Less is More

[-Drifter-]

I'm referring, in this case, to violence. There are many games that are famous for their extremely bloody, gruesome content, from those as recent as Splatterhouse to those as old as... well, Splatterhouse. Games are constantly upping the gore factor, becoming more and more over-the-top as they try to get a reaction from us. But what I wonder is: are they going about it in the wrong way? Perhaps rather than making the kills more bloody and ridiculous, they should try toning it down.

Spoiler: The OP

For example, watching a man have both his legs broken in Assassin's Creed affected me a million times more than any of the blood drenched finishing moves in, say, God of War, and the reason for this is simple. Assassin's Creed was realistic in it's depiction of violence (within cutscenes, at least.) I was seeing a man, not being flung into the air, chopped in half and bludgeoned with his own legs, but being brutally hobbled my a mad doctor, and that's an experience that ripping the eye out of a cyclops' head and watching the red jam gush everywhere just can't hope to recreate.

Now, admittedly there are games like Dead Rising 1/2 that aren't trying to make you feel anything other than glee as you rip through hordes of zombies apparently made of Jello with a chainsaw on the end of a kayak paddle, but others don't really have that excuse. Gears of War, God of War, Dante's Inferno, these are all games that, despite their ridiculous content, take themselves quite seriously. And of course there's the afore mentioned Splatterhouse, who's entire existence was based around shock.

THE DISCUSSION: My feelings on the depiction of violence/gore in video games aside, what are yours?

 

[Irridium]

More or less the same.

Cutting off your finger in Heavy Rain is far more impactful then anything else I've experienced. Normally when I play a gory game, I don't think about the violence at all. Doesn't really affect me. In Heavy Rain, I struggled to keep my eyes open. I think I was making really horrid faces as well.

 

[Palademon]

I like it over the top or dignified. Realistic and emotional just makes me feel bad.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

Usually, if a game is riddled with a ridiculous amount of gore, it usually isn't there to make someone feel uneasy. Its generally a way for the developers to say "LOOK AT THIS GORE! VIOLENCE IS FUN!" And there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want to literally rip your opponent apart and crush their heart.

Obviously, you have some exceptions. Dead Space tried to use excessive gore to freak people out, but most games like Gears of War, God of War, Bulletstorm, Splatterhouse, etc. the amount of gore is there to make it look more badass or to shock people.

Dead Space was actually scariest/unnerving the most when it only involved an eyeball and a very, very painful looking machine.

Spoiler

God I hated that... But I can't handle eyeball shit. Only thing I can't do.