GTA V: Too Violent?

[Berny Marcus]

I don't think that we gamers who praise GTA V, are unsympathetic and that we just like the stuff. We know it's fake, I'm sure most of us detest any sort of real world violence like that. However, still we're just human, and even in a game meant to have fun, we can still feel about stuff in it even if it's fake. I'll give an example of me personally, when I was playing Splinter Cell Blacklist, there's an option of killing or sparing the people you interrogate, now that won't really affect the plot of the game, but in the end I spared most of there lives instead of killing them except for a few...assholes.

My point is that we all react differently to things, and I know how you feel about the violent aspect of GTA V however I don't believe people are to unsympathetic if they like to do violent things in a game, but even so we can still react however you want if it makes you uncomfortable. People cry to sad parts of a movie, book or play because that's how they feel, other people will find it sad, but are strong enough to not let it out good.

 

[Juan Regular]

I definitely don't think the torture part was there only for the sake of shock. It reminds me of the film 'Funny Games'. It forces players to go through with the torture in order to progress right after in real life they went to a store and choose to buy a game that lets you run over innocent pedestrians, shoot cops that are simply doing their jobs and indulge in all kinds of despicable acts of crime. We bought GTA V to do and more importantly to enjoy this kind of stuff and now we're upset because it took the choice out of our hands and showed us the violence up close and personal for once. Is being forced to torture someone better than choosing to blindly murder innocent people? As long as there aren't any real consequences to the fucked up shit we do in-game and we don?t see what happened after we crushed someone's skull under our tire, it's all fine and dandy. What the game does in this scene is make it unmistakably clear that we, the players, who made the active decision to buy and play a game that lets us piss on the world and laugh about it all have this fucked up fascination and wish for violence in us. That's how I interpreted it anyway.

I can understand people being pissed that this isn't old GTA anymore and they simply don't want any of this deeper meaning stuff in their rampage simulator, that's a very valid point, but I can't understand people whining about how it's too violent and that they should've given us a choice after all the other shit we did in the game. I for one like a good wake-up call once in a while before I continue murdering digital people.

 

[Athinira]

GTA 5 is too violent indeed.

However, it isn't too violent because of the amount of violence. It's too violent, because the characters and the writing doesn't do a good job at justifying it as being part of the story.

This isn't the same as when you just go on a killing spree yourself. When you go nuts in any GTA game, at least it's a personal decision that the game designers doesn't really have any power over (beyond the fact that they created the sandbox that makes it possible). Working sickening violence into bad characters, however, is something you can blame them for.

 

[Something Amyss]

Additionally, despite your claim it's not merely a cutscene but something that requires player interaction, which distinguishes it from the scene with the biker.

It's a glorified cutscene. It's not even a QTE. Justifying it as a wholly different beast is inane. But then, the torture scene is less involved than the missions in the game that call for headshots.

I guess selectivity is okay.

 

[Snotnarok]

What should the option be? To skip doing this and miss the point of the story? To feel like your actions are with your character and you're playing the part of a narrative is the point of games to many and if you don't want to do violent nasty things, you probably shouldn't be playing GTA.

 

[nymz]

After that scene, in the car, Trevor himself says to the tortured man that torture in itself is bullshit and useless, and exists for the torturer, not the torturee. The torturee says that he would have told them everything. Trevor responds that of course he would have, and that's the point. They explicitly state that the whole thing was essentially pointless, and that you should feel bad for enjoying the violence. Trevor likely enjoys it of course, but the game goes out of it's way to show you how despicable this man is. He is a psychopathic, sociopathic, violence-addicted, drug-addicted maniac, and he is "Hell walking on earth".

Everyone says that there is not enough context for the violence, but that's the point. The context is that it is useless, and the torture was pointless. So it was pointlessly put in, to show that torture is pointless. If that makes any sense. I think I have said pointless too many times now.

 

[Psychobabble]

GTA 5 is too violent indeed.

However, it isn't too violent because of the amount of violence. It's too violent, because the characters and the writing doesn't do a good job at justifying it as being part of the story.

This isn't the same as when you just go on a killing spree yourself. When you go nuts in any GTA game, at least it's a personal decision that the game designers doesn't really have any power over (beyond the fact that they created the sandbox that makes it possible). Working sickening violence into bad characters, however, is something you can blame them for.

Considering every bit of hands on criticism I've seen is about how the players who have issues with the game just don't like the characters or their actions in the story, I'd say you have an excellent point.

And to the people saying that if you aren't into violence you shouldn't be playing GTA. Think about this for a minute, this isn't a new franchise, it's 5 games into the series. Many of the people who played at least the last 3 games are the ones who are having problems with the 5th installment. If some of your long time fan base is unhappy with the narrative and characters, then there must be a problem with the game this time round. Stop trying to deflect blame by implying the people who don't like the vile characters in GTA 5 are all new to the game series, or completely clueless to the nature of what kind of game the GTA series are.

Now I do understand the argument that how is running people over or clubbing hookers to death any different than your character torturing someone in a cut scene. Honestly the only difference I can see is the players freedom of choice. And if you notice those very same people AREN'T complaining about the violence in the rest of the game. So personally I think the real issue people are having is being straitjacketed into portions of the game where they have zero freedom to make a decision. A situation acerbated by being forced to play characters they personally wouldn't cross the street to pee on if their heads were on fire.

So I think the lesson that needs to be learned from this situation is don't take options or freedom of choice away from your game players just for the sake of your hackneyed little snippets of drama. Games are for playing. Not for watching.