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I don't know if "blood violence" is the right term for what I mean, "gore" may be more accurate, I don't know.
First, I just want to say that blood and violence in games have never really been a problem for me, until recently.
With the 3D becoming more and more realistic, I admit that I begin to be disgusted by blood violence in some recent games.
But it's not just the realistic aspect. I believe that violence must come with a universe, a certain atmosphere that introduce it, that gave it some *legitimity*.
One exemple: X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The movie is not so violent and has only been rated PG-13 in USA. Beside it, the video game has been rated M, and is, for me, an exemple of a game abusing of gore violence, with blood in all corners of the screen, and many slow-motion scenes showing how a guy can be cut in two pieces with all the details.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, gameplay video
What bothers me in this game is the violence itself, but also the fact that this violence doesn't quite fit with Wolverine imo, or at least the way Wolverine is shown in the movies.
But viewing the gameplay of the game, it's easy to see that developpers have, in fact, took God of War with all its gameplay and violence, and put Wolverine instead of Kratos.
And talking about God of War, it's for me an exemple of a game where the blood and violence is not so shocking, because you mainly kill monsters, and all the story takes place in an unfamiliar universe. It gives distance between you and that violence.
Another exemple could be the finishing move of the Predator in the latest AvP game.
Aliens vs Predator, E3 Gameplay
The first time I saw how the predator finish a human, I was just about to throw up, seriously.
In this exemple, it's interesting, because this game is based on violent and gore franchises (Alien, Predator).
But there is a big difference between violent games and (good) violent movies. In good movies such as the Alien series, the violence is shown but not entirely, the director uses audience's imagination. It's more subtle and more effective in my opinion.
With actual games, I have the feeling that game designers seem to believe they are movie director, but by showing ALL the violence in details like that (with pints of blood all over the screen, slow motions to show how flesh and bones can be destroyed), I don't think they know that they are in fact working in the same way as B-series gore movie directors.
The disturbing aspect for me is that a game is a lot more immersive than a bad movie.
(sorry for the long long post...)
So, what's YOUR opinion concerning blood violence in actual game? Is it disturbing and/or just disgusting for you? Or do you just like it?
Post edited August 07, 2009 by DarthKaal
I have no problem with it. It's not real, after all
I'm fine with it. I think it's just a form of expression. Of course some games use it without discretion, like Left 4 Dead, but it depends on what kind of purpose they want to achieve. I haven't had a problem with violence in games, apart from some pretentious ones.
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zhoomcar: I have no problem with it. It's not real, after all

It's not real indeed, but it pretends to. I mean, when you play a game, or even when you watch a movie, there is an immersive aspect that makes you believe in some way that all you're seeing is real, there would be no interest or pleasure if it was not the case.
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zhoomcar: I have no problem with it. It's not real, after all
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DarthKaal: It's not real indeed, but it pretends to. I mean, when you play a game, or even when you watch a movie, there is an immersive aspect that makes you believe in some way that all you're seeing is real, there would be no interest or pleasure if it was not the case.

a game with no blood makes me feel like it's really missing a certain realistic feeling. Combat Arms, for instance.
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DarthKaal: It's not real indeed, but it pretends to. I mean, when you play a game, or even when you watch a movie, there is an immersive aspect that makes you believe in some way that all you're seeing is real, there would be no interest or pleasure if it was not the case.
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zhoomcar: a game with no blood makes me feel like it's really missing a certain realistic feeling. Combat Arms, for instance.

I agree on that. I've nothing against showing blood, I'm just talking about how some games can sometimes show too much (for me at least) gore details like in Wolverine.
Personally I prefer blood and gore in games. Killing someone with no blood, well thats a bit of a downer.
Then actually the Gore can never be to much for me. The more painfull oponents die the better. Shooting/chopping of body parts makes a game more enjoyable for me. But it should stay in a bit of a realistic way. I dont need galleons of blood non stop even if I just kick them.
But blood and gore yeah I need it.
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warmonger: Personally I prefer blood and gore in games. Killing someone with no blood, well thats a bit of a downer.
Then actually the Gore can never be to much for me. The more painfull oponents die the better. Shooting/chopping of body parts makes a game more enjoyable for me. But it should stay in a bit of a realistic way. I dont need galleons of blood non stop even if I just kick them.
But blood and gore yeah I need it.

It's a shame they banned Dark Sector in Australia because of the extreme gore D:
Hehe yea, the gore in that game was great. Made me keep playing it even tho it could get a bit annoying gameplay-wise at time.
But yes the Gore in that game was good.
I personally think when they put in too much gore it actually makes the game even more unrealistic and dare I say cartoony. I agree the Predator E3 demo was extreme and not in keeping with the original Predator movies, they seem to be drawing on the new AvP movies for inspiration and quite frankly the gore in them removes any of the coolness the creatures ever had.
AvP2 especially went way too far in my opinion. In Aliens we saw Drake sprayed with acid and that looked painful. In AvP2 we saw a kid get melted and that was just plain nasty. Dont even get me started on the pregnant women... yeuck.
Post edited August 07, 2009 by Delixe
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zhoomcar: a game with no blood makes me feel like it's really missing a certain realistic feeling. Combat Arms, for instance.
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DarthKaal: I agree on that. I've nothing against showing blood, I'm just talking about how some games can sometimes show too much (for me at least) gore details like in Wolverine.

Seems like you beef with Wolverine is lack of familiarity with the character.
X-men 1, 2, 3, Wolverine is very, VERY different from comic Wolverine, which the game, and even the most recent movie are aiming more toward.
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zhoomcar: It's a shame they banned Dark Sector in Australia because of the extreme gore D:

Shame for them that banning games does nothing when ebay (or sadly, piracy) exists
I need blood in games where I'm killing things or it just feels weird. If I chainsawed a locust in half in Gears 2 and there was no blood it'd just be comical (hard enough to avoid that with a rifle mounted chainsaw anyway)
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DarthKaal: With actual games, I have the feeling that game designers seem to believe they are movie director, but by showing ALL the violence in details like that (with pints of blood all over the screen, slow motions to show how flesh and bones can be destroyed), I don't think they know that they are in fact working in the same way as B-series gore movie directors.

Sometimes that's exactly what they're going for, though. Bloodrayne is a total splatterhouse, for instance, with the entire presentation of the game meant as sheer visceral oversexed camp. At the same time, that level of bloodlust would have been completely out of place in Beyond Good & Evil.
Just like with any element of production, the key is to be aware of what you're doing and why you're doing it. Spectacle can be fun, but you want to make sure that you're putting on a show, not causing a train wreck.
I do agree, though, that a lot of games that seem to want to be taken seriously are so gory that you can't take them seriously.
Post edited August 07, 2009 by Mentalepsy
I'm indifferent to gore, I like it when it looks reasonable, but my feeling is more like what the game designer Chris Crawford said one day, can't remember the exact sentence but it was like that : Blood is cool but you can't even slip on it nor cover your character's face so you're blinded until you wash it, even in most infiltration games a spot of blood is ignored. It has zero interactivity and no purpose than begin a visual thing.
the AvP one was a bit extreme, though it seems that kind of thing appeals to some people.
It's interesting that one of gog's own games, Kingpin, was seen as highly gory when it was released. I remember reading the PC Gamer (?) review and the reviewer saying that, while it was a pretty good game, the more realistic graphics and some of the weapons (flamethrower?) made him feel a bit sick and guilty for enjoying it.
These days Kingpin probably wouldn't make anyone bat an eyelid.
there has definitely been some kind of desensitization effect. Same is true of movies, things that would have gotten an 18 cert before, now hardly get a 15 (or even 12).
Terminator was considered an extreme, almost banned movie when it was released... these days it wouldn't be more than a 15.
I do agree that less is often more when it comes to these things... alien movies started to suck when they had the cgi to show the aliens.