Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Games under Fire - The Moral Boundary
So violence in games is now an acceptable (or at least too established to Kombat [sic]) aspect. However, a new beast quickly emerged to shake down the conservative West in the form of Grand Theft Auto.
At this point the Grand Theft Auto franchise needs little introduction, but for the benefit of the unsuspecting audience, it contained car theft, gang murder and random wanton attacks on criminals and innocents alike. The biggest bee in the bonnet of the press, however, was the fact that the option was there to wander aroudn the games large maps killing anyone and everything, anyhow and anytime. The darkest depths of a players creativity were tested in that you could just kill people and destroy things for fun, without being penalised or credited!
The original Grand Theft Auto was a bird's Eye 2 1/2D game, with little devoted to graphical realism due to the technological constraints of the time. It spawned a similar sequel, GTA2, with a similar layout but with the introduction of Gangs (which you have to co-operate with or attack depending on your choice of mission).
The GTA series really escalated with the 2001 release of Grand Theft Auto III. This shook up the previous titles conventions by providing the player with a fully 3D, interactive, living city - with little areas and pcokets of information and missions at the players grasp. It really was like palying in a different world and there was always a multitude of things to do to occupy your time - whether they were relevant to the storyline or not.
(ABOVE) Grand Theft Auto III screenshot from the PC release
This game categorised the 'free-roaming' genre, or at least brought it to the attention of the hardcore gamer.
One of the most notable British titles to kick up a stink in the media is (as aforementioned) definitely the sickest and most twisted game i have ever owned, played or even heard of - Manhunt.
This game was released in 2004, ironically by the notorious Rockstar North ('responsible' for Grant Theft Auto: Vice City), the sister company of Rockstar (of Grand Theft Auto fame). It took the gorey game idea even further to place a character inside a derelict, abandoned city. A voice in a headset tells you that you are the star of a snuff movie, and there are gangs all over the place trying to kill you.
Obviously, you have to kill them first and as the 'director' watches every move, you carve, garrot, strangle and suffocate your way to the director's chair. This involves some VERY graphic depictions of death i have never seen elsewhere, even in the worst films released to the general public.
(ABOVE) One of the early kills in the game - the carrier bag!
Sadly;
'Three months later, in a deserted park in the British city of Leicester, a seventeen-year-old boy repeatedly battered a 14-year-old friend with a claw hammer and then stabbed him with a knife. The vicious and brutal assault left the other boy dead; his assailant faces life in prison. The killer, say the victim's parents, was "obsessed" with Manhunt, a copy of which was found in his bedroom.'
(from http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3916 - 'Comment: Do we Really Need Games like Manhunt?')
The young boy in question, Warren LeBlanc, had been playing this game frequently before the murder, it seemed. I myself can't help but notice similarities with the way the murder was carried out and with the way you 'proceed' through the game.
(ABOVE) A baseball bat is a common weapon in fighting games, but never used to such horrific extent as in Manhunt
LeBlanc had alledgedly coaxed the victim to a secluded park and waited for him to arrive, then had snuck up behind him and murdered him with two weapons. Manhunt, being a stealth game in essence, requires the player to lurk in the shadows and attract the attention of enemies. When they are distracted, you sneak up behind them (weapon in tow) and murder them by holding the action button. The longer you hold the button, the more brutal the murder (this is a nice effect as you have to be walking or standing behind the target for quite a few precious seconds to get the 'red' level kill.
After this, the director congratulates you, egging you on with glee.
I am normally one to defend the influence of computer games, however i feel that i could not morally allow a child to play the above title. It encroaches on the darkest depth of your imagination and despite not having a single scary monster in sight (aside from 'Piggsy', a strange-looking obese man wearing a pig's face as a mask) this game is one of the scariest games i have ever played.
At this point the Grand Theft Auto franchise needs little introduction, but for the benefit of the unsuspecting audience, it contained car theft, gang murder and random wanton attacks on criminals and innocents alike. The biggest bee in the bonnet of the press, however, was the fact that the option was there to wander aroudn the games large maps killing anyone and everything, anyhow and anytime. The darkest depths of a players creativity were tested in that you could just kill people and destroy things for fun, without being penalised or credited!
The original Grand Theft Auto was a bird's Eye 2 1/2D game, with little devoted to graphical realism due to the technological constraints of the time. It spawned a similar sequel, GTA2, with a similar layout but with the introduction of Gangs (which you have to co-operate with or attack depending on your choice of mission).
The GTA series really escalated with the 2001 release of Grand Theft Auto III. This shook up the previous titles conventions by providing the player with a fully 3D, interactive, living city - with little areas and pcokets of information and missions at the players grasp. It really was like palying in a different world and there was always a multitude of things to do to occupy your time - whether they were relevant to the storyline or not.
(ABOVE) Grand Theft Auto III screenshot from the PC releaseThis game categorised the 'free-roaming' genre, or at least brought it to the attention of the hardcore gamer.
One of the most notable British titles to kick up a stink in the media is (as aforementioned) definitely the sickest and most twisted game i have ever owned, played or even heard of - Manhunt.
This game was released in 2004, ironically by the notorious Rockstar North ('responsible' for Grant Theft Auto: Vice City), the sister company of Rockstar (of Grand Theft Auto fame). It took the gorey game idea even further to place a character inside a derelict, abandoned city. A voice in a headset tells you that you are the star of a snuff movie, and there are gangs all over the place trying to kill you.
Obviously, you have to kill them first and as the 'director' watches every move, you carve, garrot, strangle and suffocate your way to the director's chair. This involves some VERY graphic depictions of death i have never seen elsewhere, even in the worst films released to the general public.
(ABOVE) One of the early kills in the game - the carrier bag!
Sadly;
'Three months later, in a deserted park in the British city of Leicester, a seventeen-year-old boy repeatedly battered a 14-year-old friend with a claw hammer and then stabbed him with a knife. The vicious and brutal assault left the other boy dead; his assailant faces life in prison. The killer, say the victim's parents, was "obsessed" with Manhunt, a copy of which was found in his bedroom.'
(from http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3916 - 'Comment: Do we Really Need Games like Manhunt?')
The young boy in question, Warren LeBlanc, had been playing this game frequently before the murder, it seemed. I myself can't help but notice similarities with the way the murder was carried out and with the way you 'proceed' through the game.
(ABOVE) A baseball bat is a common weapon in fighting games, but never used to such horrific extent as in ManhuntLeBlanc had alledgedly coaxed the victim to a secluded park and waited for him to arrive, then had snuck up behind him and murdered him with two weapons. Manhunt, being a stealth game in essence, requires the player to lurk in the shadows and attract the attention of enemies. When they are distracted, you sneak up behind them (weapon in tow) and murder them by holding the action button. The longer you hold the button, the more brutal the murder (this is a nice effect as you have to be walking or standing behind the target for quite a few precious seconds to get the 'red' level kill.
After this, the director congratulates you, egging you on with glee.
I am normally one to defend the influence of computer games, however i feel that i could not morally allow a child to play the above title. It encroaches on the darkest depth of your imagination and despite not having a single scary monster in sight (aside from 'Piggsy', a strange-looking obese man wearing a pig's face as a mask) this game is one of the scariest games i have ever played.
// posted by PashionConscious @ 6:50 AM 
