Poll: killing in-game kids?

[freakylarzzy]

before I start I need to point out that this poll was made because i missed one at this thread:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.337647-What-if-Saints-Row-or-GTA-added-children#13648107

Now, we've seen this discussion before and it'll happen many times more, but here we go.

killing children is one of the bigger gaming taboo's at the moment, mods are already allowing people to kill children in various RPG's and such.
it has also been done in games before, for example, in "Dante's Inferno"
in the hell where he fights there is a chamber where "Unbaptised children" would attack the player with large curved blades stitched to their arms.

i enjoyed that game for a lot of it's content yet somehow felt i'll at ease killing those baby's.


as mentioned in the thread link above, there would be a big difference between how it is set.
for example if either Saints Row or GTA would give you the option, where would it fit better and where would it be unapropriate?



what's your opinion on the matter?

 

[Ldude893]

First amendment protects free speech no matter how offensive (and no matter how some extremist religious/non-religious group yaks about it)

Though personally, if you place killable children in a game I'll do my absolute best to not harm them in any way. Hell, I already have a habit of throwing a grenade down between my feet whenever I commit unpunished friendly fire during any Modern Warfare campaign.

Yes, I'm that moral of a gamer.

 

[Danceofmasks]

For the most part, I wouldn't kill the children.

However, the fact that children can't be killed offends me.

 

[Jamieson 90]

To me it's just a sily taboo that needs to go away, the same way how nudity is demonic yet it's okay to have lots of blood, gore and violence. Eventually the industry will grow up, hopefully.

So no I don't mind killable children. If someone is that deserpate to do it, then I would rather it be a game child than a real one. Similarly I can see how it breaks emersion for people. I wouldn't necessarily do it myself but I would be watching were I shot if I knewa any stray bullets would mow down some kid. So yeah it would add another eliment.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I have no issue with children being killable in a game. Children are just people, that is all. With that said, I'm not itching for a game to let me kill children either. In a hypothetical situation where you had to choose to save a child or an adult and say the adult was a very productive member of society, like a brilliant scientist, I would find it morally right to let the child die in that situation because the chances are very slim that the child will end up being equally or more beneficial to society than the scientist.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

For a game like Skyrim as realistic as it is having them killable is a good call. But adding them just so they can be more "dead meat" for your ak-47 or car might not be the best idea.

 

[JesterRaiin]

what's your opinion on the matter?

I refuse to acknowledge arguments of people who cry about game violence, existence of killable kids characters, improper features like nudity and do nothing to end "Street children" phenomenon.

It's hypocrisy in the purest form so to speak.
It should be cured before it spreads.

 

[sunthaiduc]

This could go way too far in a game like fallout or skyrim. Once they're dead they can be stripped and in some games manipulated/tossed around etc. Now I know most people wouldn't view this sexually there are definitely some who would. I have no moral objection to killing virtual kids but maybe some game developers might not want give the sick freaks a virtual thrill. I for one get queasy at the idea of someone thrilling out to a dead animated kid. Unfortunately there is that small percentage of gamers that derive way too much pleasure when killing animated people. Everytime a drama breaks out over content in a game and normal gamers don't think its a big deal, that's usually because they have no idea how the content is viewed or used by that small percent of deviants.

 

[everythingbeeps]

Nope. That is a level of "realism" that I just don't need. Nothing is gained from it.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Meh, I killed plenty on Dantes Inferno..and got a TROPHY for it!

In all honest I don't kill civilians much in games anyway so I'm not bothered.

 

[Batou667]

I wouldn't play a game that was about killing children but I probably wouldn't be overly worried about a game that lets you kill children.

It's all about context.

In the game's context, is it likely that there would be children present?

In the game's context, is it likely that characters, including innocent NPCs, might find themselves in the line of fire and be killed?

If both of the above statements are true, then yes, it would make sense for children to be killable. It shouldn't be something that you get rewarded for, in fact there should probably be a negative consequence for it.

 

[freakylarzzy]

I refuse to acknowledge arguments of people who cry about game violence, existence of killable kids characters, improper features like nudity and do nothing to end "Street children" phenomenon.

It's hypocrisy in the purest form so to speak.
It should be cured before it spreads.`

---

i don't see how the "Street children" phenomenon is related to this piece of debate but thanks for at least giving an open opinion.

but really, i wans't crying about it, i wanted to make a poll related to a thread where we were already discussing the idea.

 

[lionsprey]

I wouldn't mind it personally i think that if you put children in a game in which you have the option to kill just about anything make them killable if not don't put em in or at least don't make them insufferable (looking at you fallout 3)

 

[Zero=Interrupt]

Child-killing? Can anyone say CAVIA? Drakenguard, its sequel, and Nier featured lots of child-killing (among other things)

Was that a good thing? Eeeeeh not really.

Cavia really hated children, though.

And happy endings. MAN did they hate those.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

I think it's more than a little weird how gaming is trying to evolve towards greater forms of realism in some cases (such as fully realized worlds like Skyrim) and how people want it while *also* wanting to fuck shit up every which way.

Granted, games are an entertainment medium. I understand that the main reason the shooter genre is so prevalent is because it gives a lot of us some sort of way to vent. I've never held a gun in my life and I pray that I'll never have to, but at the same time, I've slaughtered my fair share of virtual people. Even so, in games that try to foster a sense of place or of credibility, I don't go about asking why I can't kill walking window dressing.

This whole issue is just really odd to me. Are there some people who thought the kids in Fallout 3, New Vegas and Skyrim were *so* bad they deserved to die? Is this a case of people wanting to wander into Whiterun with their weapons drawn and to go "Yoink! Dead! Yoink! You're also dead! Muahahahahahaha!"

I mean, assuming how the growing trend is attention to detail and a focus on realism, and assuming how real life doesn't see us turn to gratuitous murderers, why are people so upset that they can't kill children? Skyrim's trying to feel like a real place, and you couldn't kill kids wantonly in the real world. So why mod that in?

In before "Because I can", I just don't think that's a reasonable argument. If you saw other NPCs killing children, then yeah. I'd get a sense that children's lives are precarious enough in Skyrim, or that there's a faction of honestly sociopathic killers I could join that would put the Dark Brotherhood to shame. In that case, I'd accept the option of killing kids. As is, though? Forcing it in the game just feels terribly out of place and done in somewhat bad taste.

Feel free to disagree or to call me a snob, that's just how I feel.

 

[Azazass]

I would like to see killable children from time to time I'm not saying every game should give you the option to kill them but it would add some sense of realism to some RPGs or Sandbox games.

For example every once in a while when I'm playing an RPG or Sandbox, I get the sudden urge of killing every NPC in a manner like the Blood God Khorne himself asked for their deaths in the most violent, sadistic and bloody way (¿why do I get these urges?... I have no idea, I might like Khorne too much XD... BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! Just kidding) and some times I'm ravaging a village and the only NPCs left are children. That's a sudden halt to my little rampage and it becomes annoying when I happen to return to that village and see those kids again.

 

[NLS]

It shouldn't be necessary, if you're looking for more "realism", there's other places to start.

 

[Sirron Kcuch]

It isn't necessary, but the only thing that bugs me is that in Skyrim I have no way to help them telling everyone I killed a chicken ¬_¬

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

put children in an area where you can't kill anyone, or make them as killable as anyone else

It's not that I want to kill them, but when I light off a huge bomb/magic spell/whatever that just kills EVERYONE but them, it's like a puzzle piece that was hammered in place rather than fitting.