Atlantis where they had this game like civilisation ? but the hting was the game was actually happening on a real planet. and instructions given through monitor were passed ono to leaders down on planet. ehm one had the war ready civilisation and the other one scientific one. offcourse things got messy when they found out people will die for real... anyway interesting episode...