Continuing from my previous thoughts, Spec-Ops and Hotline Miami, perhaps the two most visible “violent games about violent games,” have player-characters who only use violence to interact in the world. While Spec-Ops is far more on-the-nose about how destructive that attitude is, both put the player in a scenario where violence is the only language they have to communicate … Continue reading …When All You Have is a Hammer
One of the things I find most fascinating about the conversation about videogame violence is the nebulous threshold that separates “inappropriate” from “provocative” portrayals, “excessive” from “effective” ones. Reactions to Spec-Ops: The Line fluctuate widely, with some praising its harsh frankness and others ridiculing its shallow pretensions. People are either captivated or duped by it: it … Continue reading Everything Looks Like a Nail…
This week I wrote about the uncomfortable dissonance created by the violence in recent releases like Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite (“Killing Spree: The Inconsistency of Video Game Violence.” PopMatters. May 7 2013). Both of these games try to treat murder as a profound horror while at the same time making shooty fun and sweet … Continue reading Just Killing in Binary Domain
[Originally posted on PopMatters] A man in a tuxedo is dropped into former Soviet Russia to destroy a chemical weapons plant. After infiltrating the plant through the ventilation system, he finds a grate leading into a stall in a public bathroom. Beneath him is a guard sitting on the toilet in a forest green trench coat. … Continue reading Killing Spree: The Inconsistency of Video Game Violence
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