Sometimes... sometimes games can get to me.
Playing shogun 2 had this effect. Well, Fall of the Samurai. Its been a long time. Essentially, I was the most powerful (And most modernized) force on the map. Without a doubt. The island to the north (Cannot remember what it was called) had been dominated by a traditional power, all bows and whatnot. Not a single rifle to be seen.
I landed there with one of my modernized armies. I had several at the time, tooling around, destroying people on the mainland. Yet most of the people on the mainland at least had guns. At least they were trying.
At least they could fight back.
The battles in the north... They were different. Thousands would die without me taking casualties. My armies were static in nature, just modernized infantry backed up with gattling guns and artillery. At first it was awesome. You know, all "Last Samurai" and it was... Fun to watch the spearmen charge in slow motion.
Slowly that began to change. It stopped feeling like the last samurai and started to feel horrible. They did not stand a chance. They were, quite simply, being slaughtered. I began to feel sorry for them. I began to root for them.
And, Ultimately, when their nation was defeated and they all lay dead on the field, I quit Fall of the Samurai. It is one of the few games that made me feel guilty.
Other then that (Seriously, it started to feel more like genocide then war. Three or four full stacks would get slaughtered. The only time I took any casualties was when I ran out of bullets.) I have never really felt guilty. I mostly play strategy games where you can be distanced from the reality of things. And although I tell little stories in my head sometimes about what is going on (Used to write, I keep getting tempted by booting up an AAR), usually I am the 'Good' guy (Bar in my current Empire game where I am most certainly being the bad guy).
I am trying to think of other things that have made me guilty in gaming. The only other example I can come up with is from another Total War game. As Russia (Novgorod.) I conquered my way into the Holy Land. I actually remember thinking "If I just exterminate every city I take things will be so much easier, they will be easier to control".
It was only after I took Jerusalem that I realised I was committing genocide to make life marginally easier.
Playing shogun 2 had this effect. Well, Fall of the Samurai. Its been a long time. Essentially, I was the most powerful (And most modernized) force on the map. Without a doubt. The island to the north (Cannot remember what it was called) had been dominated by a traditional power, all bows and whatnot. Not a single rifle to be seen.
I landed there with one of my modernized armies. I had several at the time, tooling around, destroying people on the mainland. Yet most of the people on the mainland at least had guns. At least they were trying.
At least they could fight back.
The battles in the north... They were different. Thousands would die without me taking casualties. My armies were static in nature, just modernized infantry backed up with gattling guns and artillery. At first it was awesome. You know, all "Last Samurai" and it was... Fun to watch the spearmen charge in slow motion.
Slowly that began to change. It stopped feeling like the last samurai and started to feel horrible. They did not stand a chance. They were, quite simply, being slaughtered. I began to feel sorry for them. I began to root for them.
And, Ultimately, when their nation was defeated and they all lay dead on the field, I quit Fall of the Samurai. It is one of the few games that made me feel guilty.
Other then that (Seriously, it started to feel more like genocide then war. Three or four full stacks would get slaughtered. The only time I took any casualties was when I ran out of bullets.) I have never really felt guilty. I mostly play strategy games where you can be distanced from the reality of things. And although I tell little stories in my head sometimes about what is going on (Used to write, I keep getting tempted by booting up an AAR), usually I am the 'Good' guy (Bar in my current Empire game where I am most certainly being the bad guy).
I am trying to think of other things that have made me guilty in gaming. The only other example I can come up with is from another Total War game. As Russia (Novgorod.) I conquered my way into the Holy Land. I actually remember thinking "If I just exterminate every city I take things will be so much easier, they will be easier to control".
It was only after I took Jerusalem that I realised I was committing genocide to make life marginally easier.
