I''ve got to agree somewhat with what people are saying about games like Doom and Quake. They are mindless shooters and they deserve the bad publicity that they get. Low in story these games are nothing more than boring. Yes i''ve had a lot of fun with Doom 2 (doom sucked as did all the quakes), but i think Doom 2 had more story than any of the others mentioned.

I also think its terrible that we have actually named a genre "FPS" it really goes to show how dumb, arrogant and shallow the entire industry is - that includes you and i-

There is no reason why every First Person game has to be a shooter BUT IT IS! We deserve what we get, like it and lump it.

A designer doesnt need to know everything about code, they just have to have an appreciation for its limitations and how those limitations affect features they may wish to include in their design. - Drew

quote: Original post by Paul Cunningham


There is no reason why every First Person game has to be a shooter BUT IT IS! We deserve what we get, like it and lump it.

A designer doesnt need to know everything about code, they just have to have an appreciation for its limitations and how those limitations affect features they may wish to include in their design. - Drew

That's not true. Plenty of RPGs are in the first person view and are not shooters at all.

Although, I do see what you mean. FPS games are sort of like a typical horror movie such as Friday 13th or the like. Killing for the sake of killing.



Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
What a plight we who try to make a story-based game have...writers of conventional media have words, we have but binary numbers


Edited by - Nazrix on March 8, 2001 10:49:51 PM

I think it wouldn''t work if it was just another violent FPS. (FPS just being what first comes to mind.) The idea isn''t to make a parody so much as to send a message. If a parody is the result then so be it. The idea is to do for FPS games what Saving Private Ryan did for war movies. The right people will take notice. If even for just a little while. You''ll have a chance to explain just what the hell you were thinking because it will be a story. After all... everyone has sat up and taken notice.

I don''t think it can be done with violent content alone. We''ve been desensitized to violence for hundreds of years now. You can''t just create more of the same. If you make something that angers yourself and can barely stand to look at or think about, then you''re on the right track. Personally I also feel that such a game should also not be fun or entertaining, else the message is lost. Putting poloticians or media personalities in the game would make the game just too darn entertaining.

If games caused people to be violent, How come there hasn''t been any mass murderes at the CPL tourniments? I mean think about it.. all these guys (and some girls) who play ID''s games non stop. All in one room, thousands of them. Dont you think that if games caused people to be violent, then that would be the plac to see it? All these violent gamers in one locatoin?

But in actual fact, I dont even think I''ve herad of a single fist fight breaking out at one of these competitions. Just doesn''t add up.

Iron

quote: Original post by Landfish

What are you parodying?

As kseh noted, and I said above, this isn''t to parody. It''s to send a message. The message is that of the ignored report that practically exhonerates the hobby from hysterical badmouthing.

quote:
Rather, I would say the way to do it is to forget your anger (which, BTW only proves *them* right)

You can''t be saying that angry expression *IS* violence, now can you? What *they* are trying to prove correct is that computer games create serial killers. That is a lie. But that doesn''t stop moralists and cynical politicians from using the hysteria for their own gain. That is what I''d be protesting.

quote:
Sure, that''s the cute fuzzy solution, but hey. All media get blamed for ridiculous things in their infancy. It''ll be over soon enough.

This too much to me sounds like the seeking of approval from power, which is the surest road to hell when it comes to the search for true artistic expression.



--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

Sorry if this get''s confusing, I''m going to respond to a few different posts at the same time.

>If ''society'' really wants to stop violence, have them sit WITH >their kids while they play their games.
Well that''s a sure fire way to stop kids playing games.

>I know this is kind of OT, but the way I see things such as
>violence in music, movies, television, games, etc is that it is
>not directly linked to people performing violent acts
>themselves. However, I believe the problem is that some people
>do not seem to understand the difference between fantasy and
>reality.
Yes. But these people are mad. You can''t legislate for that, and mad people have a tendancy to do mad things regardless of outside influences. They''re always going to be a ticking time bomb and it''s not worth infringing everyone else''s rights, just to stop them enacting a brutal Mortal Kombat move instead of something equally nasty from Shakespeare.

>Although, I do see what you mean. FPS games are sort of like a
>typical horror movie such as Friday 13th or the like. Killing
>for the sake of killing.
So? What''s wrong with slasher movies (or FPS for that matter)?

I know I said we should use violence in games/movies for a reason, but sometimes the reason is a simple as creating a fun, maybe a little scary, experience.

Even the moral majorities the world over aren''t too disapproving of these films anymore. Most major countries have had their "banned classics" released in recent years.

A tad hypocritical if those same people are then complaining about computer games.

Mass murder at a CPL gathering? What an idea!

I have to say that I think the best way to deal with all this video game violence hullaballoo is to ignore it. By now, everyone in the world has heard the major arguments regarding this issue. But as game designers, I think that we need to concentrate more on our work, and less on argument.

I appreciate the idea of using video games as an art form, and communicating through this medium. And if a game designer wants to use the opportunity to address social issues, I think that that is a noble idea. (Of course, a publisher is likely to value profit over art in every case.)

But maybe the best way to protest something is to set a good example. There may not be as much artistic freedom in a major company. But for those designers who develop amateur projects, there is an awful lot of freedom there. A designer can easily release a simple, low budget freeware game. (And if the designer does a good job, the game will be fun. Then it will reach a wide audience.) Maybe that''s a good way to protest.

~Jonathon

quote: Original post by Paul Cunningham

I''ve got to agree somewhat with what people are saying about games like Doom and Quake. They are mindless shooters and they deserve the bad publicity that they get. Low in story these games are nothing more than boring. Yes i''ve had a lot of fun with Doom 2 (doom sucked as did all the quakes), but i think Doom 2 had more story than any of the others mentioned.

I believe you liked Doom 2 more than Doom 1 because it had better action, cool super shotgun etc.. There is NO WAY on earth you could''ve liked it more because of it''s plot. My take is that you''re just cheating on yourself. Mindless gore/killing games ARE fun if done right. Not everything needs a plot to be entertaining.

I think that most of us will agree that playing violent games doesnt turns people into murderers, and that role playing is not an introductory practice for future sect members and gourou.

It's the same for most gamers. ( and for the others we could still put a little informative text about the creators of the game not being serial killers )

The problem is to inform people wich do not play video games.

Talking around you might help a little, but if someone have a more efficient way of doing this I would like to hear of it...

Edited by - DungeonMaster on March 9, 2001 8:18:56 PM

You could always make a game were you play a kid in school and you''ve got to collects weapons and plan a day with your buddy to go on a shooting rampage. That would get peoples attention :p +at the end of the game you can be quite harsh with who you thank for the reasearch material.

A designer doesnt need to know everything about code, they just have to have an appreciation for its limitations and how those limitations affect features they may wish to include in their design. - Drew