Do you like violent video games?

[Orius]

Sure, why not? I love to vent out my never-satiated anger and bitterness every now and then. It's a good source of venting, and nobody gets hurt.

People who say that violent video games caused violence are pretty much the same as those who invented the comic code back in the '50s, deeming "graphic material in comic books" too violent for children - and look where we're at now? I say, the world needs a little venting out. It's an ugly place, and sometimes, we need a source of expression to take out our frustration on. Better that than on real people, you know what I'm saying?

Of course, many violent video games are lazily designed. They're like horror b-movies, going for the cheap gore, so I can see why people find them to be shallow and unappealing. I prefer my violent video games to be more creative about it. If you're gonna engage someone in virtual violence, be creative, like what Call of Duty did with No Russian. Make it topical and have something meaningful to say, perhaps like Spec Ops: The Line.

Violence is subjective anyway. I mean, Mario bashes on creatures all the time. Just because there's no blood and gore, we call it non-violent. It's still a softer version of violence and offense on another creature. Look at Undertale and how it practically parodies all forms of video games with such forms of violence.

 

[SuziQ]

Maybe I'm just not wired that way, but I never understood the idea of using a violent videogame to vent. Do you actively picture an annoying co-worker/classmate/whatever while you bop demons in the head, or is it more of a passive release of emotion? Do you boot up a videogame angry, and then stop playing when you feel better? Not saying it's wrong or anything, I'm just curious.

Anyway I do like violent games, but only really if they are cartoony or campy. Never been interested in gritty gray realism.

 

[Orius]

Do you actively picture an annoying co-worker/classmate/whatever while you bop demons in the head, or is it more of a passive release of emotion?

Erm, passive release. I'm hot-tempered, definitely egoistical and arrogant, often insensitive and having no filter, but I'm not psychotic. I don't picture people's faces while imagining that I'm killing them.

Regarding whether if I boot up a videogame angry, sure; multiplayers are fun to take your anger out on people through 'wins.' As long as you don't act like a jerk and insult them in chat, it's still a healthy form of stress relief.

 

[SuziQ]

LOL you're right, that would be kind of psychotic, huh. I didn't really think that one through. Didn't mean to imply anything there. I think I get where you're coming from though, it's just maybe I have the opposite mindset. I tend to try to forget my irl emotions rather that channel them.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

It depends. I don't find much enjoyment in games that are too gory. Like excessively detailed killing and blood spewing everywhere. Though, if we're talking about something like Halo, Overwatch, APEX Legends, Star Wars Battlefront, etc. that's completely up my alley.

 

[heyimsobored]

Kinda. Things like FPS are pretty boring to me, but I enjoy things like Danganronpa where the story is a bunch of high schoolers are forced to kill each other, so I guess it depends on what the violence is being used for. I tend to enjoy video games that aren't super violent though

 

[Aminata]

Not so much i used to like, mortal kombat for example i used to think it was "fun" with all that violence but something changed and now just looking at it makes me feel bad

 

[Pyoopi]

I actually do. I am not a horror/serious-tone game fan but I appreciate the graphics and sound design because usually it's done extremely well. It definitely does gross me out (I'll cover my eyes or gasp) when it's very gorey but I think it's really cool at the same time.
I know I'm contradicting myself but I like them, lol.

 

[piske]

Hmm, I suppose I do because the main game I play is FFXIV and you’re fighting all the time, but there are only a few short instances when you actually see blood. I don’t like horror or scary games though and I don’t play games because they’re violent :\

 

[~Kilza~]

I play a wide variety of games, so naturally I've played a lot of violent games like GTA, RDR, TLoU, etc. I do enjoy them, definitely nothing wrong with them. It can be nice to be able to do things you would never do IRL, lol. Though I don't get games solely because they're violent, but rather because I'm interested in the game as a whole. I wouldn't exactly want to pick up a violent game that was focused solely on being violent but didn't play all that well.

 

[ellarella]

i guess i like violence in games, but i'm pretty averse to the idea that 90% of all games' gameplay is about killing/shooting people. i'm very grateful of games such as disco elysium that try to challenge the idea of traditional computer role-playing games revolving around combat.

 

[MadisonBristol]

I don't dislike them, just rarely play them. Except for GTA, I love those games.

 

[Firesquids]

I like violent games, I used to play a lot of Left 4 Dead (and I just got Back 4 Blood) I especially like horror games like the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series.

 

[windloft]

yes! i've always been interested in those kinds of games on a graphical and aesthetic basis : i prefer chunky tomato gore from the late 90s ~ 2000s than anything too realistic, though i'm still just as much of a fan. as somebody who loves horror 'n slashers, i just think it's cool looking.

 

[worldstraveller]

For me if is in a sense of "enjoying a violent game to let off steam" for me that would be a fighting games like Tekken and Blazblue, interested now more that Sora is in Smash.
at the end of the day it depends what "kind" of violent game you like, it could be survival, horror, shooters, stealth, fighting, action games, psychological violence, RPGs, it just depends from the person interests and tastes, since violence in games can be in different genres of games.

if we talk about if I like violent games, that depends what kind and where I draw my own boundaries of the level violence I'm willing to tolerate because ,there are subjects I'm sensitive about.

 

[magicaldonkey]

very much not a fan of gore/horror/scary games if they're classified as violent(?) but i like shooter games !

 

[Regalli]

Generally in the E10+-T range, but I have no issues with violence in games. Bioshock’s probably the most graphic I’ve ever played in full (and I don’t really play first-person games anymore because the perspective tends to make me nauseous, which rules out most of the shooter genre and a pretty hefty portion of horror,) but I’m a huge fan of Zelda and Fire Emblem, enjoy Metroid even if I’m not GOOD at it, and have rendered many monsters into little puffs of smoke in my time.

I’m glad there’s a growing trend of games that don’t have you casually killing monsters and the like, because it’s good for the medium to have that variety and think about why its norms tend to fighting things, but I don’t have a problem with violent games in and of itself. (Now, the push for ‘realism’ with AAA titles that leads to developers watching footage of actual people dying and being traumatized by it… significantly bigger problems there. And obviously a game’s not more ‘legitimate’ just because it has you fighting humans rather than monsters or growing crops or fishing. But those are issues with the culture around gaming, not really issues with violence in gaming as a concept.)

 

[DarthGohan1]

Not really a big fan of violent video games. I think the last truly violent game I enjoyed was Goldeneye 007. I've never been into games like Call of Duty or other realistic violent games. GTA was kind of fun, but it got old pretty quickly for me. I've always enjoyed less violent games much more... Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, PC strategy / sim type games ,etc.

 

[skarmoury]

I actually like FPS and used to be fond of playing stuff like Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead 2, and Turok: Evolution. I don't like games like GTA though, I feel weird punching and shooting random pedestrians. Nowadays I don't really play much FPS anymore because my laptop is old and games on the newer consoles are expensive. The closest thing that comes to violence in what I play right now is probably Genshin, but it feels so mild since there's no blood.

 

[nekomimi]

for me it kinda depends on how tasteful the violence is if that makes sense? like uhh for example darkest dungeon is one of my favorite games but the gore in it isn't the focus and kinda just adds to the horror factor. that's what i usually prefer over doom-style violence (that isn't to say doom is bad tho! just not my thing)