Because when it's fake, it's AWESOME!!!!!!

@static2Void

I prefer personal murder - like fighting games. Mortal Kombat, etc.

EDIT

Murder for me is like wrestling, fun when it fake, but not when it's not.

But fun gameplay has to come first, and I'm tired of FPS & RTS.

As far as being a promotion of violent vs non-violent games, nah. Actually I wanted to hear some different views on why it was so popular. In my opinion it really fullfills one of the basal instincts of the human species. We would not be at the top of the food chain if it we not for our need to kill (food for one). In any society cooperation tends to win out over this drive within us. Society also promotes competition. This tends to work well in video games since it allows us to get a rush from the thrill of the hunt (or protection of something) combined with the sense of winning.

Anyways, I appreciate everyones answers, gave me a few new areas to look into...

There isn't a lot of murder. There is a lot of killing but usually after the bad guys have killed your wife / kids / every one in your town in a cut scene. So it is presented as justified homicide.

And they all run at you trying to kill you. So it is also supposed to be justified as self-defence.

Imagine how different a game would be if no one had done anything wrong and they ran away and you hunted them down and killed them. Now imagine the outrage and trying to find a store that would sell it.

I'm going to guess Tobble ain't heard of GTA. Or any other sandbox games.

Ever.

Because it's the simplest to implement and most meaningful interaction you can have in a video game.

How else can you interact with the world? Destroying it is the easiest to code.

Quote: Original post by JamesPenny
I'm going to guess Tobble ain't heard of GTA. Or any other sandbox games.

Ever.

Or play Fallout 1 & 2. I heard you can kill kids. Yep, kids. They didn't allow it for Fallout 3 though.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=200353

Quote: Original post by LancerSolurus
Why is murder so popular in current games? I have my own ideas about why it is (no repercussions for one) but I would like to hear your thoughts...

I think a large part of it is stake escalation and making things seem riskier than they are. If you're actually competing with someone in person (eg. boxing) then you're obviously attempting to win, but you're not going to actually kill them because that wouldn't be any fun for everyone involved.

But if it's in a video game, then there's basically no penalty for injury or death (for anyone involved). But winning seems better if you comprehensibly defeat someone, which in a lot of competition translates to either physical injury or death. It's not because we're obsessed with death, it's just that in a media where actual repercussions are of your actions are incredibly flimsy, adding 'death' on top gives it additional weight and meaning.

Slightly condensed version:

Shooting people in real life == not fun.

Paintball == fun.

Painball video game == some fun, but doesn't 'need' the paintball aspect. So you might as well ditch it and go straight to the thing you're attempting to simulate in the first place.

To be pedantic about this, a lot of killing in games isn't murder, but actually a form of lawful homicide.

From wikipedia: "Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with 'malice aforethought' ".

Killing in self-defence (not premeditated) is generally manslaughter, and killing armed enemy servicemen in a time of war is legal.

To me it depends on the situation. Take Prototype and GTA IV. In both games there are countless murder cases you have to do, but only some feel really good. Like in the beginning of GTA IV when you kill that fat guy, and he still talks crap. It's just good to get rid of this b-tard. In Prototype you can of course easily kill the whole city population, but the really good kills are imho the fights with the Hunters. It's just cool how they chase after you. It's not that feeling that you are the strongest and can do whatever you want, it's actually a fight over muscles and balls.
Then there is Mario who likes to squish poor little goombas and get their brains all over the floor. But it's not as satisfying. Why? Because there is no competition here. Where you can take revenge on someone in GTA IV and Prototype, it's just not the same. But still, you're killing them, just to save your little slrincess.
And the last examples are Manhunt and Mad World, where nearly everything consists of killing as cruel and beastly as possible [and both games are on the Wii. What an irony :D]. Nearly no kill is really satisfying. There is no personal [as in video-game-character-personal] grudge against them, they're just more guys to slash away and walk on. I still like those games, but they get very repetitive over time.

For ego shooters or other multiplayer-games, it's really just about the competition. We can battle complete strangers, tear their guts out, but noone will say "I never want to meet you in person, you murderer!". It's just about having fun together. Quake Live is without blood, but still very popular. In Quake 3 I was terrified when I played it the first time as a 12yo because of all the blood and guts flying around, but once I get past the visuals, it's just a competition with others.

But sometimes it's also good to do things you can't do in real life. Going frenzy in GTA IV is just awesome, having blood all over your car and looking all badass.

Simple. It's extremes that get and keep our attention.

It can't be just a topless woman. It has to be graphic sex.
It can't be just a small wound. It has to be a deep cut. A severed limb.
It can't be just a witty response. It has to be profanity laced.
You can't just save the princess. You have to save the world.