Is there a non-violent option?

[splayfoot1]

This is something I've thought about a lot in the past, and with all the current talk about violent video games / media, I bring this question to the collective mind of the escapist.

Are there any non-violent games?

Obviously there's racing/sports/simsville genre games, lets discard those. I'm talking about genres that are based almost entirely on violence, the worlds of action/adventure/fps/rpg/rts/mmo.

Do they exist? Can a good one be made? An RPG where you are tasked with saving the world, but not by killing 90% of the population on your way to do it. An MMO world that doesn't run on "If it's red it's dead". A 2d platformer with a 0 kill count and is still fun.

can a person be a pacifist and still be a gamer, or are games without conflict just a bit rubbish?

 

[roushutsu]

Dishonored is close. The "non-violent" approach is knocking someone out, and taking the non-violent approach leads to different outcomes in later levels and ultimately a different ending entirely. When you go around killing everything in sight, people react to you differently, condemning your actions.

Oh! Just thought of another one. What about Pokemon? Technically you don't kill anything when you battle, just knock them out.

 

[Nouw]

Isn't it possible to do a pacifist run of Mirror's Edge but it's just really hard?

Oh! Just thought of another one. What about Pokemon? Technically you don't kill anything when you battle, just knock them out.

I'd say knocking out animals is pretty damn violent. Not as violent as killing them but still violent.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Yeah Pokemon is a good example. You never kill anything, they just "faint". Sure there's a lot of fighting but it's mostly in the name of sportsmanship, there's no such thing as gore or suffering.

Regarding the OP... how do you expect to find a FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER that is non-violent? Except in the form of a mini-game in a game that is definitely not an FPS. I can understand the other genres though. There's a lot of adventure games that are violent in a cartoony way, at best (i.e. Monkey Island). Action is a little more difficult but it boils down to the cartoon-y kind of violence. Pick any Nintendo mascot - Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby - and be merry. RTS is the same as FPS - violence kind of goes with the genre. The question is of strategizing it so that it's not a question of violence, there's other variables to handle (mostly in the form of economy). Back to RPGs, we mentioned Pokemon but there's other options as well. They have violence but are mostly treated lightly or comedically (i.e. Disgaea). So there're are options, but in all violence in more or less inherent to video games. At their bare bones, they're all about action and reaction, or offense and defense.

 

[splayfoot1]

Oh! Just thought of another one. What about Pokemon? Technically you don't kill anything when you battle, just knock them out.

I think it was pokemon that originally brought up this question, while they are only fighting to KO, its still a game based around combat. And then it turns into a giant theoretical mess of a moral debate about the nature of imaginary animals (battling seems to be their nature, would it be more wrong to stop them from fighting?).

It's the same with Dishonored, non lethal is a nice option, but its often still violent. (I haven't played it myself, so not sure how the game handles it.)

Isn't it possible to do a pacifist run of Mirror's Edge but it's just really hard?

I actually bought mirrors edge in the holiday steam sale, I might have to try a pacifist run and see how it plays.

 

[Dead Seerius]

Finding non-violent games is pretty hard if you consider "killing" in a game to be pretty much any method of defeating an enemy (and boy do video games like to have those). Is hitting a goomba with a turtle shell considered violence?

Anyway, I've never played it, but isn't Journey violence-free? Every trailer I've seen made it appear that way.

 

[splayfoot1]

Regarding the OP... (snip) So there're are options, but in all violence in more or less inherent to video games.

I know that some genres are heavily rooted in violent scenarios, when I put down fps I was thinking portal, but I suppose that's more of a first person puzzler.

Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be to do a "design a game with no violence" and see what people came up with.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Regarding the OP... (snip) So there're are options, but in all violence in more or less inherent to video games.

I know that some genres are heavily rooted in violent scenarios, when I put down fps I was thinking portal, but I suppose that's more of a first person puzzler.

Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be to do a "design a game with no violence" and see what people came up with.

Thatgamecompany is always dishing out lovely non-violent games. Cloud, Flow, Flower, Journey...

 

[DoPo]

I'm talking about genres that are based almost entirely on violence, the worlds of action/adventure/fps/rpg/rts/mmo.

You're asking for the contradictory here, but I'll indulge you

An RPG where you are tasked with saving the world, but not by killing 90% of the population on your way to do it.

Planescape: Torment allowed non-violent options. As did Arcanum. And...OK, I haven't really played them in depth, but maybe the Fallouts. Among few others. Dishonored, if you count that (more like and action-y game, though). You don't have to kill everybody there. You can even not kill anybody (I think there was, like, one or two times you would need to kill somebody/something in Planescape and Arcanum). You can avoid any and all deaths in Dishonored or just kill who you thing must die.

An MMO world that doesn't run on "If it's red it's dead".

Isn't that EVE? Most other MMOs are WoW clones (or predecessors) or FPSes but I think there might still be some that aren't a grind&loot fest or similar.

A 2d platformer with a 0 kill count and is still fun.

I think there are plenty. The Shift series, for example, are my favourites. Well, they are Flash games but still - I don't play many platformers on the PC (aside from Flash), so I can't really say. Other than that, isn't Super Meat Boy also non-violent?

But what about 3D platformers? Like Portal.

can a person be a pacifist and still be a gamer, or are games without conflict just a bit rubbish?

Read above - Portal. Also...you dismissed the obvious non-violent games, then went on and asked for an oxymoron - a non-violent violent games and suddenly you suggest that one cannot be a gamer without killing stuff? What, if you play a tycoon you're suddenly not a "real gamer" or something?

 

[splayfoot1]

Planescape: Torment allowed non-violent options. As did Arcanum. And...OK, I haven't really played them in depth, but maybe the Fallouts. Among few others. Dishonored, if you count that (more like and action-y game, though). You don't have to kill everybody there. You can even not kill anybody (I think there was, like, one or two times you would need to kill somebody/something in Planescape and Arcanum). You can avoid any and all deaths in Dishonored or just kill who you thing must die.

It seems "violent" may have been to broad a term, at the very least I've learnt that there's a wide spread of ideas on what is or isn't violent (sure you didn't behead them with a chainsaw, but you still beat them unconscious). maybe I should've gone with non combat focused, or something.

Also...you dismissed the obvious non-violent games, then went on and asked for an oxymoron - a non-violent violent game.

That was kinda the whole point, to ask if violent genres could have a non violent game.

and suddenly you suggest that one cannot be a gamer without killing stuff? What, if you play a tycoon you're suddenly not a "real gamer" or something?

Absolutely, I figure anyone who doesn't have the same gaming habits as me isn't a real gamer, also, women should stay in the kitchen, gays should go back in the closet, and racism is awesome. /sarcasm. Maybe the definition of gamer is the same as the definition of violence, broad and different for each person, or maybe it was just a throw away comment that's not worth getting offended by.

 

[blackdwarf]

Point and click adventure games like Professor Layton and ace attorney series on the DS. Horror games where you have to run to survive, like Amnesia and if i'm correct some Silent Hill. And you have games that allow you to choose how to progress, like Deus ex.

 

[Esotera]

The Civilization series (and most Sid Meiers games) have a non-violent option available as part of the core game mechanics, and are the main way that he plays them apparently. And you could probably count Minecraft as non-violent if you play in creative mode.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Most adventure games have absolutely zero combat (unless you're counting action-adventure games like Zelda) and you did mention adventure games in that little list.

If memory serves you don't have to kill anybody in Planescape: Torment, Fallout 1 or Arcanum, but the former does have three none-optional fights. I can't remember if the other two do.

I suppose Portal is first person and you're shooting, but it's a stretch to call in an FPS. Wasn't there an NRA-made FPS that was set in a firing range with no live targets?

There's a fair few platformers with no fighting, recent examples being Super Meat Boy and VVVVV (I think? I haven't played too far yet)

 

[Rack]

There's a crummy FPS based on paintball, Iji is a 2d platformer with no violence required, Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble is basically an RPG with no real violence. Stealth games normally let you sneak through at least a substantial portion of the content.

Mostly though play all the games that aren't based on violence, there are loads of them.

 

[DustyDrB]

You can play Mark of the Ninja and only kill three people.
(Yes, I will take every opportunity to plug Mark of the Ninja)

 

[WOPR]

There's plenty of non-violent games. As for games where you're rewarded for actually NOT killing... Mark of the Ninja? ;D

 

[Glaciatedhands]

= those. I'm talking about genres that are based almost entirely on violence, the worlds of action/adventure/fps/rpg/rts/mmo.

Action: Not entirely sure, I guess the Thief series work under this, there's little violence
Adventure: I remember seeing one but I can't really remember what it was called.
Fps: Portal
Rts: No idea
MMO: Habbo Hotel?

 

[Eddie the head]

There's plenty of non-violent games. As for games where you're rewarded for actually NOT killing... Mark of the Ninja? ;D

Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4? I think you have to kill the bosses in 3 but it's discharged to kill anyone else. Like maniacally the game doesn't just call you a bad person. I wouldn't call them non violent, but violence is almost never the best option.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

There's plenty of non-violent games. As for games where you're rewarded for actually NOT killing... Mark of the Ninja? ;D

Well, the Hitman games encouraged only killing your target and no one else.

 

[Kikyoo]

This is kinda silly
"Are there any none violent games out there, well other than all these none violent ones, let's just rule them out."

Bleh anyways Skyrim it's possible to play the game for hours and never harm a single thing. Tho the point of the game is to kill the big baddie, I'm not sure how much of it you could do without killing anyone.

I seem to remember Metal gear rewards for clearing the game without killing anyone except for a few story critical bosses.

There are a plethora of Puzzle games that are none violent.

RTS I don't know of any ones you can do a none violent way of things.
Turn based strategy tho there are many games where you can win with diplomacy. Master of Orion 2 being one that sticks out in my mind.

This is kind of a stretch but many board games don't have violence in them. I say this because sometimes popular board games (like monopoly) get put on a gaming console.

Also there are educational games (yes i know they suck, but they didn't all used to suck that badly). For instance anyone who's played the organ trail knows that you don't fight any bad guys there, you only hunt animals for food, and it's a very engaging experience.