Video game murder has no value anymore

[Grabbin Keelz]

I had thought of this around the time I was playing Assassins Creed 2 when I was trying to figure out why I was so bored of it. Ezio can kill so many people so fast that the whole murder thing doesn't phase him anymore, hell it didn't look like it ever phased him or even me. It's like you can't have a kill be meaningful unless it has an overdramatic animation or if it's some sort of big boss. What about the fifty guys you killed just to get to him?

The last time I killed a common nameless enemy and it really hit me that I had murdered someone was the beginning of Half Life 2. After nearly 30 minutes of buildup, running away and getting beaten by police, that I finally confronted one in an ally and beat him to death with a crowbar. This whole time the game has been encouraging you to run away even when you did get the crowbar, but this time I confronted and killed him.

So when was the last time you felt an impact by murdering a nameless character in a game?

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Um..... Never.

Don't think it's even had any effect on me, really.

 

[Freaky Lou]

Probably in Fallout: NV, because of the dismemberment. I was having a conversation with the guy minutes ago and now he's a pile of chopped meat.

 

[lobster1077]

In Deus Ex I killed that friendly Unatco guard during the shootout there. That led to a moment of contemplation, then I went back to throwing flowerpots at people.

 

[Dogstile]

Never by murdering. However, the marines in the first halo? I actually felt bad when you first encountered the flood and tried to get out with some. Was bad times man, they fought so well :'(

 

[Woodsey]

I avoid killing civilian NPCs, I don't think I've ever cared about killing nameless guards.

 

[Caliostro]

Um..... Never.

Don't think it's even had any effect on me, really.

What he said. I mean, why should I care about a non-existent character to whom I have no connection with? They're not real, so I'm not murdering a person, and if the writers haven't established some kind of connection, no matter how minimal, that one can relate or associate with, they're just in the way.

Hell, that's how I feel about most people in real life, in-game they don't even have the whole issue of actually ending a life...

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

Only if it's a civilian and I'm playing a hero/good guy. I love roleplaying while playing video games, so if I'm playing a villain, I have no problem killing anyone.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

When I played GTA III for the first time and I accidentally ran someone over and a cop started chasing me. Course that was my first real kill in a video game ever. Before then all I played was simulations like battleships or aircrafts.

 

[Angerwing]

I wouldn't say that's murder, within the logic of the game. These guys will kill you at the slightest inkling of you actually being there, so it's more of a kill or be killed scenario. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought. While that would legally qualify the slaughter of all the faceless guards you chop down, it seems to be more of a mechanical thing. It doesn't strike the same emotional resonance as killing somebody who isn't actively trying to kill you. I'm currently watching Breaking Bad, so I'm going to use some examples from that show to describe my point.

Spoiler

At the end of Season 3, Jesse and Walt kill these two gangsters. It was an unlawful killing, it wasn't in self defence, and it was definitely with malicious intent. Definitely murder, but not morally disagreeable for most, considering what the gangsters did. The next episode, Walt gets Jesse to murder his lab assistant, not because he's trying to kill them or anything; Walt just needs to ensure that he is irreplaceable. In fact, every time the poor guy is shown, he comes across as a reasonable, nice guy. He's murdered because he falls in an unfortunate place. The death of some random people don't hit the same moral chords as the murder (and that's the key word here) of an innocent person.

But I'm just rambling a little.

 

[l3o2828]

I had thought of this around the time I was playing Assassins Creed 2 when I was trying to figure out why I was so bored of it. Ezio can kill so many people so fast that the whole murder thing doesn't phase him anymore, hell it didn't look like it ever phased him or even me. It's like you can't have a kill be meaningful unless it has an overdramatic animation or if it's some sort of big boss. What about the fifty guys you killed just to get to him?

The last time I killed a common nameless enemy and it really hit me that I had murdered someone was the beginning of Half Life 2. After nearly 30 minutes of buildup, running away and getting beaten by police, that I finally confronted one in an ally and beat him to death with a crowbar. This whole time the game has been encouraging you to run away even when you did get the crowbar, but this time I confronted and killed him.

So when was the last time you felt an impact by murdering a nameless character in a game?

Perhaps when i killed some of the most disturbing monsters in Silent Hill games, due to them twitching a little before dying , which made me scared to come near them in case they would jump and bite my ear off.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I guess possibly in the first Fable game when I choose to murder everyone in that merchant village but I fell more like a dick than being guilty (I normally play as a goody character).

Beside when exactly killing a no name grunt or npc suppose to be significant? Was it when I stomping on the countless Goomba and Koopa or desotrying the other jets in UN Squadron?

 

[Rofl-Mayo]

There was a few times that I thought about why I killed people in Fallout 3. And then I moved on and slaughtered the next area with remaining life. Megaton was the first to go.

 

[Elsarild]

Um..... Never.

Don't think it's even had any effect on me, really.

Yeah Imma go with this one.

I did have a girlfriend once trying to forbid me from playing Deer Hunter 2005 because she coulnd't cope with me kill lines of code (?).

 

[Smooth Operator]

I care when the game cares, i.e. if there is a benefit or punishment for killing people then I will pay attention.

But never with the sort of cheap punches that modern shooters pull, the entire games are devoid of atmosphere and 90% of the time I can't tell if I'm shooting my guys or the other guys and then all of a sudden they shove in a scenes where I should care...

 

[lobster1077]

Stop ruining video games hipster.

Ahhaha you're a funny fellow. I salute you good sir for the five seconds of laughter you've instilled upon me.

 

[Eggsnham]

So when was the last time you felt an impact by murdering a nameless character in a game?

Actually, sometimes when I'm playing a game that features a lot of killing and violence, I'll stop and think that the people I've killed probably all had family and friends who loved and miss them. Then I remember that it's a videogame and these people never existed in the first place.

 

[Armored Prayer]

Last time I was impacted murdering nameless characters was those two wounded helicopter pilots near the very end of MW2. Particularly the one who in a last ditch effort pulled a pistol at me only to find out the gun was empty and the man just stares at me hopelessly. Damn scene got to me shortly after.

 

[Jodah]

The only time I ever felt bad about killing something in a game is if I have to kill pet type animals. Cats and dogs get at me. Then again I usually feel worse about seeing a dead animal then a dead person. Somewhat odd with me living on a farm and all.