To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

Several years ago, my boss at the time asked me a question.  This was around the time the first Black Ops came out.  Knowing what a big gamer I am and the hype Black Ops was getting, she asked me if I was getting this game.  I said no.  She ask why.  I said, 'because I don't want to play a game about shooting other human beings.'  She was surprised but impressed by the answer.

Fast forward several years, though, and what are my favorite games of 2013?  Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite, two games where there are plenty of human targets to shoot in the face (or arms, or legs, or stomatch).  Clearly, I'm no saint, but at the time of the first Black Ops, I meant what I had said.  And I still do.  So how can I say one thing, and do the other?  Because I WANT to play games with less violence rather than I MUST.  That's the difference.

You can call me a hypocrite or a player of semantics but in my defense I play plenty of other types of games.  Just in 2013 alone there's been Atelier Meruru, Fire Emblem Awakening, Metal Gear Rising, Resistance 2, Metro 2033, Devil May Cry and Pandor's Tower.  Not all of these games involve killing fellow human beings and some of them are barely violent.  Out of the ten games I've played listed here, half of them feature human beings as the enemy, the other half are monsters, demons or aliens.

So if I don't want to play violent games, if I don't want to shoot at other virtual humans, then why still do?  Because the violent games are....  Just.  Too.  Good.  Its' clear after the first 15 minutes of gameplay that a lot of blood, sweat and tears when into the making of both Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider.  Very high production values, lovely graphics, great story, and fantastic atmosphere make both must play experiences.  If I wanted to be a pacifist, I'd be giving up two of the best gaming experiences of 2013 and there's no way I can do that.

I do imagine what would happen if some of those great gaming goodness rubbed off on the other, less violent games.  If Pandor's Tower had just a tad bit better a story and more interactivity and benefited from a higher production value, I wouldn't be thinking of quitting this game.  If Atelier Meruru was just a little less focused on crafting I'd stick with that to the end, too.  Or, how come they don't just make Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite… and just tone down all the blood and violence?  Both games would still work extremly well without both.  At least, that's what I think.

So that's the delimma.  Give up on some great gaming experiences or stop complaining about game violence.  A stark choice, but it's a razor edge I've been living on for years.  Luckily, there is a silver lining.  A truly excellent game doesn't glorify violence.  Yes, there are blood and yes, there are shooting other humans but usually, well made games also come with a bit more… art to it.  It doesn't entirely justify the gore but it does put things into perspective.  In the case of Tomb Raider, it tells the story of Lara's rise from innocence to hardened survivor and in so doing, elevated this already iconic character to legendary proportions.  You can say the story and character benefitted greatly from what happened in the game, blood and violence being only parts of the whole, the others being determination, perserverence, resourcefullness and courageousness.  Though I have yet to beat Bioshock Infinite, it is already somewhat less violent than the first game and the focus of Infinite is decidedly away from blasting people to other lofty ideas, such as patriotism, facism, racism and the dangers of a personality cult.  Basically, more than just the shooting and the destruction, the game's atmosphere is the true attraction.  Though it helps that the action itself is quite top notch.

There will always be an effort on my part to avoid the truly gratuitous depictions of violence.  I will never enjoy Madworld, for instance, and I do try to stay away from most military shooters (the story never fully justifies the means, unless that story belongs to Spec Ops: The Line).  However, if they keep making great games I will keep playing them, shooting whomever needs to be shot.