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It is very clear that the gruesome kills in AvP are a selling point for the title. The action is intense and the gore fits well in the universe that the game occupies – however is there a point when it is too extreme, too much?

Tim Jones of Rebellion believes that video games are tool that “teaches us where the boundaries of behavior are” however AvP’s violence exists in a realm of “fantasy violence…It’s not a documentary.”

This begs the question: why do we enjoy violence in games?

I’m a very peaceful kind-of-guy but I love games with some brutal action in it (provided that it is in content). But I can’t handle watching the daily news – in fact, I don’t watch it. To me, in one situation the violence is part of a narrative – fake and often silly; while  in the other it is just exploitive and often a reminder of our own failings.

I like games that make me think about my actions like BioShock. However, is violence a primal need dictated in our nature? Tim Jones thinks so:

“The world we live in, the western world, is a far safer world than we ever had before…Yet people seek some sort of primal experience.”

I think that sort of thinking belittle’s our capacity as humans but I do know that I personally would rather have violence exist solely in video games, books, television, and art but not in real life. In media forms the key to understanding and conceptualizing violence is to talk about it and think about it in a critical manner.

Video games can be qualified as escapism but that’s healthy as long as it remains within the game and does not threaten our daily social interactions. Unfortunately, violent people do tend to search out violent content and these people do things that often threaten the image of our hobby.

You can read the full Tim Jones article on Kotaku where they ponder the gore and violence of the upcoming title. It is a neat read. What do you think?

_{[Source: Kotaku]}